Sirs, in light of the recent tragedy in Uvalde,which occurred so soon after the shooting in Buffalo, I would like you, as school board members, to consider why young people are acting out violently so often and what your policies my have to do with this problem.Nationally there is an increasing trend in gun incidents in school. 2021 saw 249 incidents, the highest ever and more than double the second highest year of 2019 with 119 incidents. One can suppose that the documented mental health issues caused by the Covid lockdowns are responsible for the 2021 figure, but violence in schools and society is increasing at an alarming rate. Today I spoke with an LCPS school bus driver. He documented a recent incident on an LCPS bus in which a student threw a bottle of cologne, striking the bus driver in the head so hard he had to pull over and call for help.When he wanted to press charges for assault both the school bus company and the district pressured him not to do so. My acquaintance shared that over the last ten years as a driver, the problems of violence,disrespect,and generally combative attitudes has increased ( in his words) exponentially. Why is this happening?You, the school board, are promoting the SEL curriculum throughout the K-12 grades. You have been teaching children that there is no right or wrong, that everyone is a winner and deserves a trophy.you promote students that are failing so their feelings and self esteem won’t be hurt.you are basically teaching children that they don’t deserve to be corrected when their actions and performance are sub standard or out of line. You and your policies (granting the state policies and teachers unions are also to blame in a large degree) are turning out a generation of self entitled narcissists.There are constant proposals and funding requests for more mental health practitioners in the schools. More children are on psychoactive medication than ever before, and the numbers are climbing. The SSRI class of antidepressants, a favorite choice for struggling children, have been linked to poor impulse control and violent ideation and outbursts . This has been known since the Columbine massacre over 20 years ago. The depression and low self esteem plaguing our children have much to do with a culture that is more concerned with emotional reactions than academics.If they can’t get their way they feel ‘justified’ in striking back, however nebulous and undefined the offending target. In short your policies are creating an atmosphere for more Uvalde type tragedies.Do you want this to be your legacy?you can do something to change this trend by returning to an educational process that promotes respect,responsibility, and academic achievement rather than SEL,CRT, and gender studies.You can make a difference. Think about it.
Sincerely Joseph Kincaid DVM NDCoalition of Conservatives in Action
