Parents, community urged to lend a hand

April 27, 2001

There is no single reason why teen-agers kill and no one solution that will end school shootings such as last month's incidents at Santana and Granite Hills high schools, a national expert on youth violence said yesterday during a local forum on prevention.

Kids kill because of a buildup of causes, like a tower of blocks that topples over when you add one more, James Garbarino, a researcher and author of books on youth violence, said before the symposium. Parents and communities need to look at many ways of addressing the problem, he said.

Garbarino and a panel of experts shared possible solutions -- including improving mental health services, tips for ending bullying and ways parents can communicate with their kids -- during the symposium aimed at helping the community in the wake of the recent school shootings.

"We're doing something about this," said Rudy Castruita, county superintendent of schools. The county Office of Education organized the forum, which was beamed live to 400 county schools.

Poor parenting, child abuse, violence at home, substance abuse and gun access create a toxic environment for kids that leads to violence, Scott Poland, president of the National Association of School Psychologists, said during an interview before addressing the forum.

"If we want to do something about it, we'll work on those things" at schools, at home and in the community, he said.

As a member of the U.S. Department of Education's National Crisis Response Team, Poland went to Santana in Santee and Granite Hills in El Cajon after the shootings to help students, talk to parents and aid counselors and administrators dealing with the shootings. He did the same at Columbine High, Heath High in Paducah, Ky., and other sites of school violence.

Poland, who has four children, said parents need to ask their kids more questions about what they're doing and who they're doing it with, but also listen more.

Parents shouldn't allow their children's rooms to become impervious kingdoms they hole up in and parents don't dare enter. Parents have a right to know what's going on in their kids' lives, he said.

Garbarino, who wrote the book "Lost Boys: Why Our Sons Turn Violent and How We Can Save Them," said in 90 percent of the cases where kids kill, the killer had a life filled with neglect, abuse and depression and was identified as troubled and aggressive from early childhood.

But about 10 percent don't come from these situations and don't exhibit an early pattern of aggressive anti-social behavior, he said. Instead, they tend to be very sensitive children who typically have supportive families early on -- something that can mask how vulnerable they are.

"When they have to face the nasty world, with the bullying, teasing and rejection, they get overwhelmed by that," he said. "They get secretive about it, and they perceive that adults don't care and are powerless to help."

Schools should have character education programs and work to rid campuses of bullying and cliques, he said. And it is important to improve mental health services, so people are available who are trained to recognize depression and other warning signs and know how to respond to troubled kids. And because troubled kids often watch what they say to adults, other kids need to pay attention and pass along problems to adults.

He said zero-tolerance policies that mandate punishment such as expulsion for offenses such as bringing a weapon to school discourage students from coming forward and are unlikely to deter violent students, who often are suicidal.

Ensuring their children don't play violent "point-and-shoot" video games can also help, Garbarino said. Video games that include shooting at people don't make kids killers, but for teens with violent impulses, repeated shooting at human forms breaks down inhibitions about killing, he said.

Sheriff Bill Kolender said he would like to see more task forces of students, teachers and law enforcement officials working together to improve school safety.

"We'd better start loving and caring for our kids and know what that means," Kolender said.

Leslie Bishop, a senior at Poway High School who participated in the forum, said she has heard people blame the problem of violence on guns, even school architecture, but she places it squarely on the separation between student social groups and a lack of respect among students that leaves some uninvolved and dreading school.

"Even without there being a shooting, there's a problem on our campuses -- students feel unwelcome and inferior," said Leslie.

Recently, she and other Poway High students came up with their own ideas for prevention during a school television show. Campus groups charged with helping students feel more involved should re-evaluate and define their focus, such as the student council having a goal of planning activities that involve more than the usual crowd, they said.

They said schools should have ways of recognizing all kinds of students, not just the athletes and prom queens. And campuses should be plastered with posters and reminders of the need to be respectful and tolerant, things that are omnipresent in earlier grades, Leslie said.

County Supervisor Dianne Jacob said that having senior citizens to mentor youth might help. Programs that counsel troubled youngsters and families before violence erupts also have a role. She said she is trying to develop plans and enlist support from the state government for them.

Following the shootings at Santana and Granite Hills in the Grossmont Union High School District, Superintendent Granger Ward began assembling a Lessons Commission that will look at ideas like those as it tries to find ways to make campuses as safe and secure as possible. Families connecting and opening up the lines of communication are among the most important lessons to take from the shootings, Ward said.