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GUNS, DRUGS, AND SUICIDE

Escalation of Troubles

Newspaper headlines from a single week in April 1987 demonstrate an alarming escalation of violence, drug use, and abuse in the nation's schools: "Tennessee Teacher Shot By Special Ed Student in Class," "Reported Abuse Deaths up 29%," "Boy Shot Outside Detroit High School," "NYC Board Sued in Rape Incident at Local School," "Tighter Security Urged after Attack on NYC Principal," "LA Student Shoots Self in Principal's Office," "Cal Student's Parents Sued After Attack on Teacher," "Kentucky Boy Shot at Football Game," "GA Student Fatally Stabs Elementary Principal," "Three Alabama Students Charged With Rape of Classmate," "Boy Kills Classmate, Self in Missouri," "Four NJ Teens Die in Apparent 'Suicide Pact,' "and " 'Copy Cat' Suicide Pacts and Attempts in Three States."

Drug Use and the Schools

Many of the problems with violence, abuse, and suicidal impulses were associated with illegal drugs. In 1979 surveys of student drug use indicated that 54 percent had tried drugs at least once, so it is not surprising that parents consistently listed drug use as their greatest worry about their children's schools in annual surveys from 1980 to 1987. First Lady Nancy Reagan's "Just Say No" campaign in the early 1980s targeted youngsters in elementary schools with the hope of making abstaining the popular choice. The "Just Say No" program replaced the usual lectures about the dangers of drugs with sports, games, and programs aimed at helping children develop the ability to rebuff drug dealers' and users' overtures. During his administration George Bush appropriated more than $250 million of his National Drug Control Strategy (of a total $6.9 billion) for programs in the schools. Former education secretary William Bennett, who left that job to become President Bush's coordinator of drug policy, warned that no schools without valid drug-use policies would receive federal funding. By the late 1980s drug use among students appeared to be declining. A University of Michigan Institute for Social Research study of 16,000 high-school seniors at 130 schools in 1988 revealed that 39 percent of them had tried drugs, down from 42 percent in 1987 and the 54 percent high in 1979. For the first time since its appearance in 1985, use of the powerful cocaine derivative crack declined, as did alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, and PCP. Only cigarette smoking remained constant, with 29 percent of students reporting regular usage. The study attributed these findings to the growing perception of the dangers of illegal drugs.

Guns in the Classroom

Although drug use appeared to wane in the 1980s, violent episodes in the schools—especially involving guns—increased dramatically. Violence may not have been the norm, but it was also not an isolated problem. In 1989 in New York City metal detectors in only five high schools uncovered more than two hundred guns. At Lindbergh Middle School in Long Beach, California, a ten-foot-high, nine-hundred-foot-long concrete wall was erected between the school and a nearby housing project to protect students from flying bullets. The American Federation of Teachers in 1989 reported that 66 percent of member teachers surveyed were scared of violence and gang activity and more than 70 percent knew colleagues who had been victimized by teens. Teachers attributed the problems to the easy access to guns and drugs, a lack of parental supervision, and the influence of violence in the media. Reactions to the violence inevitably pitted students' rights against group safety. One California school, Bassett High in La Puente, began using parent patrols in 1981. After banning baggy clothes, closing all but one entrance (staffed by a full-time guard), removing lockers, and teaching the entire student body a course in conflict resolution, authorities reported that in-school crime had been reduced 50 percent.

Suicide Prevention in the Curriculum

In this culture of frequent drug use and prevalent violence, suicide at-tempts by teenagers became all too frequent. Schools reacted to this escalation by incorporating suicide prevention information into the curriculum. Teachers' continuing education training at in-service workshops frequently centered on ways to detect potential problems and possible referral options for suicidal students. As early as 1982 California became the first state to mandate a state task force to train teachers to counsel students in the after-math of suicide attempts by peers. Several state departments of education added a college course in suicide prevention to certification requirements. Suicide prevention became a popular subject in educational research, and a consensus emerged as to the components of successful programs: 1) preventive efforts that address children at risk for physical, sexual, or psychological abuse; 2) intervention programs involving cooperation among parents, schools, and students; and 3) both long-term and crisis intervention.