DEADLY DREAMS: WHAT MOTIVATES SCHOOL SHOOTINGS?

By: Frank J. Robertz

Published: Scientific American; Monday, December 17 2012; http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=deadly-dreams

If the link doesn’t work, I would google it; that always works. The same article was also published in the August 2007 issue of Scientific American Mind but avoid that because you will have to pay for access.

Note to the Student: It is suggested you seek out a related video to watch first.

Level of Difficulty:***

BEFORE YOU READ

1.       How many instances of school shootings do you recall and which parts of the world did they mainly take place in?

2.       Can you think of any reasons why school shootings take part in the said parts of the world?

3.       What, in your view can be done to prevent the reoccurrence of such horrific crimes?

QUESTIONS

1. Three examples of mass shootings are listed at the beginning of the text. What pattern do these crimes reflect?
2. What has been the consequence of the rise in school shootings?
3. What desire on the part of the perpetrator provides a fertile seedbed for the emergence of a school shooter?
4. At what point along the path towards a school shooting could a potential perpetrator be detected?
5. Pinpointing potential adolescent shooters early on is important both in terms of ……………………………………………………… and in terms of …………………………………………………………
6. What are the three advantages of fantasies and daydreams?
7. Benefitting from the above advantages is dependent on having ………………………………………..
8. Read the example of Cho. How can we summarize his personality?
9. Why exactly are those who have suffered violence at an early age more prone to violence? Because they believe that …………………………………………………………………………………………………..
10. How does the media unwittingly feed this belief?
11. What is another external source that fuels these violent fantasies?
12. Bosse probably targeted his old school in Germany because …………………………………………………
13. Read the example describing Castillio’s build up to the shooting. What conclusion can we draw from this?
14. What does “it” refer to in the phrase “it was reason enough to kill” and how can the resulting crime be best described?
15. Harris and Klebold went on their shooting sprees because they wished to ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
16. Bosse’s post on an online forum could be characterized as …………………………………………………
17. What does the phrase “Such communications” in the sentence “Such communications should not be ignored” refer to?
18. What are the warning signs professionals need to look out for?
19. The writer says it is important to “exercise judgment if someone is carrying a potentially dangerous object” Such judgment is vital because the lack of it ……………………………………………
20. “Seminars that advise students on ways to discover their talents and interests and how to use them” will benefit the would -be school shooters by helping to provide …………………………
21. Why is “building and maintaining relationships with socially accepted people” the best safeguard against violent crime?
22. The advice given in the last paragraph but one can best be described as ………………………………
23. It is suggested in the text that the media should shift its attention to …………………………………

WRITING TASK

After watching a few videos on school shootings and doing a little more reading – GUNS, MENTAL ILLNESS AND NEWTOWN; By: David Kopel; Published December 17, 2012; The Wall Street Journal; wsj.com  and AFTER NEWTOWN SHOOTING, IS IT TIME TO TALK ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH AND CRIME? By: Philip Oltermann; December 18, 2012; www.guardian.co.uk -   Write an essay analyzing the problem of school shootings. Use the plan below.

In your introduction, introduce crime, and then discuss violent crime and the rise in school shootings. State the need to address the problem. State that in order to devise solutions for the problem the character of the perpetrators and the factors contributing to this horrific crime need to be analyzed.

In the first paragraph of your development, discuss the characteristic features of the perpetrators

In the second paragraph of your development, discuss the factors contributing to this type of crime like the example set by previous shooters, the media interest, coverage on the web, access to weapons and the like.

In the third paragraph of your development, suggest measures that can be taken to address the issue.

In your conclusion, make a restatement. While doing so remember that a restatement is not a repetition of anything you have written thus far. The ideas may be the same but the language has got to be different.

DEADLY DREAMS: WHAT MOTIVATES SCHOOL SHOOTINGS? KEY AND TEACHER’S NOTES

If this highly topical issue is to be covered in class, I would suggest assigning the Wall Street Journal article and the Guardian article for homework. Ask them to come to class having read and made notes on the said articles. In class, watch a couple of videos on the subject – the web is crawling with them – and then tackle the task at hand. Working this way will enable you to do the writing activity in class the same day – an invaluable move! If you are working on your own, you know the drill: everything gets done at one go to enable flow of information and more successful learning.

1. They were premeditated and choreographed down to the weapons used and the clothes worn.
2. Efforts to unravel the roots of such deviance and to help educators, parents and psychologists recognize the signs of trouble before a problem escalates
3. A yearning for recognition
4. When they increasingly begin to leak their thoughts and plans to friends, chat rooms and even media outlets.
5. Preventing them from descending into a destructive fantasy world/ reacting expediently in the event of an imminent or actual school shooting.
6. They stimulate productive human activity, drive healthy psychological development and they diffuse tension (the rest is not necessary).
7. A healthy mind.
8. Excessively introverted and lacking strong social attachments.
9. Violence is the only way to gain recognition.
10. They shower media attention on previous school shooters.
11. Violent or violence promoting movies, games and websites.
12. He experienced the worst slights in school.
13. Would be shooters seem to advance ineluctably toward their idols.
14. The abuse ; righteous slaughter
15. Demonstrate their omnipotence and / or to become masters of life and death. Paint themselves as gods doesn’t fit because they see themselves as gods anyway; they just wished to make the rest of the world see.
16. A cry for help
17. Cho’s mailing of a package of homemade videos, photographs and writing to NBC and Castillio’s video to a local newspaper.
18. Aggressive intentions, an interest in obtaining guns, collecting movies and posters of shooters, visits to fan websites for school shooters, depression and access to weapons.
19. Perpetuates fear and hurts students.
20. Respect
21. Because the potential criminal is apt to feel he has too much at stake to act out his brutal dreams.
22. Social training
23. The consequences of the crime