Since I returned to working full-time, mornings are best to connect one-on-one with the girls. As they shower, dress, and prepare for school, Nia and Layla fill me in about new assignments, upcoming field trips and the fun things that happen during the week.

So when the terrifying stories of school shootings were reported—–one happening in Kentucky, another in the small town of Italy, TX, with yet another one occuring in Florida just last week—–the three of us heard the details together. The pervasiveness of on-campus violence is a development that I will never get used to, and no matter what type of weapon is involved, any attack on a child, no matter who perpetrates it, is one attack too many. When a teen has enough rage to allegedly brandish a .380 semi-automatic weapon and target his peers, guns and gun safety are only half the dilemma. According to multiple accounts re the Italy, TX. attack, classmate Cassie Shook, reported warning signs to school officials years earlier, when the assailant allegedly included her name on a “hit list.” The same student also reported that alleged shooter hurled scissors at a classmate the previous year and destroyed a computer by throwing it against the wall. At press time, Italy Independent School District’s Superintendent, Lee Joffre, declined to comment about the suspect’s return to campus and how long they were aware of his tendencies.

Luckily, the 15-year-old victim, who was reportedly shot four times in the school cafeteria before classes started, lived despite her injuries and is now recovering in a Dallas hospital. As the community comes to terms with the shocking ordeal and begins the healing process, we can only hope that the suspect’s anger issues and access to deadly weapons is part of the uncomfortable, yet essential, dialogue.

Our girls have been encouraged, for as long as they could walk and talk, to stand up for themselves when confronted with bad behaviors. They have been taught to be considerate, yet not to tolerate ugly words or actions. So I was glad that Nia, our sixth grader, shared with us that a school peer who rides the bus with her each morning—-a boy I’ll call “Donald”—-called her “the b-word and the a-word.”

I turned the volume down and asked her for more details. When she calmly related what Donald said to her and how his friends laughed, I told her that she had until the end of the school day to report it to a teacher or that I would make a complaint myself. “Nia, the fact that a young person is so quick to spew hateful words at you that way is not cool. That’s verbal abuse and you don’t have to tolerate it. Let us know what happens and write down any other time he does it again.”

Nia reported it to a teacher, who spoke with Donald. However, when school resumed the following week, Donald greeted Nia on the bus with more colorful language….and a kick. That’s when my “Mrs-Jackson-If-You’re-Nasty” side finally kicked in. I called the campus, the busing supervisor and also met with the principal to report Donald’s hostility and aggression.

To some, my response may seem overactive because, to them, ‘words are just words’ and it’s normal for kids to scuffle. Maybe that’s true…..but the year isn’t 1988. We are all here in 2018, with multiple school shootings in this nation alone since Jan. 23 that have already tainted the promise of a new year. If ‘Donald’ is angry enough pick a fight with a pre-teen girl, then his ‘hair-trigger temper’ can go from figurative to literal in a heartbeat. The path of our young people are already rocky enough….the last thing any of them need are adults who derail their lives’ destinies by failing to heed the signs.