Persuasive Speech On School Shootings

1,056: the number of people fatally shot or wounded on K-12 campuses in America within the last five years. We all know of the major problem facing the United States today: the increase of school shootings. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. urged safety for people of color and all people in America for over a decade in the 1950’s, yet the issue of violence and lack of safety still prevails today in different ways than in the past. Shootings in schools continue to violate students’ safety, keeping us from the peace for which Dr. King preached. With lack of support from school systems, the increase of school shootings in the US shows the result of poor mental health in students, and more accessibility to mental health help and support in

With over 300 shooting incidents on school grounds in 2022, the year marked the record for most shootings in over four decades. One of the most violent years for youth in America. The deaths of 32 students and 8 school employees show the tragic reality of these shootings. 300 shooting incidents on school grounds in 2022, compared to 250 in 2021, and 114 in 2020. A drastic increase. A decade earlier, 2010 saw 15 school shootings. An indescribable difference between the years. Over and over again, the public recognizes the issue, yet nothing changes.

During the civil rights movement, Dr. King noticed that nobody stood up against the oppression and discrimination towards Black Americans. During a speech in 1965 he said, “The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people, but the silence over that by the good people.” Although this quote is attributed to Dr. King decades ago, it is very applicable to today’s issue with the state of school

Schools have tried to combat the issue by trying to make mental health help more accessible, like through a survey or encouraging postures. These changes made to the school system and community still aren’t enough to keep children safe at school. After another tragedy, social media and the community bring awareness to the issue, but it fades away quickly with nothing being done about it. An example of this is the shooting in Des Moines, Iowa that occurred on January 23, 2023. What was it? The incident reached the news, however, media coverage isn’t going to resolve the ongoing issue of school safety. As a society, we must do