Sociological Effects Of The Columbine Massacre

On April 20th, 1999, peace was disrupted in the small town of Littleton, Colorado. Two teenagers stormed Columbine High School, armed, and preformed a mass shooting. Before the Columbine massacre, school shootings were almost unheard of. The Columbine shooting was considered the largest mass shooting of this time as the teens killed thirteen people and wounded over twenty others. This tragic event marked history in the United States. The Columbine Massacre was an integral part of American history because it allowed for the investigation of public high schools, it brought about studies of the neurological effects of being an outcast as a young adult, it provoked the talk of gun violence in the United States, and it started a widespread sense

As more and more information came up after the shooting, it hit the hearts of many people in the United States. Parents struggled to send their kids to school, which before was a positive place where students could learn with their friends. Teachers worried for their lives but even more for the lives of their students when they arrived at school every morning. Furthermore, children and teenagers were instilled with fear of schools. The feeling that parents, children, teachers, and most everyone during this time felt can best be described as terror. In an article by Frank A. Stancato, he explains how the Columbine Massacre should cause a social shift in the goals of teachers. They should realize that being a high school teacher travels far beyond the education itself as it is important to help the students with their “concept of self” (Stancato 2003, 19). Before April 20th, 1999, High School was a place for students to learn and teachers were to remain uninvolved with the students' emotions. For example, Columbine High School was a place filled with bullying and harassment where teachers or authority figures saw this and remained silent. In an environment like this, it is inevitable that students will act out which could lead to many forms of violence. With an adjusted social school environment, this could be avoided. After Columbine, most school authority figures became educated on the social cues that could lead to violent behavior in schools (Stancato 2003, 20). This was a step in the right direction for the United States considering the reputation of high schools in the past. One thing that must be remembered is that no matter how much education they receive, schools cannot predict when an event like this may happen. Because of this, over the years schools have greatly updated their systems of security as well as kept their teachers educated on the recent findings