Most students misbehave in school because of past traumatic school experiences or their need for attention, control, or revenge. We even like to test our teachers to see how far they'll let us slide before consequences attack. Some students want to be the center of attention, they tend to do anything to be noticed by the class. They also feel the need to be in control over teachers and other students because its permitted at home. Most high schoolers have been victims of bullying in the past which causes them to retaliate on other or even new students. We all have background stories, that no teacher, student, or staff could ever understand. In Southern California, a 16-year-old sophomore was arrested after emailing a "hit list" of people he planned to kill at The NOVA Academy Charter School to his ex-girlfriend. Before listing over 10 students he desired to murder, he stated that he was "tired of being bullied." He said he was going to form a group of other students to help him pursue his plan. The schools' principal quickly contacted the police. An urgent restraining order was reported for the ex-girlfriend, the school and also the families of the threatened students. The suspect is lawfully restrained from coming within 100 yards of the school. The school dealt with the misconduct by allowing equipped security guards to stay on campus from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m., Monday through Friday until the beginning of the student's spring break. The boy was taken into custody and placed at a juvenile hall as his punishment.
If I had the opportunity to speak to the teachers or administrators involved about how they handled the situation, I would tell them that they did an great job with the punishment and keeping themselves as well as the students calm during the incident. My main focused questions would be "If the student was really being bullied, did anyone know?" and "If so, how did it get to the point of revenge?" In my opinion, someone has to be bullied for a great amount of time before having the desperate desire to murder dozens of schoolmates.
