What Were These Children Taught?

With Columbine shootings added to previous public school violence, causative factors have been identified as:  movies; television; video games; access to guns; poor parenting; and peer harassment.

Wouldn't it be logical to explore the environment where students spend the majority of their waking time as a possible contributing factor?  Had these public school students' education included:

  1. Suicide/death education courses where students write their own obituaries, visit funeral homes and cemeteries; listen to songs and read poems about death;
  2. The Lottery/Lifeboat/Bomb Shelter/Man a Course of Study where students select who lives or dies;
  3. a well-known drug education strategy where the student determines if there would be good or bad consequences for taking a gun to school if the student was being harassed;
  4. Dungeons and Dragons;
  5. introduction to a spirit guide through a Guided Imagery strategy;
  6. a personality change through Sensitivity/Human Relations strategies;
  7. stress control through altered states of consciousness (Guilt works through stress.  Some professionals believe learning to bypass the conscience in this manner will produce a person with no conscience.)
  8. loss of hope through constant exposure to violent, morbid, anti-family and anti-country curriculum?

In 1971, a psychiatrist named Dr. Harlan McNutt, who later headed DSHS, warned against the use of esoteric sensitivity training being used in schools.  He stated these practices, when used on adults, could result in personality collapse, including depression, withdrawal, psychotic reactions, and suicidal states.  Further, teachers are not equipped to put the personality pieces back together.

After extensive research of the genesis, history and results of these techniques, I believe he was correct.  I am again asking parents, educators and legislators to investigate whether these strategies could be a major contributing factor in escalating public school violence and suicide.

Cris Shardelman

Washington State

© May 1999

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