shootings in school

While i was reading i figured out something about this book that is HUGE. Every day kids head off to school for to learn valuable lessons.....both academic and social. In a perfect world, a child’s biggest worry should be the homework they forgot to do, or the gym shorts they left at home. But the reality is that these days, kids have a lot more to deal with, and this sometimes includes extreme violence in schools. 19 Minutes comes across the subject of what happens when a child is pushed beyond their limit, and embarks on a shooting spree at school. A mere 19 minutes is all it takes for Peter Houghton’s life – and the lives of his victims – to change forever.

While Jodi Picoult’s novel is fictional, there are haunting similarities to real-life incidents that have become more and more common over the recent years. It brings to mind horrifying events such as the Columbine school massacre and the Virginia Tech. massacre. In Picoult’s version, however, the young gunman is captured alive, allowing the author to probe the reason behind the teen’s violent escapade. What follow’s is a heart-wrenching look into the years of bullying leading up to the fateful day when Peter walks into school and opens fire on fellow pupils. I was torn between shock and pity. Shock at the cold and calculated manner in which the massacre takes place, and pity or perhaps more appropriately, empathy – towards the shooter, who endures constant bullying and humiliation at the hands of his peers. Did the real-life perpetrators of school shootings undergo the same treatment? What leads to such an awful crossroad at which a teenager hopes for a sure death after going on a shooting spree? And what can we as students do to make sure it never happens again?