Never stop learning

A large focus the past couple weeks for national news and the ever-present social media has been the Florida school shooting, with stories of heartache because of lost friends and family, calls for stricter gun laws and planned student protests.

In times of tragedy such as these and the near constant online posts keeping it fresh in our minds, it can be a challenge to see the positive side to what our schools are doing.

Here in Thermopolis, students in sports and other extra curricular activities, as well as just within their classrooms, are making some exceptional strides. The majority of students are testing above their target scores on their MAP tests, our basketball and wrestling teams continue to show improvement — both eighth grade A and B boys basketball squads won tournaments the past couple weeks — and the high school’s speech and debate team recently brought home a second place finish in 3A, for starters!

The educators are also increasing the knowledge of how to keep students interested in education and deal with those “problem” students.

Will creating stricter gun laws or posting armed officers in school buildings stop shootings? Will those same laws also keep violent crimes from happening in communities? There will always be people to argue one side or another on these points, but there is also the fact that people who have the intent to harm others will do so by any means they can, regardless of what our laws say.

The old adage “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” still holds plenty of truth, but honestly we live in a world where more and more people are getting behind the “words hurt” movement, and many are taking that hurt and using it against others.

One deterrent to developing this sociopathic behavior can come from us, by increasing our own learning about mental illness and what environmental effects and comments can negatively impact others’ perception of themselves and others, particularly as to whether their lives or those of their friends, family or people on the street have any value.