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Etiology
of School Slaughter Once again the headlines and our hearts were ripped with the violence of a senseless school shooting spree, this time in sunny Santee, California with its clean well-kept homes and small town atmosphere. I've been to Santee. A long time and dear friend lives there. How could such a horrible thing happen in Santee? It could happen here in Dothan, Alabama. It could happen in your home town. Because neither geography, nor economics, nor demographics of any sort have a thing to do with this madness, it could happen anywhere. Much has been said about peer torment, rejection or hazing as an underlying cause, and indeed even the shooters themselves have named "being picked on" as a primary motivation... but I don't buy it. Were they persecuted by their peers? No doubt! To a greater or lesser extent kids of all ages are tormented by their counterparts... It's a sad but universal condition. As is so well illustrated in Michael Powers' story below, no matter how "popular" or "cool," every kid is picked on, bullied and belittled by his or her peers at some point, just as you were and I was, but we didn't respond by randomly shooting our teachers and classmates! These killer kids did not seek out their tormentors but shot anyone at hand. It was the killing itself, not the individual victims, which spurred the fatal frenzies... Have we not seen the same grizzly scene also acted out by adults? What of the Chucky Cheese shootings in Denver or the rage vented on postal workers by an ex-coworker? Whether in the school house or the work place, such killers tend to seek a venue where people they know will be most effected or take greater notice. It is also a venue representing some sort of authority in their lives, but I am convinced that real or imagined wrongs play an insignificant role in producing a mass of random killings. No, the craziness of wanton massacre is not conceived in the womb of desperation or fear, nor even born of revenge for such common wrongs, rather it is the lawless spawn of pure evil and fathered by satan himself... and we have invited him in! In its zeal to illiminate any hint of association between church and state, this society has swept its house clean of values and stands dangerously empty, so precariously unguarded that moral hedges have been mowed to the ground and the door stands open to any evil. When lines of right and wrong are crossed publicly and with impunity by the nation's leaders, they become increasingly indistinct and soon are blurred into nonexistence. Little surprise then that we are ready to accept phony excuses from mass murderers. Little surprise that we have mass murderers... even in our schools. Eighteen
Years Late Junior high is probably the worst time in young people's lives. Bodies are changing in ways they never thought possible, and they spend most of their time trying to fit into a mold that peers have formed for them. Gone are the days of Elmer's glue, crayons, and the tiny scissors with the rounded edges. (Yes, they are trusted with the sharp-edged scissors in junior high.) From here on out, they have their own lockers, carry their books to each class, and start making their own decisions about which classes to take. Oh yeah, I almost forgot. They have to take showers in front of their peers! Naked!!!!!!! AAARRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!! What I remember most about junior high, however, was the incredible pain and heartache that students inflicted on one another with their words and actions. There were students who seemed to have it all together, and made those around them feel as if they didn't measure up. It wasn't until much later that I learned that those who ripped on others suffered from a terrible self-image, so in order to make themselves feel better, they tore others down. In fact, they were usually a totally different person from the one they presented to the outside world. I didn't have the best self-image in junior high, and there were two things that I fell back on to be accepted: athletics and humor. I have always been a decent athlete, which brought a certain confidence and comfort level in my life, and I have always been able to make people laugh. At times the laughter came at another's expense, unfortunately, and most times I didn't fully realize what I was doing to the self-images of those around me, particularly one classmate of mine. Her name was Tracy and she had a crush on me. Instead of nicely letting her know that I wasn't interested in her, I got caught up in trying to be funny, with her being the brunt of my jokes. I am ashamed now to think of how I treated her in seventh grade. I went out of my way to make things miserable for her. I made up songs about her, and even wrote short stories in which I had to save the world from Tracy the evil villain. That all changed about half way through the year, however. Mr. Greer, my physical education teacher, came up to me one day. "Hey, Mike, you got a second?" "Sure, Mr. Greer!" I said. Everybody loved Mr. Greer, and I looked up to him like a father. "Mike, I heard a rumor that you were going around picking on Tracy?" He paused and looked me straight in the eye. It seemed like an eternity before he continued. "You know what I told the person I heard that from? I told them it couldn't possibly be true. The Mike Powers I know would never treat another person like that. Especially a young lady." I gulped, but said nothing. He gently put his hand on my shoulder and said, "I just thought you should know that." Then he turned and walked away without a backward glance, leaving me to my thoughts. That very day I stopped picking on Tracy. I knew that the rumor was true, and that I had let my role-model down by my actions. More importantly, though, it made me realize how badly I must have hurt this girl and others for whom I had made life difficult. It was probably a couple of months later before I fully realized the incredible way in which Mr. Greer had handled the problem. He not only made me realize the seriousness of my actions, but he did it in a way that helped me to save some of my pride. My respect and love for him grew even stronger after that. I don't think I ever apologized to Tracy for my hurtful words and actions. She moved away the next year, and I never saw her again. While I was very immature as a seventh grader, I still should have known better. In fact, I did know better, but it took the wisdom of my favorite teacher to bring it out into the light. So, Tracy, if you're out there, I am truly sorry for the way that I treated you, and I ask for your forgiveness--something I should have done eighteen years ago. Michael T. Powers Teaching
Math Teaching Math in 1950: A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price. What is his profit? Teaching Math in 1960: A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price, or $80. What is his profit? Teaching Math in 1970: A logger exchanges a set "L" of lumber for a set "M" of money. The cardinality of set "M" is 100. Each element is worth one dollar. The set "C", the cost of production contains 20 fewer points than set M. What is the cardinality of the set "P" of profits? Teaching Math in 1980: A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80 and his profit is $20. Your assignment: Underline the number 20. Teaching Math in 1990: By cutting down beautiful forest trees, the logger makes $20. What do you think of this way of making a living? Topic for class participation after answering the question? How did the forest birds and squirrels feel as the logger cut down the trees? There are no wrong answers. Teaching Math in 1996: By laying off 402 of its loggers, a company improves its stock price from $80 to $100. How much capital gain per share does the CEO make by exercising his stock options at $80. Assume capital gains are no longer taxed, because this encourages investment. Teaching Math in 1997: A company outsources all of its loggers. They save on benefits and when demand for their product is down the logging work force can easilybe cut back. The average logger employed by the company earned $50,000, had 3 weeks vacation, received a nice retirement plan and medical insurance. The contracted logger charges $50 an hour. Was outsourcing a good move? Teaching Math in 1998: A logging company exports its wood-finishing jobs to its Indonesian subsidiary and lays off the corresponding half of its US workers (the higher-paid half). It clear-cuts 95% of the forest, leaving the rest for the spotted owl, and lays off all its remaining US workers. It tells the workers that the spotted owl is responsible for the absence of fellable trees and lobbies Congress for exemption from the Endangered Species Act. Congress instead exempts the company from all federal regulation. What is the return on investment of the lobbying?
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