About 25 years ago I was moving with IBM. They were going to move us to the Atlanta area. When I went on a house hunting trip before the move, I was seeking a community where I could send my children to a good school. When I told the realtors the school was my primary concern when choosing a place to live, they all assured me that we would love the schools. They went on to tell me that the doors are chained during the days and they had armed guards at the only unchained entrance. I had to clarify that I was talking about school for my elementary age children, not a prison system. They said they understood and that’s what they were talking about.

The point is, I left IBM instead of being forced to move to the Atlanta area and we moved i stead to NW Florida to take a job paying a little less. After placing my children in the local Florida school, I found the teacher for our 3rd grader to be exceptional and always seeking involvement from all parents. Our 5th grader, on the other hand had a horrendous teacher who refused to allow parent involvement (grading papers, chaperoning on outings, etc...). Within 1 semester our 5th grader went from loving learning and school to indifference to dreading it. She was still getting straight As, but I didn’t care about the grades as much as the learning. We ended up taking her out of school and homeschooling her.

We retaught her the entire 5th grade in the next 5 months (averaging 10-12 hours per day). She took the ITBS and scored above the 90th percentile in all areas and most importantly, she loved learning and school again. The next year we wanted to put her back into public school, but she pleaded to continue with home schooling. We agreed and this year was only 2-4 hrs per day of formal book learning and the rest of the day was spent on interests based learning. She continued to test in the highest percentiles on the national exams and we didn’t return her to public school until high school, where we placed her in their most advanced program (international baccalaureate) and she continued to score very high. She wasn’t the Valedictorian, but was in the top of her class and was also a letterman in sports and the commander of her JROTC unit.

Many people condemned me and called me an abuser because we homeschooled and didn’t have a TV for several years. My wife was condemned for being a stay at home Mom and we had to cut back on all the luxuries like a second car and regular vacations, etc..., but our children were safe, happy, healthy, well adjusted and loved. Our sacrifices paid off as our children are successful. After receiving their Bachelor’s degrees, they worked for a period of time at good careers before getting pregnant and becoming stay at home mothers like their mother had been. We enjoy a wonderful relationship with our daughters, sons-in-law and eight grandchildren.
BTW, one of our daughters married a man who was homeschooled with 8 of his10 siblings until he went to college. He has a master’s degree and is getting ready to pin the rank of Major in the Air Force.

There were no shootings at any of our children’s schools nor at their children’s schools and my wife and I, along with both our daughters and their husbands have conceal carry licenses. We have no desire to ever use a weapon on any person, but wouldn’t hesitate to stop a mass shooting nor to protect our loved ones with those weapons. Glad we live in a country (and state) where law abiding people can carry a weapon and protect themselves and others against those who carry weapons illegally and/or use them to do harm.

Not that you people should care, but here in Europe schools are gated and any visitor must be buzzed in. And the fact is: private schools in America, where anti-gun politicians and millionaires send their children, are also gated, have armed security, and visitors must be buzzed in. You don't hear about shootings in those schools, do you? GEE, I WONDER WHY!

The mentally flawed guys will go on killing sprees into the shopping malls, to the churches, the cinemas, the universities, the hotels.... where ever lots of people gather.
Do you want to turn the U.S. into a country of fortresses?

I think there's a better answer, home school the children.