Education

Schools can prevent massacres along the lines of Columbine by teaching students how to be "more human." However, in order to teach how to be more human, teachers and educational professionals must keep up-to-date on the changing needs and desires of their students. Knowledge of popular culture helps, but that knowledge must be tempered with common sense. The teacher serves as a role model who can counteract the negative images in popular culture and simultaneously guide students toward positive role models they admire.

They view school and their teachers as enemies. If schools were more intent on fostering personal growth and development than on meeting arbitrary standards or on following outmoded curricula, then students may be more inclined to act more humane toward their fellow students. Part of the problem also lies with the parents and with the society at large. Parents need to be more actively engaged in the creative stimulation of their children, fostering artistic and athletic development as much as on mathematical and English skills. Similarly, students need to become more media literate, as the media is such an integral aspect of their learning.

2. Nutrition is one of the most important ascpects of education in modern American society. With so many overweight and unhealthy students, schools must include nutrition as part of the regular curricula. Similarly, parents have a responsibility to feed their children well and not rely on commercial advertising to tell their children what they should eat.

To implement a school nutrition program, school lunches must be changed to healthy meals that taste good. Fresh vegetables that are not overcooked but prepared with healthy butter or oils and herbs; fish and light proteins that are similarly not overcooked; whole grains and healthy desserts are all possible within a tight budget. Too often school cafeterias offer tater tots, hot dogs, and prefabricated frozen pizzas that are devoid of taste as much as they are devoid of nutrition. Therefore, all schools should completely transform their cafeteria offerings.