Books, Blackboards, and Bullets

The sad fact is that many youths and children do not feel safe either at school or at home. In recent years, there have been increases in bullying, teacher assault, and student-to-student physical altercations. Nearly every school child has witnessed violence at school firsthand. The search for answers as to why children use violence must be an ongoing conversation that challenges the myths and perceptions around the issue of school and personal violence.
Intended for educators and parents, Books, Blackboards, and Bullets focuses on key issues for identification of school shooters and shootings. While explaining factors that increase the likeliness of student violence, Marcel Lebrun introduces many different perspectives that may be effective in working with troubled populations in our schools. He provides many strategies for dealing with difficult or violent youths, empowering educators to act to prevent school shootings. The book also provides checklists and assessment tools for evaluating possible dangers as well as a list of resources that educators can use in their daily work.

Marcel Lebrun is associate professor of education at Plymouth State University, New Hampshire. In 29 years as an educator prior to his current post, he has been a classroom teacher, administrator, school counselor, and special education teacher. He was the director of a Stress and Anxiety Clinic from 1994-2002 and a university counselor from 2002-2005. Lebrun serves on the leadership team for the Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports initiative in New Hampshire and provides consulting services to several school districts in need of improvement, working mostly with school personnel around student issues in violence, aggression, functional assessment, and mental health concerns. Lebrun was recently honored with Distinguished Professor of the Year for 2008.

Chapter 1 Looking at the Problem of School Violence
Chapter 2 Statistics: Past and Present
Chapter 3 Profile of a School Shooter
Chapter 4 Bullying
Chapter 5 Family Violence
Chapter 6 Suicide
Chapter 7 School Crisis Prevention and Intervention
Chapter 8 Postvention: Supporting Students and Staff after a Disaster
Chapter 9 Safe Schools: Welcoming Place
Chapter 10 Crisis and Corrective Teaching
Chapter 11 School Curriculum
Chapter 12 School Shootings and the Media
Chapter 13 Gangs
Chapter 14 Personal Stories of Pain and Violence
Chapter 15 Anti-Violence Resources
Chapter 16 Epilogue