[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 83 (Monday, June 14, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H4212-H4213]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        STOPPING SCHOOL VIOLENCE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Connecticut (Mrs. Johnson) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mrs. JOHNSON of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, I rise to address an issue 
that concerns every parent in America and every child: school violence. 
The tragedy in Littleton, Colorado was a national wakeup call to all of 
us. Whether it is a form of rebellion, a means of revenge, intentional 
brutality and viciousness, or simply a way to make their voices heard, 
more and more students are resorting to acts of astounding violence and 
brutality, taking the lives of their fellow students and teachers.
  Fortunately, some students are trying to do something about this. 
Last week, I had the pleasure of visiting the Clara T. O'Connell School 
in Bristol, Connecticut. What I found there gave me a sense of hope 
that our children do not want to live in a world of guns and violence.

                              {time}  1845

  Students at the O'Connell school recently completed a 10-week program 
entitled ``Bullyproofing,'' the purpose of which was to teach them ways 
of combatting bullying and avoiding violence.
  As part of this program, students conducted a survey of their 
classmates in grades 1 through 5, asking two important questions: 
First, do you watch scary or violent movies; and second, do your 
parents know you watch scary and violent movies? The results of this 
survey are unsettling. What the students did with them with you truly 
encouraging.
  Those kids wrote an open letter to their parents asking them for 
help: ``Dear parents and guardians: Do you know what your children are 
going through? We would like to talk about being afraid. Do you know 
what your children are watching? Do you want your children to watch 
scary movies? Do you know how late they are staying up? Do you think 
your children will get ideas from scary movies? Why do you let them 
watch scary movies? Do you make sure they are doing the right things?''
  These are the questions we and our children might want to answer.
  One student says, ``Don't let your children watch scary movies. 
Please

[[Page H4213]]

help us guard what we watch on TV, movies and videos. Our O'Connell 
survey shows 89 percent of CTO kids watch scary movies and 75 percent 
of O'Connell parents know they watch scary movies. We think these 
results are scary! Yours Truly, Mrs. Brooks' 4th Grade Class. P.S. 
Could you please guide us and pay attention to what we are watching?''
  These children and so many more throughout America are crying out for 
help. They want guidance. They want to be told what is right and what 
is wrong. We parents have an obligation to give our children this 
guidance. We need to do a better job of watching what our children 
watch, talking to them about what they are seeing, and providing them 
with positive alternatives to watching scary shows.
  We need to follow the Ten Commandments as laid down by one of the 
grade schools in my district. These are their Ten Commandments: ``Read, 
read, read, read, read, read, read, read, read, read.'' They have those 
Ten Commandments posted throughout that school.
  I will tell the Members, instead of fear, instead of the stuff of 
nightmares, those kids are going to sleep thinking about the story they 
have read with their parents, the conversations that it has spawned, 
the adventures life offers to us all, the world and the exploration of 
that world through which they gain so much in knowledge and spirit.
  Yes, it is through reading together that we and our children can talk 
about bullying, about violence, about love, about opportunity, about 
freedom, and responsibility. Listen to these fourth grade kids of Mrs. 
Brooks' class. They are talking to all of us today.

                          ____________________