In Philadelphia, Pa., the fourth-grade class at Samuel Powel Elementary School has sad experience with violence—one of their instructors, “Teacher Chris” Powers says that 75 percent of them have experienced someone they know being killed by means of a gun. But instead of learning about gun safety or examining the root causes behind such violence, the students—presumably with encouragement from their teachers and nonprofit Need in Deed, which participates in a “service-learning project” with the kids—have opted to take time off school to hold a public demonstration, with blame being directed against guns themselves.
“I matter! You matter! We matter! Guns don’t matter!” was the refrain that the Samuel Powel fourth-graders chanted. While it’s wonderful to see young children being inspired to make a difference in their community, it’s a tragic waste when their own educators fail them by providing such a simplistic and wrong-headed target for their anger.
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