Speaking of New Orleans, watch the video embedded in this article by John Merrow (http://takingnote.learningmatters.tv/?p=5730) about an amazing KIPP student who wants to go to Princeton and become a veterinarian – and then consider that she was just MURDERED, as was her boyfriend, another amazing KIPP student. This is so unbelievably tragic:

Christine Marcelin was brutally murdered a few days ago.

So was another KIPP: Believe student, 15-year-old Brandon Adams. The 8th grader was fatally shot a few days before Christine was killed. Brandon was a successful student, a good athlete and a student leader, according to published reports. The two 8th graders were dating.

The school held a vigil, which you can see here.

The speculation is that Brandon got into a playground scuffle a day or two before he was murdered and that the likely killers were the young men he argued with. They went gunning for him and then, perhaps fearing that he had told his girlfriend the names of the guys he had fought with, kidnapped and executed her, then dumped her body in a deserted part of the city.

Six other New Orleans students have been shot and killed this year.

Kids murdering kids is not unique to New Orleans. We've seen mass murders on college campuses in Virginia and California, and school killings since the Columbine High School massacre in 1999 have become almost routine.

This is not happening because today's kids are different. Adolescents are no more volatile, insecure, energetic and full of doubt than any previous generation. What's different is that guns are available.

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A Deafening Silence

by John Merrow on 04. May, 2012 in 2012 Blogs

http://takingnote.learningmatters.tv/?p=5730