The Diminution of Mass Shootings in the United States Will Occur When We Overhaul Public Education So as to Promote Critical Analysis Upon an Abundant Base of Knowledge

When children grow up in situations in which family, religious institutions, and schools fail to provide them with neither a factual information base nor a sense of meaning, they are vulnerable to misinformation derived from nefarious websites and other sources that disseminate messages propounding conspiracy theories;  target racial, ethnic, and religious groups as enemies who have caused life’s vexations;  and promote violent acts.

Unfortunately, many families in the United States will be disastrously imperfect for well into the foreseeable future, and not everyone has regular support from religious and other community institutions that emphasize values leading to behaviors tending toward the common good.

 But children and adolescents spend approximately seven hours in school per day.  If we were to overhaul preK-12 education for the impartation of knowledge sets across the liberal arts, upon which student discussions of policy and human values ensued, we would create a world in which violence diminished greatly and citizens engaged together in addressing the many challenges faced by people of all demographic descriptors in contemporary society.

And thus we must overhaul preK-12 public education for knowledge-intensity and informed critical analysis.

Consider the lamentable loss of life due to mass shootings over the last forty years >>>>>

Perpend  >>>>>  

From, Chris Wilson, Time Magazine, “41 Years of Mass Shootings in the United States in One Chart,” 16 April 2021;  crossed-checked for similar figures in Chris Canipe and Travis Hartman, Reuters, “A Timeline of Mass Shootings in the United States,” 21 March 2021.

1982   >>>>>   8 killed, 3 wounded

1983   >>>>>   -------------------------

1984   >>>>>   27 killed, 20 wounded

1985   >>>>>   -------------------------

1986   >>>>>   14 killed, 5 wounded

1987   >>>>>     6 killed, 14 wounded

1988   >>>>>     7 killed, 4 wounded

1989   >>>>>   13 killed, 41 wounded

1990   >>>>>     8 killed, 6 wounded

1991   >>>>>   32 killed, 26 wounded

1992   >>>>>     8 killed, 10 wounded

1993   >>>>>   22 killed, 34 wounded

1994   >>>>>     4 killed, 23 wounded

1995   >>>>>     5 killed, 0 wounded

1996   >>>>>     5 killed, 1 wounded

1997   >>>>>     8 killed, 5 wounded

1998   >>>>>   13 killed, 36 wounded

1999   >>>>>   44 killed, 54 wounded

2000   >>>>>    7 killed, 0 wounded

2001   >>>>>   4 killed, 4 wounded

2002   >>>>>   -------------------------

2003   >>>>>     6 killed, 8 wounded

2004   >>>>>     4 killed, 7 wounded

2005   >>>>>   16 killed, 9 wounded

2006   >>>>>   18 killed, 7 wounded

2007   >>>>>   51 killed, 32 wounded

2008   >>>>>   16 killed, 24 wounded

2009   >>>>>   38 killed, 37 wounded

2010   >>>>>     8 killed, 2 wounded

2011   >>>>>   18 killed, 21 wounded

2012   >>>>>   67 killed, 68 wounded

2013   >>>>>   31 killed, 13 wounded

2014   >>>>>   17 killed, 28 wounded

2015   >>>>>   46 killed, 43 wounded

2016   >>>>>   71 killed, 83 wounded

2017   >>>>>  117 killed, 4633 wounded

2018   >>>>>   80 killed, 66 wounded

2019   >>>>>   74 killed, 110 wounded

2020   >>>>>     9 killed, 0 wounded

2021   >>>>>   30 killed, 7 wounded