A friend of mine is a kindergarten teacher. She got her master's degree in education last year. This is what she said:

"In the dark on news lately and saw about this Florida shooting.

Reports say the school knew he had issues. Not sure what ever to believe from media/comments, but I will say this...

Even at Kindergarten, I've come across pure evil. Yes, you can tell. Something in their eyes is off. In my 9 years in education, it's apparent that schools are pressured to keep these kids in class, often at the expense of classmates and staff safety, parents throw fits at consequences given or make excuses that make it seem woe is them when they aren't parenting kids wisely, and teachers are forced to deal with these kids in their classrooms with nothing to defend ourselves with.

KINDERGARTEN...

Case in point:

Kid in my classroom, I said all year kid needs help and is a risk to all of us in the classroom and did not belong in the general education room. Nothing done all year except expectations for me to make all these accommodations for kid to not set kid off. Which really is having me and the entire class walking on eggshells to not set kid into a violent rage; therefore not teaching kid that actions have consequences and violence only gets more coddling...much like this woman comforting and rubbing the back of this Florida murderer.

All Summer Long goes by. Here comes first grade. Doesn't last very long before kid is taken out of the general education school and placed in a different facility. No one listened to me, ahh...it's just...JUST Kindergarten. Kid's only 5. Maybe it was finally because kid pushed the grandma down the stairs and broke her hip that someone actually cared to do something. But that could have very well been one of my students or me that could have had a serious injury or even death.

I don't know what the answer is. Can't put metal detectors in every school. They would just go shoot at the grocery store. Can't put metal detectors every single place the public goes. Can't take guns away from everybody because the only people that follow gun laws are the law-abiding citizens that aren't going to be causing problems anyway. If someone wants to commit a gun crime they're going to find the weapons and do it.

I would be the first one to volunteer to carry a weapon in my class. Who knows, I may be able to defend myself against a student who has provided plenty of death threats this year already against me and others.

But as I said above, none of that is heeded no matter how many times I voice my concerns. It's only a matter of time before the student does something horrendous.

At least no one will be able to say that I didn't try. "