What should be done to stop violence in our schools?

We need to raise our children to be more sensitive to others. Almost every shooter has been a kid (or kids) who have been mistreated by other kids. Kids can be really cruel, especially when they're with their friends. I knew a boy who was a punching bag for everyone in a school. I knew his background. He came from a dysfunctional home. Dad would be there sometimes and then leave the family. Mom worked in a daycare and earned little. Dad never worked even when he was around. They lived in their car for awhile. Then someone let them live in a house that was later condemned and they were kicked out. The boy had autism, and he was different from other kids. I remember as a little boy he actually spoke up to a couple of bullies one day. He told them, "I have feelings, too." Of course they didn't listen. By high school he took it from all sides. We didn't allow it in our classrooms, but at lunch he took all kinds of absue. He had milk dumped on him, food thrown at him, people who tried to trip him, and many other kinds of bullying. He never talked much, and he never tried to retaliate in any way. He never ended up doing anything, but what's to say he couldn't have. No one knew what was going on in his mind, and he certainly endured more than I could have taken. It's fine if kids don't like someone because they're different, but why do they have to pick on them?

This is my take on the situation.....There are too many children raising themselves - parents are busy with careers, kids come home to an empty house, there are not enough boundaries, people do not even know what their children are doing most of the time. Just like the Columbine kids - the parents didn't even know the kids had the weapons in the house? Did they never go into the kids rooms? I think that what is going to have to happen is that the grown-ups are going to have to take control again - don't be afraid to discipline your children, give them limits, be their PARENT - not their friend.