I’ve got to be honest, I wasn’t one of the people who reacted with surprise when I heard about the stabbing murder of a student at a Brisbane high school. (See here for more info.) I was neither shocked or dumbfounded. I was, however, greatly saddened.

Don’t get me wrong; I think this is a terrible, terrible tragedy. One young life has already been lost, and I’m sure another will be, after they spend years in juvenile detention. I cannot, and will not defend anyone – whether they are 13 or 33 – who attacks another human being. It’s morally indefensible.

But I’m not surprised. I’ve taught for 8 years, and in that time, I’ve twice had to remove a knife from a student. Thankfully, I’ve never been in a situation where that knife has been used, but the intentions were there. Pretty scary. It’s a sad fact that students are growing to see knives as a way of getting even or staying safe. Carrying a knife on the way to school has become acceptable to some students. For others, knowing that other students have knives has become commonplace.

Why?

I’m not going to go down a moral crusade here – I, of all people, have no basis to preach to anyone. I’m not going to bring up the old bogey of computer games and violence on TV.  But I think its symptomatic of our society – are we losing our values? Our ethical standing? Or am I just getting old?

I’m not here to whinge, but I find the idea of carrying a knife with intent to use it against another human being abhorrent. As a child, youth and man, I’ve always subscribed to that point of view. I doubt I will ever change. I’m fairly certain a large proportion of people would agree with me. So what has happened to change people’s minds about this? Why is it acceptable to carry a knife? To sort out your problems with violence? Is there some lack of understanding about what this will do? Are we losing the ability to empathise? Now that’s a scary thought.

And think about teachers; once upon a time, the worst thing a teacher had to face was a dirty look from a student. I’m sure you’ve noticed the increase in the physical assaults against teachers by parents and students. Now how long until a teacher is stabbed – perhaps trying to intervene between students wielding knives?

One thing’s for certain, the related media coverage – and the swathe of draconian laws that I’m sure will follow – won’t solve the problem.