Saturday, January 20, 2007
JeanCirillo, a clinical psychologist who studies teen behavior out of Massapequa, N.Y., said administrators are overreacting when they think students will act in a threatening manner after writing about a violent act.
"Kids seek attention this way," Cirillosaid. "There1s nothing that makes a kid feel better than scaring a powerful adult."
She also said writers almost never kill.
"The kids who write these kind of things aren't going to act it out," she said. "They're just standing up to power."
Cirillowent on to say the harsh punishment administrators are giving students who publish these articles solves nothing.
"Rather than taking action like arresting them, it would be better to just tell them it isn't necessary or appropriate to write about killing someone," she said. "The administrators just wanted to make an example to make it go away, but now there is more a chance for it to keep going. The kids now become heroes to others."