CROMWELL — -
Craig Scott remembers the popping sound of gunshots as he hid in the library at Columbine High School that day 10 years ago.
"Just a few minutes earlier I was joking around with my friends and the next minute I was watching them die," Scott said. "I thought my heart was going to stop beating. My ears were ringing so much from the noise of the shots I thought they were bleeding."
But that wasn't the worst of it. He managed to escape outside and was hiding behind a police cruiser when someone said, "I think that girl's been shot over there." He looked at the girl lying on the grass. It was his sister, Rachel.
Scott, now 26, described those moments Tuesday in a powerful anti-violence message that encourages students and others to make positive cultural changes in their schools. He was speaking at a conference for 500 guidance counselors from around the state.
Inspired by his older sister's character and compassion, Scott, of Aurora, Colo., has been spreading a message through a program called Rachel's Challenge that encourages students and others to be kind, look for the best in others and choose positive influences rather than the dark ones that motivated the shooters that day.
He explained that the shooters, Dylan Klebold, 17, and Eric Harris, 18, had focused on very violent, dark movies and video games and had made a point of not getting close to anyone in the last few weeks of their lives. They killed 13 people — 12 students and a teacher — before killing themselves on April 20, 1999.
Scott, a dynamic speaker wearing jeans and an untucked dress shirt, told the counselors packed into a conference room at the Crowne Plaza hotel to help students look for positive influences and to never lose sight of their dreams.
Showing a PowerPoint video that contrasted news videos of the Columbine massacre with photos of his smiling sister and uplifting quotes from her journal, he said his sister was inspired by the words of Anne Frank.
Rachel Scott often went out of her way for others, stopping to help someone with a flat tire or speaking out against bullying, he said. One time, she saw two high school guys beating up on another student who was mentally and physically slower than the others. She stepped between them and held up a fist, saying that if they touched him one more time, they would have to deal with her. The tormentors left.
"Rachel didn't know it, but at the time she reached out to him," Scott said, referring to the student who was being beaten, "he had been thinking about taking his own life."
One of the biggest issues he has identified is that students feel isolated and disconnected, he said.
Rachel's gesture, which helped the student hang on, illustrates the type of kind acts and words students can take to connect with disenfranchised students and help foster a climate of kindness in school, he said.
Scott further engaged the audience by asking everyone to stand up, link arms and sway back and forth, singing "Lean on Me." His story seemed to touch many in the room, who quietly dabbed away tears as he talked.
Suffield High School counselor Robert St. Amand was impressed by Scott's courage in reliving such a painful memory every week. Scott's message underscores how important it is to teach students about the value of good character, he said.
"We are so concerned about how our schools perform in the classroom and on tests, but we also have to take care of each other," St. Amand said.
The daylong conference, organized around the theme of how school counselors impact the school climate, also offered workshops on cyber-bullying awareness, school violence and creating a college-going culture.
The underlying goal is to help students build their self-esteem, feel less marginalized and connected to the school community, said Kathleen Scully, president of the Connecticut School Counselor Association, which sponsored the event
"Grades can't be focused on to the exclusion of other skills like character, compassion and peaceful resolution to problems," Scully said.
"Just a few minutes earlier I was joking around with my friends and the next minute I was watching them die," Scott said. "I thought my heart was going to stop beating. My ears were ringing so much from the noise of the shots I thought they were bleeding."
But that wasn't the worst of it. He managed to escape outside and was hiding behind a police cruiser when someone said, "I think that girl's been shot over there." He looked at the girl lying on the grass. It was his sister, Rachel.
Scott, now 26, described those moments Tuesday in a powerful anti-violence message that encourages students and others to make positive cultural changes in their schools. He was speaking at a conference for 500 guidance counselors from around the state.
Inspired by his older sister's character and compassion, Scott, of Aurora, Colo., has been spreading a message through a program called Rachel's Challenge that encourages students and others to be kind, look for the best in others and choose positive influences rather than the dark ones that motivated the shooters that day.
He explained that the shooters, Dylan Klebold, 17, and Eric Harris, 18, had focused on very violent, dark movies and video games and had made a point of not getting close to anyone in the last few weeks of their lives. They killed 13 people — 12 students and a teacher — before killing themselves on April 20, 1999.
Scott, a dynamic speaker wearing jeans and an untucked dress shirt, told the counselors packed into a conference room at the Crowne Plaza hotel to help students look for positive influences and to never lose sight of their dreams.
Showing a PowerPoint video that contrasted news videos of the Columbine massacre with photos of his smiling sister and uplifting quotes from her journal, he said his sister was inspired by the words of Anne Frank.
Rachel Scott often went out of her way for others, stopping to help someone with a flat tire or speaking out against bullying, he said. One time, she saw two high school guys beating up on another student who was mentally and physically slower than the others. She stepped between them and held up a fist, saying that if they touched him one more time, they would have to deal with her. The tormentors left.
"Rachel didn't know it, but at the time she reached out to him," Scott said, referring to the student who was being beaten, "he had been thinking about taking his own life."
One of the biggest issues he has identified is that students feel isolated and disconnected, he said.
Rachel's gesture, which helped the student hang on, illustrates the type of kind acts and words students can take to connect with disenfranchised students and help foster a climate of kindness in school, he said.
Scott further engaged the audience by asking everyone to stand up, link arms and sway back and forth, singing "Lean on Me." His story seemed to touch many in the room, who quietly dabbed away tears as he talked.
Suffield High School counselor Robert St. Amand was impressed by Scott's courage in reliving such a painful memory every week. Scott's message underscores how important it is to teach students about the value of good character, he said.
"We are so concerned about how our schools perform in the classroom and on tests, but we also have to take care of each other," St. Amand said.
The daylong conference, organized around the theme of how school counselors impact the school climate, also offered workshops on cyber-bullying awareness, school violence and creating a college-going culture.
The underlying goal is to help students build their self-esteem, feel less marginalized and connected to the school community, said Kathleen Scully, president of the Connecticut School Counselor Association, which sponsored the event
"Grades can't be focused on to the exclusion of other skills like character, compassion and peaceful resolution to problems," Scully said.
young man coming in front of stage takling about horror incident. I would like to know when will be the next time you will be talking to students in the Hartford,CT area. This will be a great talk for this young students to realize how much violence are there in todays world. Any question please feel free to email me at mana0322@yahoo.com. Thank You for being brave and my heart goes out to You, Family and the Students who lost their lives.
alcopone1 (10/14/2009, 6:14 PM )