To the editor:

I was disheartened to hear that another young person took a gun to a school function and shot a teacher. The situations near Paducah and Jonesboro were tragic. Now another child has taken a life and has ruined his own in the process. As a parent, I am terrified to send my children to school, once a sanctuary. No longer can we afford to sit back in silence and allow these things to happen.

Parents have the responsibility to listen to their children as much as possible to make sure they are receiving the nurturing they need. Although it is an unavoidable fact of life that in most familes both parents must work, parents still can make a strong effort to be there for children.

We must tightly regulate -- or, better yet, eliminate -- the weapons our children are using to kill one another. No child should be able to procure a powerful weapon. The freedom to bear arms in an important one, but when that freedom causes the deaths of innocents, the ethics must be re-examined.

Lastly, we must look at ourselves to see what sort of messages we are sending to our children. Do we enjoy action movies in which the hero massacres dozens of people? Do we watch television shows that condone and promote violence? Do we understand that our children may not be able to separate the image on the movie screen from reality?

I pray every day that my children will return home safely from school. Is that the world we want for our children?

NANCY A. BIRK

Cape Girardeau