Attention! Attention!

What would you do for a Klondike Bar?

There must be another post in this blog on that! If I took it down, read this one.

People like attention. When attention is sought  in socially acceptable ways, it can be rewarding and satisfying. But we are human, so when attention is sought in unacceptable ways, in some cases, all hell can break loose.

In the commercials, people would do humilating things for a Klondike bar, but not dangerous. Attention at any cost, rewards at any cost?  Years ago, the consumers' market bought the commercial and the product. 

Klondike bars and humans are subject to meltdowns when immediate attention is sought and not given or is found wanting. What does an ice cream bar do while waiting for you to make contact? What do people do?

The television series, Carrie, is trending. Why I ask? Stephen King is a prolific writer, but he is not prolife.

Using new vocabulary, while teaching my second grade students, I encouraged them to expand their horizons.

https://youtube.com/shorts/3DKEKBTeLdA?is=1JidwIquNJVJrVN0

Stephen King gets a lot of attention, but not for great reasons. His characters maim and kill. We read and watch train wrecks for pleasure?

Connect some dots:

How do children seek attention? If they are mimicking Stephen King's characters at home, school or in the community, the attention would be for negative reasons. Experts warn about rewarding for negative behavior. We all have heard, "ignore it", correct? Should we really ignore all negative attention seeking behavior? Ask Colin Gray, he may have time now to answer.

For better or for worse, attention seekers will often do what it takes to make their needs known. Even a complete withdrawl brings attention. Acting out is standard operating procedure.

IRL: 

At the train platform yesterday, a woman clearly in some sort of need, went from sitting on the bench to laying on the warm concrete, inches from the tracks. Two of us saw and responded very carefully. I started a chat for emergency assistance to the station and an employee, not on duty, called the security desk. I could tell, as the employee walked by me, since I was concerned, and heard his conversation, to make sure it was a call for help. The woman resisted the employee's first attempt to help.  A CSR came out and she resisted him also.  Then the policeman came and she did get up. He offered to call for help, she refused it. I had food to offer but I read the room. She was in no mood. Eventually she walked away from the tracks cursing at the helpers. My train came ( a few seconds later). People can refuse help, but she did get attention. And thankfully, she moved. 

Why would someone lay near railroad tracks? 

The online live chat asked questions and did follow up. We may have averted a crisis but did not solve other major issues for the woman. Hopefully, if a pattern emerges, the personnel at the station will notice and take more action.

Why do children act out? The problem may be simply resolved. Or as in the scenario above, a deeper dive is warranted. 

It is important to read the room. Educational staff do have authority to act. Off duty police have been known to respond in a crisis (rescue and recovery).

What would you do for a Klondike bar? 

If life were all about ice cream, it could still be hard.

Marian R. Carlino

October 14, 2026

ACTs

Do we know how to act as professionals and what Acts hold us accountable? Do you have a Philadelphia lawyer on speed dial?

Acts usually have companion Acts and laws. Teachers are not trained to be lawyers. Did you read my book? That is not a rhetorical question.

I mean it when I asked the speed dial question. I do not trust most lawyers ( certain parts of my book make it clear why). They create the laws and then are ignorant of them, skirt them, and violate them. The ignorance part gets to me with lawyers and school districts. Do you think all board members, administrators, teachers, or communities act stupidly on their own? School board attorney positions are coveted. They can get it dead wrong. Many have, Board of Education attorneys often work for more than one district and are on special lists too.

The Clery Act, FERPA, IDEA.. if you are not reading the news, then you should start looking at these Acts. Many links are in my other posts.

So, in 2025, due to school violence, a new Act came into play. The School Violence Prevention Act.

Text - H.R.3968 - 119th Congress (2025-2026): School Violence Prevention Act | Congress.gov | Library of Congress https://share.google/N757jX5N8vpSbZSMg 

But wait, there is another one passed in 2018. This is a funding source for prevention.

2026 open and closing dates to get funding listed in the link below.

BJA FY 2026 Students, Teachers, and Officers Preventing (STOP) School Violence Program | Bureau of Justice Assistance https://share.google/LF4i0K1nmZ1pIlovC

Student, Teachers, and Officers Preventing (STOP) School Violence Program | Overview | Bureau of Justice Assistance https://share.google/mMkPHfTEl9BX873P8

Prevention Program Support - Sandy Hook Promise Action Fund https://share.google/QCvrmbzyW3e6hrFgQ

2014:

NIJ’s Comprehensive School Safety Initiative | National Institute of Justice https://share.google/1rZTa6IWpGwRGlKZa

What didn't the principal in 2018 have an understanding of in prevention ( see Rewarded for Failure post)?

If you need a Philadelphia lawyer for failing to protect, get out of education. Sometimes getting help is as easy as stating: "Houston, we have a problem." There are enough rinse and repeat training programs that your statement should not be ignored. Retaliation is truly against the law.

Also see: copy and paste links.

School Violence Prevention Program (SVPP) | COPS OFFICE https://share.google/mghTOsj1yDZWGVntU

Search | National Institute of Justice

 https://share.google/3pfAI96uD3nnwACyY

I list the links with limited explanation. You should do the reseach if it matters to you or a loved one.

Liability:

School Liability under Section 1983 of Chapter 42 of the United States Code https://share.google/ChtCZbzG7O2LDS0Is

School Safety Legislation | Law | Research Starters | EBSCOhost https://share.google/PSyGgGPkDHSkCIiil

Can you be held criminally responsible? Parents are now held criminally accountable: Colin Gray trial: a warning 90 minutes before the deadly shooting. People want to know why others were not charged from the school.

https://youtu.be/gOWGmSrNdsY?is=WQtX01jLVPfIlnO4

A VP was actually charged in Newport News, Va. (See posts). People are legally asking that question about staff responsibility. A grand jury in Va. agreed. The civil suit has long been filed and won by the teacher. There are pending civil suits by parents. The VP lost the civil suit filed by the teacher/victim and a judge interferred with the criminal trial of the VP.

https://youtu.be/6dbFpIAlydk?is=0bXzcwZ7ftMeACsf

The police officer at Uvalde was found not guilty of charges in January 2026.  I felt it was a just verdict. It was a real trial despite some theories that the events never happened. Fingers were pointed at others also in the trial. The policeman was part of rescue and recovery, the prevention part did not happen. The DA said "the officer should have been aware the children were in danger. Training is important". The DA's closing argument, "get another career he says of the police who not do their jobs".

https://youtu.be/zn43lT7oZKk?is=VwQRaUat4MIbH4ZA In 

Do not be afraid of what you do to prevent a shooting or attack. Be afraid of what you fail to do. The rescue and recovery stages are hard on everyone. Trials are part of the grieving stage.

There ought to be laws that put prevention at top priority, right?

Marian R. Carlino

October 5, 2026

A boy, a gun, a father and Cher

Except for the OJ trial many years ago, I am not one to watch live trials of murderers.  I do keep informed through news. I temper the brutality of real life with calming books or loving movies.

That is why I am having a hard time finishing Frozen River a contempory novel with a historical setting. As I noted in an earlier post, the author must have used current, front page headlines for motivation. Nothing is calming in this "who dun it" with #MeToo side bars. No comedy, just dramatic, difficult reading.

Front page headlines on TV, radio, YT or print media catch our attention. It is impossible to scroll without seeing bad news. Some bad news becomes real life Law and Order episodes.

So since November of 2025, I have watched a few live trials that are related to school violence. The bad guys are kids who pulled a trigger with the addition of truly dysfunctional parents. The victims are kids, adults and entire communities. 

I will post more on the most recent trial of a boy who diabotically planned a school shooting. Dysfunction and the dark web of the True Crime Community of Discord helped lead this boy to perdition. But first:

Cher!

Since I was very young in the early 1960's, I knew of Cher. My sister had her early albums. Cher was kind of folksy when she started. As an adult, I have not only listened to Cher but watched her on the little and big screens. I was never interested in reading her words. 

But...

Our book club selection this month was Cher, The Memoir Part One, not my choice. I read it this week at the same time two sentencing trials were televised about the Apalachee High School  shooting on September 4, 2024. Yesterday's news in headlines this week.

Connecting dots:

Cher had a dysfunctional upbringing. Her mother had more men in and out of her house and bed than "Carter's had liver pills". Cher's father(s) were multiple yet she called only one man "daddy". Cher hated school, was very independent, and at a young, "jail bait age" became involved with a much older, very controlling man. His name was Sonny Bono. She was exposed to darkness as a child and as an adult.

Cher may have bizarre life to most of us, but she is living a productive life and a loving one. She was not always paid in kind. She made us laugh while she was crying. Comics often do that since they are actors at heart.

Why did Cher grow up to be a success and another child, years later, at about the same age of Cher when she struck out on her own, plan and execute a massacre?

These are questions to ask, ponder and answer for prevention of violence.

The book was telling of Cher and the trials were telling of the school shooter from Georgia.

Cher talked about faith and forgiveness in her book. And, she was imperfectly loved. Cher loves too. How was that heart fostered to grow into a successful, loving person and mother? Some may call her quirky!

Why did a troubled child, identified in his early school years, as having problems, grow into a hate filled person obsessed with carrying out murder and who will now spend a lifetime in jail without parole?

Why?

If you work with humans, the Why? is a connection because that means you are aware and asking. Asking saves kids.

I conducted a workshop with youth in a detention center. I titled it "Making Lemonade." I would include her book in that workshop if I led it today.

If you remember "Laverne", you may like to read about Cher and her resilent nature. Be prepared for name dropping but also for a lesson.

Resiliency is often identified as a trait in people who have overcome trauma at any age, but especially in those who have experienced trauma at a young age.

More dots:

School violence prevention is not a mystery. The school shooters tell us before and after they are successful bringing death and destruction. Thank goodness their victims respond with wanting justice, and not revenge.

Through her life with many potholes, Cher did not drink much or do drugs. Why not, she had every opportunity? She took care of her family.

Most people who have working knowledge and access to guns do not commit murder. Why do a small percentage plan evil and get to execute the plan while most who own guns, even youthful ones, succeed in productive lives?

Look for the resilent people to help prevent school violence. 

Pay attention. Ask questions.

The handwriting is on the wall and sometimes you may find an interesting piece of the prevention puzzle in a surprising book that you did not really want to read. Cher writes from experience.

Have you read my book? It may surprise you. Asking saves kids.  Come to think of it, why haven't you learned about a piece of the puzzle I used? I write from experience and legal documentation. 

Connecting dots saves lives too. 

Next up, trial testimony. Stay tuned.

Marian R. Carlino

July 31, 2026