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The fact is there is only so much Trump could do, and he would take intense and unfair pressure for doing it.As a 20+ year veteran teacher, most of which in low inscome schools, I have a pretty good idea why shootins are happening and what kind of students are doing the shootings.Background:In the 1980s, every high school aged male in my group had some kind of firearm. My buddy Eric had a .30–30 lever action deer rifle. Matt had a 12 gauge shotgun and a .22 pistol. I had a Winchester rifle. None of us were “good kids,” but none of us ever thought about shooting up the school.I find it interesting that at the time where it’s harder than ever for a teenage boy to get a gun is also the period of time where we’re having school shootings. Now before I continue, I am not advocating for making it easier for kids to get guns. I think there are real reasons why more teenage boys today are less emotionally suited to handing a firearm than they were in 1984. I will address 2 of the reasons.The 2 big risk factors:(1) Fatherless BoysAccording to numerous report, the majority of mass shooters come from broken homes. Today, lots of kids grow up without intact families. Fatherless girls tend to act out in ways harmful to themselves, boys tend to act out in ways harmful to others.“Girls who grow up deprived of their father are more likely to become depressed, more likely to self-harm, and more likely to be promiscuous. But they still have their mothers, with whom they clearly identify. Boys do not have a comparable identification and thus suffer more from father absence. They also tend to act out in a manner that’s harmful to others, which girls typically do not.”As Emile Kao pointed out in The Crisis of Fatherless Shooters, school shootings are one of the ultimate expressions of this acting out.“Among the 25 most-cited school shooters since Columbine, 75 percent were reared in broken homes. Psychologist Dr. Peter Langman, a pre-eminent expert on school shooters, found that most came from incredibly broken homes of not just divorce and separation, but also infidelity, substance abuse, criminal behavior, domestic violence, and child abuse.After the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, scholar Brad Wilcox called attention to the work of criminologists Michael Gottfredson and Travis Hirschi, which found the absence of fathers to be one of the “most powerful predictors of crimes .” He explained that fathers are role models for their sons who maintain authority and discipline, thereby helping them develop self-control and empathy toward others, key character traits lacking in violent youth.”Parkland high school shooter Nikolas Cruz was born, behind bars, to a crack cocaine addicted mother. He was adopted by an older couple, who soon discovered that they couldn’t handle his behavior issues. His adoptive father died when he was young and his behavior got progressively worse.(2) School DisciplineWhile fatherless boys are, and always have been, more likely to get into trouble, they didn’t become mass murderers. My friend Matt with the 12 gauge came from a divorced home and my dad disappeared before I was born. Clearly something else must bear part of the responsibility. That something else is the virtual collapse of school discipline.Consider mass murderer Nikolas Cruz and what allowed his antisocial behavior to spiral so far out of control.Have you heard the words “Restorative Justice?”Restorative Justice is a philosophy about discipline that seeks to avoid punishment or consequences in favor of more understanding and counseling for young trouble makers. If you want to know how it works I would recomend the book Why Meadow Died by Andrew Pollack. Pollack, who lost his daughter at the Parkland High School massacre, has done extensive research into how district enabled Nikolas Cruz to repeatedly disrupt and defy teachers and ruin the learning environment for fellow students. Here’s what Mr. Pollack learned about Cruz’s 7th grade behavior:Sept. 3: While reviewing [a] homophones worksheet, when another student mentioned the amendment that talks about “the right to bear arms” Nick [sic] lit up when hearing the word that related to guns and shouted out “you mean like guns!” he was overly excited thinking that we were going to talk about guns. Nick later used his pencil as a gun … shooting around the classroom.Sept. 4: Nick drew naked stick figures (showing body parts, sexual) and drew pictures of people shooting each other with guns.Sept. 11: After discussing and lecturing about the Civil War in America Nick became fixated on the death and the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. He asked inappropriate questions and was making shooting actions with his pencil. Some questions he asked were “What did it sound like when Lincoln was shot? Did it go pop pop or pop pop pop really fast? Was there blood everywhere? After the war what did they do with all the bodies? Did people eat them?”Sept. 16: When we began to read the Odyssey, Nick paid partial attention (in-and-out) until we came up to the gruesome scene when the giant eats Odysseus’ crew members, only then Nick was interested in the lesson and got my 100% attention.Sept. 27: Another student also informed me (once Nick was escorted out of class) that Nick asks him all of the time “How am I still at this school?”Oct. 1: When talking about figurative language and onomatopoeias, Nick shouted out “Like a gun shooting.” Nick will find any excuse to bring up shooting guns or violence … He got frustrated and said “I hate security, I hope they die.” Then he stated to me, “F- -k you.” I called security to pick him up immediately.Oct. 15: Spoke to his mother … We discussed that he should not be playing violent video games and that he should be put in a different school that can help with his behavior and emotional issues. We also discussed his obsession with guns/violence. She stated that he is interested in buying a BB gun from Walmart and was asking his mom, repeatedly, if he could get the gun, promising that he would “just shoot at trees.”Oct. 17: Nick began reading the last couple of pages out to the students, intentionally trying to ruin the book for everyone else. I asked him to stop and he told me that he dislikes the book and then he stated, “I like guns” can we talk about that. Then he continued to read the book out loud again.We can see the pattern of behavior that Nikolas Cruz exhibited. This kind of behavior is not surprising to me. I’ve seen similar behavior as both a middle-school and high school teacher.Now here’s the BIG LIE the anti-discipline “reformers” are telling the public.“We’re just replacing suspension with other tools.”So what tools are they talking about. Let’s go back to how Parkland handled Nikolas Cruz, specifically what were the “tools” they used aside from punishment.On Nov. 4, after two months of gathering “data” for Cruz’s “Functional Behavior Assessment,” teachers were sent his “Positive Behavior Intervention Plan.” The plan included helpful tips, like:If Nikolas destroys property at a lower level,Calmly let him know he has not followed one of the expectations. Remind him what he is working for.Prompt him to use a cool down pass and walk away to diffuse [sic] the situation.If Nikolas engages in major disruption/property destruction:Let Nikolas know, “you’re getting too loud. I need for you to get back into control by using a cool down pass or calming down at your desk. If you get back into control, you can stay in class. If you continue, I’ll need for you leave [sic].”Walk away and do not pay attention to his behavior.Do not argue with Nikolas or engage with him.When class is over, Nikolas needs to go to his next class and behavior plan should re-set with able to [sic] earn reward breaks again.So the “tools” were basically to allow Cruz to be a jerk to the teachers and to the other students, with mild warnings. The teachers were told to ignore his misbehavior and not engage. These are only tools if you consider ignoring your car’s check engine light to be a tool of auto maintenance.We all know how well that worked out. The discipline policies that allowed Nikolas Cruz to spiral out of control, are being imposed on California by the state legislature. Laws Like AB 1729, AB 420 and SB 419 are forcing schools to adopt the very same policies that worked out so disastrously in Parkland High School.So what could Trump do about these?(1) He could use the presidential “bully pulpit” to discourage out of wedlock pregnancies.(2) He could use the Department of Education to push for discipline policies that hold students accountable for misbehavior.(3) He could push to have dangerous “emotionally disturbed” removed from their pool of potential victims (public schools).But given how polarizing a figure Trump is, it would be unlikely that he could get the bipartisan support needed to enact those common sense reforms.