I went to a public school. The only time I remember anyone praying was on benediction at graduation. We did not have the Ten Commandments on the walls of the schools. No one prayed aloud nor was anyone given time to pray in the schools. We did not pray before sports games, lunch, or the death of Kennedy. At home, we prayed everyday. We prayed in the morning at breakfast time, lunchtime, dinnertime and before we went to bed. My parents took us to church every Sunday and sometimes during the week. They did not drop us off at the door so someone could teach us how to pray. They took us with them so they could teach us how to pray. My parents believed praying was too important to leave it to anyone else. That included schools, the government, and even church. We even had an old copy of the 'pledge of allegiance' that did not include the words 'under God.' I started school in 1959.
If any of us kids would have come home and told our parents we prayed in school, our parents would have questioned why. That was something you did at home. My parents wanted to teach me how to pray. If parents wanted their kids to pray in school, they would send them to Catholic school. My parents were Catholic but we were the only kids that were Catholics who went to the public school in my hometown. Not one time in 12 years of school was religion or praying an issue. As kids we had daily and weekly examples of prayer from the people whom had the real responsibility to teach us about religion and responsibility: Our parents.
No one in school was spanked nor did they have to kick anyone out of school during the 12 years I was in school. It was an extreme situation for someone to be kicked out of school. It did happen but it was rare. Little kids were not kicked out of school for misbehaving. However, if the school would have called someone's parents or the parents of most of my friends I can assure you we would have been spanked, even if I was in high school. In addition, I would not have been allowed to visit my friends for month. Schools did not have to spend much time disciplining the students; that was the parent's responsibility. But if the school did have to discipline a students the parents would accept that punishment and to try to sue the school.
It is not the fault of the schools or the courts for the violence because students are not allowed to pray in school. It is not the fault of the schools or other students because they didn't spot the warning signals of some troubled student. Maybe if more parents would take their kids to church on Sundays or take the time to have dinner with their kids and pray with them every night when they discussed the day those kids would not be shooting everyone. I graduated from high school in 1971.