I sat at my desk yesterday while my students were taking
a district assessment. I opened up tweetdeck to see what my PLN was up to on
this fine Friday. One of the columns I have in tweetdeck is for news and
journalists from around the world. That was when I saw the tweet that changed
the course of my day.
Upon reading that tweet I continued to follow the tragedy
unfold through social media as well as various news sites. At some point in the
afternoon, I just sat at my desk and nearly lost it. Too many images and
stories that were being shared were just too much for me. My thoughts went to
my own kids who were in elementary schools right then as well as the students
sitting in my room.
For my own children, the thought of them having to experience
something like the children in Connecticut did yesterday is just too much for
me to handle. I cannot even comprehend what those parents are going through nor
do I want to try. As I sat in my classroom and looked at the kids in my room,
my mind naturally began to race. What would I do if a shooter came into my
school building? How would I react? What would I do to ensure my students would
be safe and get to see their parents again? As I asked myself these questions I
realized that the thought of losing one of my students would be just as painful
as losing my own children. I am not sure those that are not teachers can
understand this. They just can’t.
As I went on a run this morning, I reflected on the big
question, “Where do we go from here?” There are plenty of people shooting their
mouths off and sharing their opinions and everyone is entitled to do that.
Clearly, I am doing the same. For me, I focused on a few key takeaways from
this horrific event.
·
Guns kill people. Our obsession as a country
with guns and violence needs to be addressed. Had this man been armed with a
knife, this would have been a much different story. Some will say that
criminals and thugs will get guns if they really want them regardless of laws.
That may be true…but criminals and thugs are not the ones shooting up schools.
·
You don’t have to look far to see the level of
exposure young kids have to violence in movies and video games. How many parents
disregard ratings and guidelines on such things and expose their children to
graphic violence? As parents we have a tremendous responsibility to make sure
our children do not see gun violence as normal behavior. We have to be parents.
·
Knee jerk reactions, such as arming teachers or
front office staff are not the answer. Rather than putting more guns in
schools, let’s put in more counselors and social workers. Let’s shift our focus
to helping and healing our students with mental illnesses. Rather than shunning
these individuals in schools and in society, let’s instead help them. Let us
strive to understand them and support them in any way we can.
·
Let’s address bullying and create loving and
tolerant environments within our schools. Character education programs and pep
assemblies do little to address a systemic problem of intolerance and lack of
empathy in our society. How many of these shooters were picked on, shunned or
treated harshly by peers or in some cases teachers?
·
Don’t settle for meaningless tributes as the
only way to honor the victims and families. It will take more than a tweet, a status
update or a note on an NBA sneaker to change the cultural problems events like
this expose. Take an active role in making your school safer and helping anyone
in your life to be more tolerant and empathetic.
·
Cherish ever moment with your children and students…let
them know how much you love them every single day.
I don’t have any answers and I genuinely feel my heart
broken this morning. Yes, I have seen these events happen in other schools
before, but this one got to me in a real way. I am not sure if I will look at
my own kids or students in the same way as I return to work this week. However,
I am sure that I will make my classroom and my home a loving environment in
which everyone feels safe and welcome.