I saw this post on my Facebook feed from a friend and it has stayed in the back of my mind for the past two weeks. I’m going to address this over two posts, one from a teacher point of view and one on Monday from my perspective as a parent.
School shootings are still happening, and our government, even with people fighting to address this issue, has yet to make any significant progress in making our school’s safer. The normalization of school shootings is occurring in the education community like it is in the media and in our cultural consciousness. I clearly remember a faculty meeting called the Monday after the Sandy Hook Tragedy (the shooting was on a Friday). However, we have not responded as a school with a similar faculty conversation after the recent school shootings for the 14 gun related incidence in schools that have occurred so far in 2019. Yeah, 14 in 2019, 29 deaths. I point this out not to say that my school is making any grievous error in our response. This is our reality.
As my school brings in experts, and works hard to make our school safer, it can feel discouraging that and isolating as no one there is a sense that we are alone in this work. Federal funding isn’t being spent in a significant way to make our schools safer. The gun industry and the NRA is making no efforts to makes school safer. Education in America is trying to address an issue we cannot fix alone, but that’s what teachers do all of the time. And educators do this every day, even though no one else seems to care. Can schools solve racism in America? Of course not, but that keep us from trying, hoping and doing the work. The same can be said for school safety.
Do I fear for my safety when I come to work? No. Have I ever been concerned for my safety in the thirteen years as an educator? No. Have I had nightmares about school shootings? Yes. Have I envisioned scenarios of school shootings, and my response? Yes. Is it hard to keep it together during lock down drills? Yes, it is.
So, what do I do? My job. I try to stay focused. I keep in my mind that my feeling about school shootings are mine and are not necessarily the way my students feel about these issues. And I do the best I can to make my time with my students have meaning.
After the attacks on 9/11, my mom’s advice was to start doing, get busy, and get to work. The hard times will give us pause and that’s okay but life is about moving forward and doing good. Every time there’s a school shooting, I pause, sometimes I feel it more deeply than other times. I let the sadness come over me, and remind myself that each one of these tragedies only solidifies the importance of my essential job as an educator.
Then I take a deep breath, and I get to work.
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