Today is the anniversary of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School that claimed the lives of both students and faculty. Without getting into the weeds of gun politics, this is an opportunity for all of us to reflect on the safety of our students.
Generally speaking, tragedies like this make the news and become a large part of our national memory and consciousness when they occur in communities that are strangers to tragedy and violence. Many teachers in Dallas and across the country. A former student got shot in the chest and died in his car just a few blocks from school. I remember that students teachers expressing sadness but not shock or surprise. Every few weeks I hear about shootings and robberies in the communities around our schools. That's just the stuff outside of school.
That violence often leaks into our schools. The fights at Dade the last couple of years come to mind, but at my campus, we had our fair share of bloody and disturbing brawls. Nobody has gotten killed thankfully, but when security doesn't even plug in the metal detectors in the morning, it's a small miracle nothing more serious has happened. I've even seen parents show up to school to fight other parents in a weird tag team mother son battle royale.
School should be a safe place. A place where all kids can come and learn. A place where teachers can come and share their wisdom and experience with young people. It should be a place for growth that's free of fear of harm.
I've talked students out of fights before, but how can we as teachers help create a stronger culture of peace in our schools? How can we combat violence and fear? An honest question I don't have a definitive answer for. It's a work in progress on my end.
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Generally speaking, tragedies like this make the news and become a large part of our national memory and consciousness when they occur in communities that are strangers to tragedy and violence. Many teachers in Dallas and across the country. A former student got shot in the chest and died in his car just a few blocks from school. I remember that students teachers expressing sadness but not shock or surprise. Every few weeks I hear about shootings and robberies in the communities around our schools. That's just the stuff outside of school.
That violence often leaks into our schools. The fights at Dade the last couple of years come to mind, but at my campus, we had our fair share of bloody and disturbing brawls. Nobody has gotten killed thankfully, but when security doesn't even plug in the metal detectors in the morning, it's a small miracle nothing more serious has happened. I've even seen parents show up to school to fight other parents in a weird tag team mother son battle royale.
School should be a safe place. A place where all kids can come and learn. A place where teachers can come and share their wisdom and experience with young people. It should be a place for growth that's free of fear of harm.
I've talked students out of fights before, but how can we as teachers help create a stronger culture of peace in our schools? How can we combat violence and fear? An honest question I don't have a definitive answer for. It's a work in progress on my end.
Related Articles:
Sandy Hook Anniversary Falls on a School Day
DISD Teachers violating student trust to save their lives
DISD Student safety
DISD Student Violence
Dallas Student Emotional Health
DISD Students Fighting Teachers
Dade falls apart
Being Honest on schools in DISD
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