I Am a Teacher and I Am Tired of School Shootings
Why I am afraid for my children and the children of our nation.
It is a sad reality that active shooter drills are a standard way of life for kids as young as pre-school. John Hickenlooper
As a 23-year educator, I’ve worked in various school systems throughout the United States. I don’t understand how we allow our children to continue to be shot and killed in school. Schools are supposed to be places of safety and education- not lessons in survival. Children should attend school without fear. Parents want to send their kids out the door without the concern they won’t make it home alive.
It’s a tragedy to this educator that a child must practice active shooter drills. When I was going to school in the 80s, we practiced tornado drills and fire drills, but it never crossed anyone’s mind to have exercises for the possibility of a school shooter. The thought of a lunatic bringing a gun to school and killing kids was uncommon. It never crossed my mother’s mind I wouldn’t make it home because I was shot to death at school.
I have three children, and it crosses my mind daily; they might not make it home because of a shooting at school. I shouldn’t have to feel that way about sending my kids out for education. There shouldn’t be any trepidation in my heart about my child being taught in a friendly and safe environment. I am positive many other parents who are reading this feel the same way I do. It’s also a safe assumption they are tired of the gun violence in our nation. We can’t seem to protect our most valuable resource — our children.
I’m tired of the cliche “how many more have to die”. I’m tired of seeing mothers and fathers holding children on the Nightly News and thanking God their child is still alive. I am tired of seeing the police running into a school with assault rifles because children have lost their lives. This is madness people, and we need to do something about it.
At least 30 shooting attacks have occurred on school ground resulting in death or injuries. Furthermore, according to USA Today, which is the same source as above, 84 school shootings have happened in the United States. We don’t hear about all of them on the news. If we did, we might never send our kids to school again. We must hold our lawmakers accountable, and when they don’t do the right thing, wield the power of the voting booth and send them packing.
Now I ask you how many more shootings must we witness before we demand changes. How many more parents have to wipe tears from their eyes in front of a school soiled with their child’s blood? How much longer must we witness a heroic teacher giving their lives or triaging students in the hallway? Teachers should be in the classroom teaching not ushering shaking kids into corners and hoping a bullet doesn’t find them. In my opinion, this is unacceptable in this teacher’s eyes and heart.
We should not have to educate our children about how to survive a school shooter. It destroys innocence when we explain such things to our kids.
A poem about my despair over school shootings.
parents and kids spilling tears tired of schools becoming monuments to dead kids while our nation does nothing but tell falsehoods and fatten pockets at the expense of children’s lives
childlike wonder dies at the barrel of a gun when will it cease and children allowed to live in peace
Estacious(Charles White) is a 23-year educator. He began writing over 25 years ago. His work experience encompasses managing schools and teaching a variety of subjects. His passions are poetry, short fiction, playwrighting, and non-fiction. He won one of six prizes in the Rockford play festival for his play “Incarcerated Christmas”. He is married with three children and a native of New Orleans.