The school shooting that happened today in Connecticut has shaken me. I have turned off the radio and TV after watching a bit of the news coming in. So sad. So senseless. So scary that this is the world our kids are growing up in. For my parents and my generation schools were open places, completely unlocked. A place of innocence and fun and learning and struggle and accomplishment. During my time teaching K schools became locked. We practiced lockdowns. My school was one of the first in our area to lock all our doors; parents had to buzz in and were indignant and said they felt unwelcome.....until we used the system successfully 2 months after putting it in place to stop a noncustodial parent from forcibly taking a child from our school. Parents then understood that it could happen anywhere.
What saddens me is that I taught kids our lockdown procedure: door locked, hide out of sight of windows and door, lights off, quiet, quiet, quiet. In Kindergarten. Some kids thought it was like hide and seek. Some said it was in case of bad people. The ones who were going to bring up guns were stopped midsentence. But they knew.
What saddens me is that lockdown is now a regular school term that all the kids understand.
What saddens me is that they are needed at all.
What saddens me is that the elementary children today will hear about this in one way or another and it will affect their view of school, of school being a carefree place where their only worry is that 'big test' or reading the next line of the story or if their toga will stay on for their presentation.
They know they learn procedures to stay safe, but being safe at school should be a given.
Kids shouldn't have to think about staying safe at school.
Prayers to the families of Sandy Hook Elementary who have been forever touched by this avoidable tragedy.
Prayers to school children and personnel everywhere.
B
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