With Sadness and Anger
It’s easier to stick to planners, calendars, To-Do lists, PD materials, electronic notebooks and uplifting stories of teachers working hard every day than express to you my feelings about the elementary school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut.
But I just can’t not do it.
As an educator of teachers, a mommy to a pre-schooler (and one more on the way!), the wife of a middle school teacher, and a person who believes in good, I’m heartbroken, mad, and confused. I cannot begin to imagine how a parent explains to their children why a brother or sister isn’t coming home, or how a teacher patiently instructs a classroom on why sometimes we may have to hide in the closet.
As many of you know, I also work within the Achievement First network. AF started in Connecticut, and we have hundreds of teachers and students in the state now. So this one runs especially close to home. To say that all of this has had a huge and personal impact on me, along with many teachers featured on this blog and in my book, is an understatement.
I’m committed to keeping The Together Teacher apolitical, so I won’t re-link to my favorite news articles. If you want to see my rants on that front, you are welcome to become my personal friend on Facebook.
But I did want to say thank you to each of you, dear readers. I know first-hand how you work your TAILS off each and every day to help students learn, colleagues grow, and make the world become a better place. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
I’ll share a few quotes of words that resonated most for me from President Obama’s recent address:
“This is our first task . . . Caring for our children. It’s our first job. If we don’t get that right, we don’t get anything right. That’s how as a society we will be judged. And by that measure, can we truly say, as a nation, that we’re meeting our obligations? Can we honestly say that we’re doing enough to keep our children — all of them — safe from harm? I’ve been reflecting on this the last few days. And if we’re honest with ourselves, the answer’s no. We’re not doing enough, and we will have to change.”
And more recently, from Geoffrey Canada’s moving piece in the NY Daily News,
“It’s time for our leaders to act with the courage of those brave teachers and the principal of Sandy Hook Elementary School who gave their lives to try to save their children, our children. I’m sick of politicians sending our troops off to die in foreign lands while our children are being slaughtered by the thousands at home. This is the war, damn it! Let’s fight it! Let’s win it!”
With much admiration and respect for all you do every day,
Maia
