I am more than a passing fan of words. They are my children and my currency, the only lasting things I can leave to the world, the only power I can wield. Yet there is a time when there are no words, none that can do justice. We call that time "unspeakable" not figuratively, but literally. For what can be said to explain or justify the horror of 20 murdered children? What consolation and encouragement could possibly assuage the grief of the families of the children and the teachers who died with them? Never would I presume to know what those loved ones feel, so how can I offer words as a balm to their souls?
No, tonight I write for me and for you, because you know who I am. You know me, or your child knows me---the great majority of my friends who read this are those I've gained because I am a teacher. That profession is the only thing that gives me authority to speak here.
The classroom has been my wheelhouse all my adult life, going on 27 years. It is the only place where I feel supremely comfortable and confident. I spend more waking hours there than in my own home and take a corresponding pride in it. So it only makes sense that I want my students to feel that way as well. Parents, too, should rest easy that their children are welcomed into a clean, safe environment in every classroom in this country. But at moments such as yesterday in Connecticut, many members of society lose hope that schools can ever be anything like comfortable, clean, and peaceful ever again, let alone safe.
I assure you they are; they are all those things because a teacher wills it so. A teacher makes it happen there with students with a resourcefulness few can match.
A teacher is there early to start the day smoothly by being prepared and visible and available to her students.
A teacher is there consistently to observe everything that is taking place.
A teacher is there to ensure that things are placed appropriately and put away so no one can injure himself.
A teacher is there to enrapture a crowd with examples, stories, and explanations that make even the driest of subjects sparkle and sing.
A teacher is there to know who is normally in the building so that strangers may stand out.
A teacher is there to greet his students with a smile or a kind word as they arrive.
A teacher is there to commiserate over a skinned knee, a sprained wrist, a broken heart.
A teacher is there to discipline her students so that they may do better.
A teacher is there to sacrifice his own time if a child needs tutoring before or after school.
A teacher is there to love even the most unlikable child.
A teacher is there to think and act quickly for his students' best interest.
A teacher is there....always....to take the fall, take the responsibility, take the high road, take the time.
A teacher is there---never doubt it---to take the bullet.
No matter where you are tonight, friend, know that every single person in this country represents any number of schools who got it right. Multiply that by the numbers of good teachers they might have had who represent the qualities above, and the numbers grow exponentially larger. The children of this country are as safe at school as they are nearly anywhere else. You can still take comfort in that, even as we grieve with our fellow citizens.
Eloquent, to say the least. I believe what you have written to the very core of myself. I bristle at the suggestion that the ills of society must be laid at the feet of the public school. I have said more than once today that God charged parents to teach their children diligently about Him and His ways and His law; not once did He mandate that the educational system do so. My children have been fortunate to sit in the classrooms of some great teachers-in California and in Oklahoma. I feel no more insecure about sending Katie to school than I do about sending her to church, on a trip with her youth group or to the mall. I have been disheartened that so many seize moments such as these to promote their politics. Shame on them.
ReplyDeleteBless you, V. I know you are one of our most ardent supporters, and I am so grateful for it. <3 In fact, I think more of our population feels the way you do than not; the other side is just louder at times.
ReplyDeleteI too feel that there has already been a shameful amount of politicizing this tragedy. It makes me wonder how those who push their agendas at a time like this can look themselves in the eye...but their conscience is their own to worry about. Mine is steady and clear.