OK, I'll admit it. I'm from the age of dinosaurs. Old as dirt. Maybe even pre-historic.
I know this because I looked at today's date, listened to the news on the radio and realized:
I remember teaching before and after Columbine.
I know this because I looked at today's date, listened to the news on the radio and realized:
I remember teaching before and after Columbine.
My student teaching practicum involved learning the emergency procedure for fire drills. Just fire drills. We did them once a semester.
For my first few teaching jobs, I'm not even sure if the front or side doors were locked during school hours.
And then Columbine happened. And things changed.
Locked doors, lock-down drills, check-in policies, evacuation procedures....our new normal. Multiple times a year.
Things you never found in your college curriculum and training classes were now part of your professional duties.
Such as:
Asking the school board to find enough money to re-do the locks on classroom doors because your current lock could only be turned from the outside, with a key.
Hearing an alert tone on the intercom and your first thought being...."How many students can I fit out the window before someone makes it into my classroom?"
Walking into work and thinking..."Hmmm, I wonder if today is the day...." Every. Day.
And now, as a parent, making sure my own children understand their school's active shooter response.
It feels terrifying and hopeless to get up, the day after a school shooting, and drop your own flesh and blood off at a school building. To watch them walk away from you and into a "soft target". Sometimes it makes me want to go back to teaching, because if something happened, I would at least be in the building with them, and not one of those parents on the other side of the police line, waiting for some small bit of information.
Because this is life after Columbine, and Sandy Hook, and.....and......and......
There are days when it feels so dark for this generation.
But there is a glimmer of hope. And I was honored to see it last night.
A group of freshman in our district presented their Humanities projects on Conflict Resolution.
They lead presentations and discussions on everything from "How to handle conflict on Social Media", to the current events on the South China Sea, The Ukraine and Russia, The Israel/Palestine conflict, and how conflict in other countries influences people to come to the United States.
It wasn't just the topics presented, it was the presenters themselves. Freshmen, who can barely drive a car, were driving well researched conversations with their adult audiences. They could even find The Ukraine on a world map. They challenged the adults in their lives to be more informed about world and local issues. They made us talk to each other about how we, personally, handle conflict in our own lives. And one student spoke about his desire to return to his birth country to share the peace of Christ, which, despite being what could get him killed, could also be what brings an end to conflict in his home land.
I teared up a bit on the ride home telling my daughter how proud I was of her and her classmates.
Her response: "Yeah, sometimes I think people forget how much teenagers actually know. They should listen to us more often. Things would get done."
Oh, the naivete of youth ..... and..... oh, the pain of my stepped-on toes.
There are days when it feels so dark for this generation.
But there is a glimmer of hope. And I was honored to see it last night.
A group of freshman in our district presented their Humanities projects on Conflict Resolution.
They lead presentations and discussions on everything from "How to handle conflict on Social Media", to the current events on the South China Sea, The Ukraine and Russia, The Israel/Palestine conflict, and how conflict in other countries influences people to come to the United States.
It wasn't just the topics presented, it was the presenters themselves. Freshmen, who can barely drive a car, were driving well researched conversations with their adult audiences. They could even find The Ukraine on a world map. They challenged the adults in their lives to be more informed about world and local issues. They made us talk to each other about how we, personally, handle conflict in our own lives. And one student spoke about his desire to return to his birth country to share the peace of Christ, which, despite being what could get him killed, could also be what brings an end to conflict in his home land.
I teared up a bit on the ride home telling my daughter how proud I was of her and her classmates.
Her response: "Yeah, sometimes I think people forget how much teenagers actually know. They should listen to us more often. Things would get done."
Oh, the naivete of youth ..... and..... oh, the pain of my stepped-on toes.
April is an odd month. It marks the beginning of so much conflict in world history. Including two of our own country's wars for freedom. Which were fought with guns. Which brings me to today. The day that marks 19 years of life after Columbine, and a national student walk-out.
No, not all of the students fully understand the issues. Some may think this is just a way to get out of class for a few minutes. Some, however, may have done more research than most adults and have a future in law school or Congress. Remember what you were like in high school?
Regardless of where you stand on the issues they are protesting, remember life before Columbine and listen with patience.
Because their school day reality is very different from when this dinosaur was a student.
I hope I didn't miss the class on this one. Because while I was not in Colorado 19 years ago, I was in a school, and class has never been the same.
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