To my future students,

I don't even know where to begin. Hopefully, this letter will not be applicable by the time I have a classroom, but what I have to say must be said. America is struggling right now with a situation that can only be fixed by one thing: gun control. But that is not what I'm here to talk to you about.

I am here to tell you that my first priority in the classroom is to teach you and prepare you for whatever your future holds, but I will also be your protector. Lately, I have been wondering whether or not I would act as selflessly as the teachers we often hear about in the news after school shootings. And it is hard to judge such a situational decision when I have never been placed in a situation even remotely close to that of an active shooter in my own school.

But, when I decided to become a teacher I decided to become your safeguard for the 50 (ish) minutes you will be in my classroom learning about the world around you. And my philosophy of education (aka what I hope to be and accomplish as an educator in today's split world) states this explicitly. I will be your champing not just for education, but for safety as well.

If the time ever comes, which I pray each and every day it will not, I will do my best to keep you safe and stop one less face from flashing across the news. I, of course, do not quite know what this will entail yet. But, it becomes clearer and clearer every day that I will be taught that in staff meetings, retreats, and in school.

And to your parents, please know that I intend on putting your students first. No, I do not want to have my life end prematurely as much as the next person, but your children do not deserve an even more untimely ending. I will do everything in my power to make sure your child is not another statistic on CNN.

And, yes, I realize this letter gets increasingly morbid as it goes on. But that is simply what it has come to in today's society. If there is no change in gun legislation and in our government, in general, I will have to live with the fact that I am risking my life every day to do what I love.

I did not sign up to be a bodyguard, and I dearly hope I never have to become one, but if the time ever does come I will become your most steadfast bodyguard. You can count on me to teach you about Shakespeare and to protect you if the time ever comes (I instinctively typed "when the time comes", this goes to show the extent of this problem in America).

You are safe in my hands.

Sincerely,

Your Future Teacher