My mom has been a preschool teacher for as long as I can remember.
I would spend days with her and her students when I was younger, watching her be the building blocks for hundreds of little kids. Watch her teach them the alphabet, write their name, and learn the months of the year all while she connected with each child and truly wanted the best for them.
I was only a freshman in high school when Sandy Hook happened.
I remember sitting in my Western Civilization class when my teacher broke the news to us. Although it was long ago, I remember feeling helpless and scared for each and every family affected by the horrible tragedy. I thought to myself, If it could happen there, it could happen anywhere.
After that day, I remember my mom telling me and my dad about how they would have practice drills if there were ever an intruder in her school. How it was her responsibility to make sure her students were safe and quiet so if there ever were a gunman in her school, he would just walk by her classroom.
My mom did not become a teacher so she can fear for her own life and the lives of her students and colleagues.
Teachers should not have to hold their breaths every time the intercom sounds, possibly alerting them of a violent situation.
Teachers are experts at projecting a calm look while in the face of danger, as they would do anything to keep their students safe.
But teachers do not think they are entering a life-or-death profession on the first day of class.
There's been talk in the Senate of passing a law allowing teachers and faculty to carry guns. My mom, like most teachers, spends a lot of her own money to decorate her classroom and buy items that are an integral part of a child's development.
So, you won't pay for new crayons or books but you'll pay to give my mom a firearm and train her to use it?
Teachers did not become teachers so they could carry a gun.
Teachers create bonds with their students, no matter if they teach five-year-olds or eighteen-year-olds. They are experts at projecting a calm look while in the face of danger, as they would do anything to keep their students safe.
I know my mom would do anything for her students, which is both heartwarming and terrifying. I pray for her safety and for the safety of countless students, teachers, teachers aids, principals, and school faculty in this crazy world we live in.
