How would I react in a catastrophe?

During the past several weeks after yet another school catastrophe, this time in Florida, I have been quietly contemplating as we wait for the reaction that comes.  What doesn't surprise me, that seems to surprise most of the public, is the impressive nature of the students who survived.  It seems that, as adults we seem to forget how smart our children are.  We allow them to be smart as young children, hope they become more than we are, and finally get annoyed when they come back from college believing they are smarter than us.  This is all fine when they are "our" children.  When they are someone else's child who is trying to tell us what to do then we don't seem to believe they know enough to do that.  Rather ironic isn't it.

The thing is, as teachers we know how smart all of "our" children are.  Even those students we struggle with are really quite intelligent.  "Our" children work, often not as hard as we want them to until they find a reason to show what they are capable of.  "Our" children speak, often not as well as we want them to, until they find a cause that forces them in front of an audience.  "Our" children show passion, too often about things that we don't want them to be passionate about, until they show us the true power of passion.  

"Our" children mean a whole lot to me.  Most of my energy goes to trying to figure out how to harness their potential and create the best child they can become.  Because of that, it bothers me that I don't know how I would react to a similar catastrophe in my building.  Would I do whatever I could to save their life?  I have jumped up and saved a choking baby on a plane.  I have done CPR to a referee at a basketball game.  I have given the Heimlich to a choking adult.  It seems I have had too many opportunities to be around when a life is on the line.  

But none of these were my life...

Would I give my life for another student?  I really don't know.  My thoughts go to my family, my two boys who I have yet to finish raising.  My thoughts go to my wife, whom I look forward to growing old with.  My thoughts go to myself, and the experiences I really would like to have.  Am I willing to sacrifice those for the sake of someone else?  


Is this what I got into education for...

The answer is clearly no.  Educators are educators because they want to empower students through the use of their mind.  One of our biggest assets is trust.  We gain the trust of our students through a long, focused, and persistent process to get to know them and show them we care.  Can I gain a students trust with a gun strapped to my hip as I am now told I, or a few of my colleagues should do?  It seems that would get in the way of a trust building exercise.  If given the choice of being by someone with a gun or without, I would always choose without.  Wouldn't some, if not most of my students feel the same way?  Arming schools is not the solution to fixing this problem.  Making our schools "tougher" is not the solution.  Each of the children who have executed these shootings wouldn't respond well to tougher or more strict schools.  It is not discipline that fixes this. 

It is compassion...

We need to listen to our young adults speaking in front of the microphones.  It is interesting that what we hear on the news is all about the officer outside the building, the lack of a gun in the building, etc...  What we don't hear is what the true problem is, and there are several.  Why do these weapons exist?  Why do we have such easy access to them?  How does a child obtain them without one, if not many other people knowing?  Who do these children confide in?  How do they plan something like these acts and not tell anyone?  Who did these children trust?

We need Congress to help us equip our teachers with the time and talents to get to know the children they have in their classrooms.  We need parents to be an active part of the learning process, not just trusting that teachers can teach their child everything they need to know.  We need Congress to look in the mirror and consider that part of the problem may be themselves.  Finally, we need everyone to open their ears and minds and learn from the same children we have been trying to teach.  The generation we have heard so many concerns about is telling us they have learned.  They have learned and are now ready to teach us.