I had half a dozen interesting posts ready to go out today, but I decided it was inappropriate to return to business as usual after the tragedy at the Sandy Hook Elementary School.
I postponed them. So you won’t be getting another post today.
This is a time to mourn, to reflect, to be still.
It’s a time to think about the heroic staff at the school who reacted immediately to protect their students.
It’s a time to think about the principal Dawn Hochsprung and the school psychologist Mary Sherlach. When the trouble started, they ran to the shooter instead of hiding.
I saw an interview with a teacher who was distraught. A reader saw the same interview and said this: “Did you happen to catch the interview with the one teacher (one amazing wonderful woman) who shepherded her class into a bathroom and kept them all assured that they would be ok? She told them, “i want you all to know I love you.” She expressed to the interviewer that her thinking was that she was afraid they would die and she wanted to make sure that if they were that the last thing they would remember hearing was not the gunshots, but the sound of someone telling them that they were loved. “This” in this era of teacher bashing.”
Last night I got an email informing me, “you lost a follower.” That’s when I found out that Dawn Hochsprung followed me on Twitter; she followed only 70 people. I was shaken.
Mostly what I thought about was the parents. I have a six-year-old grandson, and I was heartsick for those who lost their babies. Many years ago, one of my children died of leukemia, which was horrible, but how much worse to think that your precious son or daughter was murdered. What unfathomable madness. I don’t know how you live with that terrible knowledge. The pain is unbearable.
There is no way to make sense of what happened. I ask myself why anyone is allowed to have an assault weapon. I don’t know why. I ask why and how our society has become so desensitized to violence and at the same time so addicted to it.
I think of the violent video games, the violent movies, the violent conflicts in which we engage around the world. And I think about how many seriously disturbed people see violence as a route to infamy or attention or some fantasy in which they are a super-hero/villain.
We have a lot of thinking to do.
About violence. About our reckless media. About the true heroism of our educators. About how we change our ways of thinking and acting. About how we protect our children. About why we are obsessed about being number 1 instead of spending more time repairing the serious ills of our society.
I don’t have the answers.
I just think it’s time to start asking the right questions.
Please feel free to leave a comment.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I taught with Dawn many years ago in a self contained behavioral program. She was an excellent educator, a devoted mother, a proud grandmother, and a beautiful human being who reached out to help everyone she met. Our hearts are broken; we are devastated. God bless the dedicated educators and the innocent, gentle babies.
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As these horrific events were unfolding, I spent the day teaching kindergarten and first grade music classes. We sang, we played games, we laughed together. The horror of this tragedy is that it could have happened anywhere in America. Our schools connect us, they nurture our children, they define our communities. So proud of the heroic actions of our teaching brothers and sisters in Newtown.
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Diane,
I would say we have to do a lot of thinking about gun control, which you didn’t mention, but the time for thinking about that is over. It is time to act. No one needs a semi-automatic.
I lost my son to gun violence. It is time to do something, to get out from under the thumb of the NRA. It is time to call every one of our elected officials and demand that they protect us. It is time to organize and become stronger than the NRA.
In a city like Philadelphia, we have a shooting almost every day. So we have a mass murder every month. Every teacher I know who has taught for even a few years, including me, has had a student shot to death.
Don’t let anyone tell us it is too soon to talk about this. It is too late. It is time to act.
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Violence begets violence. We reep what we sow in life. All children are born of innocence with potential for goodness or evil. Their future is written on their hearts and souls through experiences along the way. I don’t blame parents completely, for there is a ton of luck that influences a child’s life, but the family is the first community for building character and values. A lot has changed in our society, but that never will. It is where a child learns a self-control, self-love and selflessness. Perhaps that’s the kind of control we should be discussing first. If one has self-control, they are far less likely to pick up a gun. First things first. Once that window of opportunity to influence our children is closed to us, everything is up for grabs. Then, the media takes over the influence, of which it is filled with gratuitous violence that mimmicks some sordid notion of power and control. A person without self control, well, is out of control. The prisons are full of men, mainly, who have lost control of their lives. It is a pity how innocent children grow into evil adults, right before our eyes. We see it demonstrated everyday in stores, sidewalks, newspapers…disrespect for adults, parents mistreating children or worse and a general lack of engagement with one another. Could it be that one simple solution would be to mandate in this country that families will sit down at a dinner table every night together and discuss a topic of character, values and beliefs to support one another in creating a life of goodness. Turn off the cellphones, TV and turn on to each other instead. Guns, they enter the picture much later and when they do, our adult children will know right from wrong and perhaps not go there in the end. Oh, and how about posting the 10 Commandments in every home? Now, that’s some action if there ever was one!
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Well said. As teachers we can only try our best to help and love those children who are not receiving those values at home.
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Gun control isn’t the issue. In Mexico it’s illegal for citizens to own guns…so – the only people who are unable to protect themselves are law-abiding citizens. Just because you make something illegal it’s not going away – think Prohibition Era. I think our energy would be better spent on addressing mental illness rather than guns. Guns aren’t any more responsible for violence and death than spoons are for obesity and diabetes.
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@ FJ
> Gun control isn’t the issue. In Mexico
In Japan, civilian gun licenses are all but unheard of … and violent crimes are extremely rare!
Check my blog post:
http://tokyo.wordpress.com/2012/12/ 17/why-japan
>I think our energy would be better spent on addressing mental illness rather than guns.
A mental health check should be a requirement for a gun license.
>Guns aren’t any more responsible for violence and death than spoons are for obesity and diabetes.
I don’t agree.
Obesity would result from MISUSING a spoon … death is the unfortnate result of using a firearm CORRECTLY.
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Totally agree with you FJ; the fact of the matter is that criminals NEVER obey the law (by definition) so only law-abiding citizens will be affected (regardless of the target of legislation). My vote is to have the ability to defend myself against criminals when the law is unable to.
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No one is suggesting that guns be made illegal.. we are only asking for a little common sense when it comes to firepower. How can you compare Prohibition of alcohol with the banning of the sale of machine guns? All we’re asking is that people who gather in crowds be given a chance to survive. Why is that so difficult to understand?
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Guns enter the picture very early. They are a part of many children’s play, beginning in early childhood.
The 10 Commandments are a list of “don’ts” –if you read them in Hebrew, 7 out of 10 commandments start with the word, “No” (No this, No that, No this, No that… seven times.). It is not enough to give “don’t” rules to children. They need to learn how to behave in socially appropriate ways, which means that children must be taught what to “do.”
Self-regulation is not just about inhibiting impulses. It’s also about doing something different, including learning how to redirect thoughts to other things, to delay gratification, and self-soothing, to be able to cope with disappointment.
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When we created classroom rules and posted them in our room, we spent a lot of time practicing them and referred back to them often throughout the school year as needed. I wrote them in positive language of “We will…” The Ten Commandments are just right the way they are written, in my opinion. We can’t go soft on stating right from wrong. All of this is sorting through our individual thoughts and feelings. I wish it were as simple as I want it to be to make it all better.
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WELL, THERE IT IS…DON’T KNOW WHY THE REST OF YOU DIDN’T THINK OF IT FIRST…IT’S THOSE DARN ’10 COMMANDMENTS’ MESSING WITH US AGAIN. FIRST WE NEED TO REWRITE THOSE ARCHAIC, MISGUIDED IDEAS…THEN SOMETIME LATER DEAL WITH THE KILLERS AND THEIR GUNS. OR MAYBE ASK THE PARENTS OF THOSE CHILDREN WHO HAVE LOOKED INTO THE BARREL OF A GUN. OR MAYBE ASK THE CHILDREN…AT LEAST THE ONES STILL ABLE TO ANSWER.
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Further on I recommend the Golden Rule. Treat others like you want to be treated. It’s the easiest, more direct, most lasting “Commandment” we should all obey.
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in response to Sandy:
Violence begets violence. We reep what we sow in life. All children are born of innocence with potential for goodness or evil. Their future is written on their hearts and souls through experiences along the way. I don’t blame parents completely, for there is a ton of luck that influences a child’s life, but the […]
Guns enter the picture very early. They are a part of many children’s play, beginning in early childhood.
The 10 Commandments are a list of “don’ts” –if you read them in Hebrew, 7 out of 10 commandments start with the word, “No” (No this, No that, No this, No that… seven times.). It is not enough to give “don’t” rules to children. They need to learn how to behave in socially appropriate ways, which means that children must be taught what to “do.”
Self-regulation is not just about inhibiting impulses. It’s also about doing something different, including learning how to redirect thoughts to other things, to delay gratification, and self-soothing, to be able to cope with disappointment.
WELL, THERE IT IS…DON’T KNOW WHY THE REST OF YOU DIDN’T THINK OF IT FIRST…IT’S THOSE DARN ’10 COMMANDMENTS’ MESSING WITH US AGAIN. FIRST WE NEED TO REWRITE THOSE ARCHAIC, MISGUIDED IDEAS…THEN SOMETIME LATER DEAL WITH THE KILLERS AND THEIR GUNS. OR MAYBE ASK THE PARENTS OF THOSE CHILDREN WHO HAVE LOOKED INTO THE BARREL OF A GUN. OR MAYBE ASK THE CHILDREN…AT LEAST THE ONES STILL ABLE TO ANSWER.
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Do you adhere to “spare the rod and spoil the child”, too?” Not everyone believes that Bronze Age practices are what’s required for children to develop empathy, care, compassion and social skills –qualities people who knew the shooter have said he was lacking. If he had mental health issues, too, would preaching fear of God be your prescription as well?
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David, your “All children…” statement is a bit naive. Unfortunately some children are born broken. At this time that appears to be the case with the shooter. We see children like him every day. They come in the doors at five years old and we know. We do our best but most can never be fixed. We support them and nurture them and hope the next level of educators will do the same. Tragically for all in this terrible instance, this young man remained broken. The horror is
unfathomable.
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Ms Cartwheel…
Read the post again. The “All children…” comment was made by “Sandy.” My response to her is in all capital letters following hers.
Having said that, your comment that “Some children are born broken” smacks of a misinformed “original sin” theory. It seems more likely that “bad nurturing” is far more responsible for the heinous crimes we see than “bad nature.”
Tragedies to our children, such as the one we’re talking about in Connecticut, will not abate until we understand and acknowledge that our children are, in fact, this country’s greatest natural resource. Loving families, then nurturing schools are not just a good idea, they are essential to our well-being today and our society’s future.
We will reap what we sow. If we shortchange our youth by shortchanging our public schools, we will all look back on that in pain as the ultimate folly.
I said that making owning automatic and semi-automatic weapons illegal would not immediately end gun violence. But it’s a great start in that direction.
If putting a bullet into a squirrel or rabbit or deer is recreation for you, it shouldn’t take a gun that fires countless rounds or ordinance in the blink of an eye. Even if the rabbit is shooting back.
The argument that some criminals will still find a way to get assault rifles so why shouldn’t law-abiding citizens be able to get them too, makes no sense at all. Because the first step to protecting ourselves and our children is to limit, as much as possible, the potential damage.
How many children and adults…how many thousands of our sons and daughters and sisters and brothers and moms and dads would be alive today if the mass-murders we keep hearing about had little or no access to guns that spray massive death in seconds at the touch of a trigge?
We limit “free speech” because some hateful speech can hurt…deeply. Why, then, is it so hard to grasp the concept of limiting the “right to bear arms” when it hurts us…especially the most defenseless of us…even more deeply than the worst speech.
The NRA speaks for the rights of law-abiding gun owners. Who will speak for the rights of our equally law-abiding, innocent children?
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Read in context and together with other biblical passages
on ethical living, the 10 commandments would make more sense than a
7/10 negative list. The Decalogue aside, self-regulation is about
thinking about what we will do in a situation before we actually do
it. I love the simple formula of counting to ten, a great
discipline that gives us the opportunity to think before we act.
Reactions lack this critical factor.
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BEAUTIFULLY STATED! Thank you.
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I TOTALLY AGREE! GOD bless us and our country.
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Very well said, Lisa!
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I am sad and depressed for this country. Teachers as shown by this tragedy are true heroines and heroes. Now is the time for the politicians, big business, and the standardistos to stop bashing teachers, closing our public schools, and privatizing them. I hold them accountable in part for this tragedy. They would rather blame and then close down schools because of a test score than deal with the real issue — the unequal and under-fundingl funding of our public schools and the over reliance of tests and scripts. Thank goodness the news reporters didn’t bash teachers for this tragedy. The school district did all they could. And please WE DON’T NEED SCHOOLS to be LOCKED DOWN 24/7 and be like jails and KIPP bubbles.
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Sleepless in America describes last night for many people. Your post examines all that kept me awake, thinking, praying and mourning for those innocent children who were massacred in their classrooms. I weep for our country today, again, just like yesterday, and will tomorrow as well. We are facing a huge wakeup call for decency in our homes, schools, communities, the country as a whole. Painful though it is right now, something good must come of the suffering. I fear that our hearts are either too broken to make it so or too hardened to find the will to do it. What better venue to spread goodness over evil than through social media? You and many others are off to a great start. Let’s all work together to bring forward the healing and support to carry on by posting thoughts and words for recovery it to begin. First comes awareness, then acceptance and then action. It’s time for action. Let it begin with us.
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As these horrific events were unfolding, I spent the day teaching kindergarten and first grade music classes. We sang, we played games, we laughed together. The horror of this tragedy is that it could have happened anywhere in America. Our schools connect us, they nurture our children, they define our communities. So proud of the heroic actions of our teaching brothers and sisters in Newtown.
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Please forgive me for posting this again, but I posted it way at the bottom of the previous entry about Sandy Brook and most people will never scroll down that far. I think it’s important.
My husband, who is much more into twitter than myself (I’m not very good with character limitations as you can tell from my lengthy rambling blog posts), found the twitter stream of the Principal in Newtown. Apparently she was not a huge fan of Arne Duncan’s policies as well. It takes a lot for an administrator to publicly speak out against the Secretary of Education. It takes a lot of love for her students and knowing what is right for her students and what her students really need to put her job on the line. She knew what her students needed was a safe and caring place where they could feel loved and develop emotionally as empathetic human beings. With our narrow focus on test results and the Common Core narrowing of the curriculum to facts, ma’am, just the facts “nobody cares what you think” informational texts, we will lose our humanity even more. Please, teachers, now is the time to speak up about what is really needed in our schools. Who cares what your administrators or district officials will think of you? We could all be gone tomorrow. YOLO!!! In case you don’t know what YOLO means, you can read my blog post about it and the image for my gravatar here http://kafkateach.wordpress.com/2012/12/15/yolo.
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I can’t stop crying. In 1994 my associate principal was shot at my school here in Wisconsin. I have had counseling through the years but when something like this happens I am right back to 1994. I remain in teaching because I love working with my students but how can we live in a society where this continues to be possible? Is there something fundamentally corrupted within our collective soul that we fail to respond to safeguard all of our future? I attended my children’s elementary school holiday concert yesterday with tears. I woke up repeatedly last night and am now up at 5 AM trying to make some sense of life. I am still in tears.
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Thank you Diane. I hope to see you next time you are in Austin, Texas. You are truly an inspiration, and should be our country’s NEXT Secretary of Education! IJS, IMHO!
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“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” To this day, especially in times of “disaster,” I remember my mother’s words and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers – so many caring people in this world.” — Fred Rogers
Fred Rogers talks about: Tragic Events in the News
and Helping Children Feel Secure
http://www.fredrogers.org/new-site/par-tragic-events.html
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Dr. Ravitch, thank you for finding the right words in response to this terrible tragedy.
I am, as always, grateful.
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All of the above! And more. Thank you for all the thoughtful reflection on the profession and what we are doing to and with the nation’s children. Let us pause to allow the events sink in, truly sink in, then we must act. We must take a stand for our children. All of them!
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People don’t usually think of teachers as first responders, but that is exactly what they are. Whether it is physical assault, social aggression, emotional trauma or cognitive battering, educators are there to protect and defend our nation’s children each day.
Many thanks to the Sandy Hook administrators, faculty and staff who so clearly demonstrated how committed educators are to serving as parentis in loco, selflessly putting the needs, safety and precious lives of children before their own.
Bless them, the children, and all of the families affected by such senseless tragedy.
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Here is Dawn dressed up as the Sandy Hook Book Fairy reading to the kids. Let’s believe they are all reading together in heaven, safe and protected.
https://mobile.twitter.com/DHochsprung/status/269538800085118977/photo/1
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This is teaching in its purest form. Precious photo depicting a true angel among little angels.
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I hurt for the families, the parents and pray for them all. During my time in the military I had to witness the truth; that children are dying all over the world from adult violence. As a parent and a grandmother my soul is hurting for those who lost children and grandchildren in this insane tragedy. My thoughts are not why, since I live in a country that is so full of special interests, powerful lobbyists and billionaire political donors, I already know why; in social issues, gun control, education, unions, workers benefits, environmental legislation etc. I cannot trust that the politicians I elected are working for me. For families. For women. For children.
Our country remains fascinated and repulsed by violence while keeping our heads deep beneath the sands of reality. All day at school I heard, “Thank God we work somewhere this kind of thing never happens!”
I had to stay in my room, close and lock my door and lose myself in grading research papers. Or at least I tried to.
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The teacher who locked her class in the bathroom is one of the teachers with ties to our school. We are waiting word on another one.
A terribly sad day and close to home. I looked at my students differently on Friday afternoon after we got word of what happened. How can anyone take a life, especially that of a child? My heart aches for those parents. Monday will be a tough day for teachers. Our students will have heard the news over the weekend. We will need to reassure them and assuage their fears. I hope I am up to the task. My district is developing a plan for Monday, as I am sure many districts are.
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People just don’t think it through….where would a gun be in a school? In a teacher’s holster, for crying out loud? How long did it take for this to happen? How long would it take to get a gun out of a safe? How many accidents would there be? It’s ludicrous.
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Some dope said it the teachers were armed the violence wouldn’t have been so great. Could you imagine these little babies seeing their teacher in a shoot out or kill someone?
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Diane I agree with all of the above and I would add more..
We need to think about untreated mental illness…. My colleagues and I encounter more students with serious mental illness each year. We need help dealing with violent students.The courts do not help and often parents are helpless.
These young people often turn to drugs which exacerbate the problem. They become more and more alienated….There are no support systems that work–when you seek support outside the school, you are told to put the student in special Ed. I cannot imagine that some of this will not be part of the story.
Every good principal would do what Dawn did, knowing all the while the futility ….. May God comfort her family.
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Carol,
I agree. In a school year I typically have about 6-8 of my elementary students who spend time in mental health treatment facilities. These children are 9-12 years old. One left my school in an ambulance this week. We do our best with these disturbed children, but I feel like it’s a bandaid on a gaping wound. It is time for these conversations. My heart aches.
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Thank you for posting this, as I thought the same thing. As a country, we do not treat mental illness; we merely put a bandaid on the problem and send them back to school, work, the streets, their families. Families are stressed and coping in the best way they can. It costs more money to treat mental illness effectively. As we’re speaking about gun violence, let’s speak about the real issues.
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EMPTY HOUSE by Stephen Spender
Then,when the child was gone,
I was alone
In the house, suddenly grown vast. Each noise
Explained its origin away
Animal , vegetable , mineral ,
Nail,creaking board, or little mouse.
But mostly there was quiet of after a battle
Round the room where lay
The soldiers and the paint-box , all the toys.
Then, when I went to tidy these away,
My hands refused to serve:
My body was this house,
Each plaything that he’d touched, an exposed nerve.
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Thank you for this.
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Diana–
I don’t have Twitter but I read your blog faithfully. I am crying right now–grief stricken over what happened and I can add nothing to what you and others have said. I am from Michigan–a retired public school teacher who is lucky enough to have many students who have stayed in touch with me 30 years after I taught them–I taught high school–and I was also a labor union consultant at Michigan Education Association and now am a publisher of a regional woman’s magazine in Michigan–and yes, that makes me a small business owner. I have been active here in Michigan trying to stop the heinous laws that have been enforced. I am active with a group that is trying to get the truth out about Muskegon Heights–it is worse than the public and media know.
I don’t understand guns that are made specifically to kill people–I never have–and I thank you for all that you do.
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Yesterday I sat and mourned with my fellow administrator over these tragic events, as we recognized how easily this could happen at any of our schools. Most people, especially the news media, are clueless about the kinds of things we deal with on a daily basis at a school. Crisis drills and lockdown drills are a part of our monthly drill cycle. We can only pray that in a real crisis we will be able to protect our students.
No school is safe as long as guns, especially automatic weapons, are allowed in our country. I will not rant about this now, but my legislators WILL hear from me today.
I mourn for the families of this school, but also for our country. It is time for some courageous conversations about gun control and also about mental health services, especially for children and young adults.
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It’s time to think about how we can build more caring, peaceful, happy communities in all areas of life. Thank you for your questions and perspective during this very sad time.
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I am a retired principal of an elementary school. I don’t have any answers either but, as most educators know, cuts in social workers, limited powers of educators who know there are kids who need mental health services but are constrained by “rules” that dictate which kids get help and which kids do not, and parents who cannot face the fact that their child has problems that need to be addressed. In my last year as a principal, the superintendent asked us to make a choice between cutting speech and language specialists or social workers. I expressed that this was not a choice I could make but was the only principal in the district who spoke to this issue. We educators need to speak up and tell legislators what is happening at schools.
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On behalf of the parents of Tasmania our love ,dismay and arms reach out to the whole community of parents and teachers. Words cannot be found .Jen ,President Tasmanian Public School Parents.
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This is a horror, of course.
One reaction is to truly ‘hate’ the killer who was obviously nuts… And why did he have access to the weapons???
It is seemingly obvious that “losers” hurt people they despise… Or they want to share the “glory” (gory as it may be…)— think Mark Chapman… Or the killers of “stars” such as Rebecca Schaefer…
We have strong gun control in NY… And yet there are shootings, almost all! in poorer neighborhoods…
Where was security at the school? How did he ‘execute’ so many? Do we need armed guards and metal detectors always?
There are no simple easy answers… And we do need to protect free speech so yelling at the media on violence is probably worthless…
The issue may be how do people get to be this way… This kid killed 26… Hitler killed 70 million… Etc. How do we identify problems ahead… Hitler was obvious let’s say, but was this kid or the Columbine, etc. killers?
We need controls on weapons, but the folks who love their weapons are not going to let them go or be ‘over- regulated’…
So, Diane is correct… This is a mourning time… A lot of words and such cannot replace now the wound we have all suffered (see John Donne, again— it tolls for thee…)
For peace and in sadness…
And my regard, empathy for/with Diane… Losing a child is enormous…
Best, and L’Chaim! (To Life!)
Neal
PS— Thanks to N Gotbaum and to the Parent Coord at MSC…
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T
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“Where was security at the school? How did he ‘execute’ so many? Do we need armed guards and metal detectors always?”
He shot his way in, apparently. I’m not sure what one can do about that other than harden the school like a military installation, but I don’t think that’s what we want schools to be like.
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I already emailed last night to say thank you to the teachers who kept their classes safe. I also saw an interview with a mom who stated that a teacher risked her life to go out into the hall and pull her son to safety . The child might have been killed if not for the bravery of that teacher.
I don’t want to make these comments into a political argument, but people need to realize that teachers play the role of parent daily in our schools. It is a difficult job. Protecting children and keeping them safe from harm is a duty that needs to be appreciated in our society. Bravo once again again to those brave teachers who took such good care of their children.
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Confused,
As a teacher in Connecticut, near Sandy Hook, I saw the look on my fellow colleagues faces that we no longer could say that something like this could never happen here. I teach in an amazing suburban school district, like Newtown, and it was clear that our high school was in no way safer because of its location if something like this could happen a few towns away.
Yet I knew that many teachers in Connecticut were having similar thoughts. My husband teaches in the city of Bridgeport and he heard the news while he was watching his 5th graders during recess. He messages me that he could barely keep it together as he saw them playing innocently on the playground when just a few weeks ago the school was locked down for the third or fourth time this year due to gun violence in the neighborhood.
I received a call from my mom who teaches kindergarten also in Bpt. and was home ill yesterday. We both began crying as we shared that we knew it was a kindergarten that was targeted. I knew it could have been her school,which is my sons school. My son, who I know we both were thinking of at that exact moment, whose kindergarten classroom is directly across from hers.
This could have been my aunts school or any of the other 3 schools that I have had the honor of teaching in. This was the school of my fellow friends and high school classmates. Yesterday I learned of who was safe and today I have been told of how my circle of friends and colleagues has been impacted. We are not safe in our classrooms just because this and other tragedies have happened in different states, different towns, or other coasts. This is the elephant in the room that so many have ignored and said that today is not the day to address.
We as teachers have homework to do. We need to be the ones that have the conversation regarding the reality of gun violence in our country with our government elected officials. We need to be the group that regardless of our political affiliations stand together and say that enough is enough. We need to be the group that marches and says we will not leave until our children can go to school and be safe.
In the next 15 days I will give birth to our third child and I pray that this child will never have to hear what we heard on the news yesterday. I pray that my son will continue to be shielded from the events until I can explain it to him when he is older. I pray most of all that children will be allowed to keep their innocence and not have someone steal it away. Ironically, yesterday in English we finished reading The Catcher in The Rye. I find myself wishing I could follow Holden’s dream and keep the children of Sandy Hook from loosing their innocence.
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The vast majority of teachers have always been, and will always be, heroes, not villains. It’s a sad commentary that so many “reformers” don’t understand this and see only “dollars” as the raison d’être.
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And I agree w the Mayor… But also it is not (only) guns… Look at Israel where almost all have guns…
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T
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Yesterday, the least I had heard about this event before heading off to my final classes for the day was “the shooter is dead, three sent to the hospital.” I felt relieved, taking it could have been a lot worse. When my final class was concluded, I then heard an update of the full extent of the devastation. I don’t think I would have been able to conduct my class if I had known earlier.
Also, my six year old daughter overheard the news while my wife was watching, and I had to try to explain to her what had happened. I do not know if I did a fair job of it, but I am sickened that I had to discuss such an obscenity with a little girl.
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Thank you for this beautiful and important post. I would only say that mourning takes a different shape and time for each person. There is a reason for timed, structured mourning–memorials, funerals, moments of silence, acts of commemoration–yet none of these can direct a person’s private sadness.
For me, this is a day of mourning, but I will also be grading homework and reading Donne. I do not see this as contrary to mourning. Last night I listened to an extraordinary performance of Mahler’s Third Symphony and found that it expanded my world a little and, with that, brought out sadness.
It is sadness over yesterday’s terrible events, and also over our tense and reactive society with its demand for instant satisfaction and instant results. I do not know that that had anything to do with the murderer’s state of mind. He may have been planning this act for years; he may have done the same in a kinder world. Nor would the teachers and children have shown such bravery if our world were uniformly reactive and self-serving. Any age is complex; it is difficult to say one thing unequivocally about it.
All the same, it’s an age of bombardment. There is little respite. Yesterday, within an hour of the news of the murders, I received two hormone ads by email. (I have a spam filter, but things get through anyway.) At the movie theater, the previews are not only violent but aggressively and frighteningly uniform; they seem to follow a formula of loud noises, swift scene changes, shootings, hackneyed lines, and confused narrative–and you get a whole string of such previews before the movie starts. At restaurants, the music is cranked up loud on purpose: so people have to talk over it and thus build up a “buzz.”
Again, this may not have anything to do with what happened in Newtown. But the sense of bombardment and overload is not making people kinder, either. I find this in the classroom, every day. I have to stop things over and over to remind kids to take turns speaking. When many students are talking at once, about any number of topics, the train of thought gets lost. It takes quite a bit of doing to build the necessary pauses and quiet–without resorting to regimentation. There is little sense (in the larger society) of what it means to listen, to think, to let an idea build, to take in various aspects of an issue, to look into someone’s eyes. I dream of a world where people quiet down just enough to take something or someone in.
“So runs my dream, but what am I?”
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If you want a cathartic connection to what Rilke called the “depth-dark sobbing” of your soul, I would suggest listening to Mahler’s 6th Symphony, “Tragic”, which he wrote after the death of his eldest child. It can found in its entirety here:
Download this mp3 from Abmp3.com
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Thank you. I will listen to it, maybe today. I have to listen to No. 3 again first, though;I have heard nothing like it.
Also, I have been rereading the ending of Saul Bellow’s Seize the Day, which my tenth-grade students are reading now (they will finish it this weekend). Tommy Wilhelm, having lost all his money and his last hope, finds himself entering a stranger’s funeral and sobbing his heart out.
I won’t copy the last paragraph here, but here’s a paragraph near the end:
“Soon he was past words, past reason, coherence. He could not stop. The source of all tears had suddenly spring open within him, black, deep, and hot, and they were pouring out and convulsed his body, bending his stubborn head, bowing his shoulders, twisting his face, crippling the very hands with which he held the handkerchief. His efforts to collect himself were useless. The great knot of ill and grief in his throat swelled upward and he gave in utterly and held his face and wept. He cried with all his heart.”
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Terrific quote! And oh so timely…
Mahler, as well as the teacher who introduced me to him in my late teens, when I was struggling with a lot of existential angst, truly changed the course of my life. All of Mahler’s symphonies take you through an incredible emotional adventure, reaching both the abyss of despair as well as the zenith of joy, so I’ve always found them to be, ultimately, very life-affirming. I recommend all of Mahler’s works.
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It’s been decades since I read Mahler’s biography and I remember now that he actually wrote this symphony, as well as a series of songs entitled “Kindertotenlieder” (Songs on the Death of Young Children), before his own child died. YouTube has the songs as well.
The Andante Moderato movement of the 6th symphony is particularly moving:
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One of our parent volunteers sent our principal an email thanking us all for conducting code red drills. We had another drill yesterday. I cannot fathom what would drive someone to murder his mother, and try to destroy what she cared about, and I am saddened that code red drills are necessary, but I am glad we do them! So are our students’ families. Keep up the good fight !
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Diane
Daily, your followers find wisdom, insight, and courage in your posts – an ally in taking on one educational cause or another. Today, we find comfort – and an ally in taking on causes of life and death proportion. And – to Lisa (above) – thank you for sharing. The loss of a son to gun violence is just tragic. May his memory be a blessing.
If only America had a memory – and Presidents and Governors and Legislators had some courage.
30 years ago (next month) my principal, my fellow assistant principal, and I with others literally wrote the book as we worked through a school shooting. Three students died and not a day goes by… And, so it began – “counselors will be available” – how to talk to children about death – gun accessibility – calls for metal detectors (which do not stop terrorists and those on an evil mission). 30 years later, nothing has changed.
And, after mourning these deaths, hearing the stories of teacher heroism, and responding to the questions about our schools locally – it will be business as usual.
* Not one gun will be removed from the streets or deemed illegal and the NRA will spin their usual “guns don’t kill people, people kill people.”
* Federal, state, and local funding for mental health services and social services will continue to be cut drastically from budgets.
* Local CPS (child protection services) and “hot lines” will continue to be understaffed and overloaded with cases that never get addressed.
The only glimmer of hope is that Mr. Obama does not have to worry about re-election and maybe, just maybe, there are a few other legislators out there who care more about lives and principles than getting re-elected.
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p.s. And herein lies the problem. The tweets cited in this article (link below) are sad and sick. And, if you go to the profiles of the senders and read more of theirs – it just gets worse.
Mother Jones @MotherJones
Here’s how conservatives are reacting to the #Newtown Shooting:
http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2012/12/conservatives-newtown-shooting-twitter
example?
Ben Shapiro @benshapiro
Irrational proposal: Seize guns from the law-abiding. Rational proposal: Register the mentally ill with the feds so they can’t buy guns.
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“I ask why and how our society has become so desensitized to violence and at the same time so addicted to it.”
We’re addicted to violence because that is what our country glorifies. See Diane’s experience at the movies for example.
Many here won’t like what I am going to say but I believe it needs to be said.
As I was listening to our president speak (and I thought he did a good job of it) of this tragedy (and it is the worst kind of tragedy, senseless killings of completely innocent children) my thoughts went to senseless killings of innocent children in the many illegal wars of aggression in which we choose to engage. And it occurred to me that our president probably doesn’t shed a tear for all the innocents he has had murdered through said immoral wars.
M. Albright believed that the 500,000 dead Iraqi children from the “economic” war waged upon that country in the 90s was “worth it” (and to believe that these sanctions prevents the dictators and their ilk from not harming the innocent all the more takes some specious thinking). Thousands and thousands of innocent children have been killed in the the various “theaters” of our immoral wars by the supposed “good” guys who represent our country. Please read “Is This Child Dead Enough for You?” at: http://www.counterpunch.org/2012/11/09/is-this-child-dead-enough-for-you/ to get an idea of these weekly tragedies spawned by this country.
If we refuse to look in the mirror at ourselves to see how our murderous international actions eventually come back to haunt us then we really shouldn’t be surprised when something like this happens. The amount of money we spend on creating the most violent and efficient killing machine that is the DOD could easily be spent for social goods. But as Country Joe and the Fish sang in “Feel Like I’m Fixing to Die Rag”, “there’s plenty of money to be made by supplying the army with its tools of trade”. If your not familiar with the song go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Soy3PHV3RiM
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The article in the Times said that Dawn believed children should be critical thinkers. She also kept her teachers informed on education policies coming out of Washington. It is no surprise that she followed your blog. It’s unfortunate it took this tragedy to let people know that she did not like Duncan’s policies. I am sure this has already been communicated to Arne and the president. I wish more administrators would.honor her memory by following her example.
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I am sickened over this, as a mom, as an educator. How often do we see young children in our classrooms who need serious help and can’t find the resources to help them because of severe budget cuts? My school shares a guidance counselor with 2 other schools. She is awesome and does her best, but let’s be realistic. In this current day and age children are exposed to all kinds of violence. Many children are broken by fifth grade, the grade I teach, and it’s so frustrating not to be able to do anything, but hug them, reach out to the family and be there for them. At that point, testing is a non-issue. My prayers go out to all involved. I just tell myself there are 20 more angels in heaven looking down on us. Maybe they will be able to help us.
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I’ve been shaken to the core thinking about those precious innocents and their last moments while teachers struggled to protect them with their last breath.
In the name of these sweet children, we must address the serious issues that face this nation.
Yesterday, I posted on Twitter ~ In the name of these innocent children.. we need strict gun control. to hell with the NRA~ over and over again. I was at a loss for words so I just continued to post it over and over and over again.
I couldn’t believe the hate I received in return!
More evidence we need to address the serious societal issues our nation is facing,
Mental health- many posted yesterday that it was easier to get a gun than it was to get mental health services
Gun control- we need serious campaign finance rules to neutralize the power of the NRA
We often make calls to child protective services, we try to get kids the help they need with health, and mental issues, we try to identify the risks, we work on safety drills, we work day in and day out to create a safe and secure environment for the children we love and teach. Yet evil find it’s way in to our safe havens.
Sometime we can’t stop evil, yet we mustn’t ignore the things we can do to deter it. Gun control, mental health services must be thrust to the top of our nations agenda.
Enough of the blaming teachers and schools for our nations woes. It’s time for drastic action. It’s time to stand our ground and demand accountability for those truly responsible for this horrible tragedy.
I hold the NRA responsible
I hold every one of our elected official who accepted campaign donations from the NRA responsible
I hold every elected official who ever voted or blocked gun control responsible
I hold every elected official who refused to stand up and push for gun control legislation responsible
I hold those who limit mental health services responsible
I hold those elected officials continue to block legislation that expands mental health services responsible
I hold gun manufacturers and gun shop owners responsible
I hold those who produce ammunition responsible
I hold those evil people who sent me hate messages defending gun owner rights responsible
I hold the ignorant defenders of the second amendment responsible
And if we don’t stand up and do whatever we can to prevent this from ever happening again, I will hold us responsible as well.
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I’m with you! I am sad and angry! Do we have to wait until there is a school shooting in all 50 states before we say enough is enough?
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Do we say enough is enough when our drones senselessly murder innocent children on a weekly basis?
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You would think so…
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But we don’t. It doesn’t even make the news.
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A terrible tragedy. How can we reduce this insanity? The staff and people of that school were heroic. Maybe the public will finally see that the educators of this country are loving and caring people who truly devote their lives to their profession. How will this community ever heal from this horrific event?
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Another sad, sad day in our country. It is time to mourn for the families of this school and community. But it is also time for our elected officials and citizens to enact serious gun control and to support an adequate mental health system, beginning with counselors and psychologists in our schools.
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http://www.angelamaiers.com/2012/12/there-is-no-lesson-plan-for-tragedy-teachers-you-know-what-to-do.html There is no lesson plan for tragedy
Diane, I wanted to share this post from @AngelaMaiers Teachers need to be proud of who we are and what we do for our students. Stand tall!
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Thank you.
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Mark Blumenthal • Gun Control Polling : Could Sandy Hook Shooting Shift Support?</a<
My Response —
It will only happen if people become more important than money.
In the mean time, your friendly neighborhood and national brand arms dealers are laughing all the way to the bank, dealing arms to every side in the ever-escalating personal arms race, rolling in dough from the cycle of fear and periodic slaughter.
We are passing from a country ruled by people to a country ruled by money, a country where money is the only power and the only value, where human life pales in significance.
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Sorry, that left angle bracket should be changed to a right, especially if subsequent comments get messed up, after which you could delete this comment. — Jon
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How Long to Sing this Song?
This song has always given me comfort in times pain and anguish.
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Thank you for this gift of comfort on another day of grieving.
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Thank you for this. What a difference a day makes. For those of us involved as education activists, this is indeed a time for reflection. This does, however, reaffirm for me the heroes that teachers are. I find it sad that it takes a tragedy of this magnitude for the media to extol the virtues and heroism of teachers when prior to this they have been vilified. No bar exam would have changed one thing that those teachers did for their students. It’s time for the tone of this country to change, not just toward teachers but toward each other. Toward people who hold a differing opinion than we do.
Thank you for reminding us that it’s time to grieve and for giving us a forum where people could share personal stories of those who risked or lost their lives. Thank you for sharing these stories, everyone. These are our brothers and sisters and in the following days we will quietly and in our own ways remember those who we did not know but who we share a kinship with.
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There is a deep calling in educators to place the lives of their students before their own lives. It is in our DNA and, in times like these, we see this spirit of sacrifice in a totally different light. But it is in each one of us that teaches.
Teaching is a noble profession and I weep for the babies and the teachers who lost their lives.
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As an educator the actions by the school administrator, teachers , and staff,….”it is being reported that a school custodian ran down the hallway alerting everyone that there was a shooter in the school…..” It speaks to the dedication and exemplary practice of educators across this nation. It is a sad time for all Americans and time to address gun control!
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Reading the New York Times article about Adam Lanza, the alleged Sandy-Hook killer, I’m in pain at how cut off from the humanity this boy was. Possible Asperger’s syndrome, no picture in a high-school year book, child of a dissolving marriage, living in a suburban box of a home. One quote by a former high-school classmate cut home: “I think that maybe he wasn’t given the right kind of attention or help. I think he went so unnoticed that people didn’t even stop to realize that maybe there’s actually something else going on here — that maybe he needs to be talking or getting some kind of mental help. In high school, no one really takes the time to look and think, ‘Why is he acting this way?’ ”
In the wake of these shootings, my immediate wish after this horror is for America to focus on reaching out to the abandoned people of the country.
I’m completely in favor of gun control, would gladly pay for better mental health care and wouldn’t mind less media violence. But, for me, the crying need is for connection. I think the most important thing in common among the countries who DON’T suffer these tragedies is community. Switzerland and Israel have guns; Germany has mental health care, Japan not so much: but all these places have intact, face-to-face societies where many people DO take the time to look and think. More about why this is so important in a second.
America can be such a lonely place — for men, particularly. I found this out when I got testicular cancer. There were more than 1,000 support groups for the female equivalent cancer (breast cancer) but not a single one for men. This observation isn’t meant to stir up gender strife; it’s just to point out that, for whatever reasons, men here don’t do a great job of helping each other in times of trouble.
Even the thinnest strands of human connection can lessen acts of violence. Those of you know about the famous Milgram Shock Experiments (Google it, if you don’t – but beware that films are disturbing.) probably are aware that authorities were able to convince about half of the population to deliver potentially lethal doses of electricity to strangers. What doesn’t get as widely broadcast is that any form of contact between perpetrator and victim radically reduced the level harm. That is to say, if the perpetrator knew the victim’s name, he or she didn’t “kill” as much. If the perpetrator touched the victim’s hand, he or she didn’t “kill” as much.
How can we — that is, Americans — better get to know and care for each other? Christian scolds like Mike Huckabee are offensive but they are probably if inadvertently right that regular attendance at a religious institution would help.
But you where and how it can happen even better?
In schools. Especially public schools.
Public schools are where kids first meet the world. If the world is kind enough to meet them right back, it can make all the difference. But is there a more lonely place in the universe than a lonely school?
I can’t tell you the number of outliers I’ve talked to over 25 years of teaching. But I can tell you that I have tried to take the time to talk with them regularly, introduce them to like-minded students, create safe, rewarding environments for them, and nudge them toward better habits. The letters and calls they send back, years later, makes me think that it might have done some good. Please understand, I’m not making any kind of arrogant boast about being able to have help Mr. Lanza and his victims. I just think that schools are institutions of social connection and that, along with so many other institutions in the USA, they can help.
I can also tell you that it’s EXACTLY this kind of human contact that the so-called school reform movement is trying to eliminate. Every time, some pompous politician declares that schools should be run like businesses, the fat that he’s talking about cutting is the “chewing the fat,” that makes schools warm places. Every extra standardized test and time-sucking set of “professional development” sessions and “implementation” periods slices the potential for teacher-student contact, too. And every one of those bell-shaped curves we fit over out students puts them in competition, not connection, with each other.
The word I’ve been using over and again here is “connection.” Now that I’m finishing, I realize that connection was a polite cover-up. The word I really mean — why was I so embarrassed to use it? — is love. What if Adam Lanza had felt loved? I think that would have made a big difference. Love comes primarily from family — but that doesn’t mean that the rest of us can’t throw more into the pot. I’m a teacher because it seems to me to be a way to create more love in the world. Schools, in my opinion, should nurture love.
That, yesterday, a school in America became a place of death leaves me in agony. But now that this unforgivably long monologue is over – I’m so sorry, guys — my response will be to get back in there and love more.
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You are right – connection is key. However, the public school is not where kids first meet the world. Unfortunately, they have been exposed to a lifetime of confused, non-child centered content and until we start treating children like children again, we are doomed.
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Educators aren’t the first gateway for children. Parents are. I have long suggested that some parents need more help than others and a good use of our school buildings would be to offer classes, seminars and support for those who need it most. Make it mandatory. If a child is struggling in school academically, emotionally or physically, require parents/families to attend support groups, meetings, classes to lend the help they need. Just do it until there is improvement. We educators cannot do it alone, nor can families. As a community, we can be much more effective. The Newtown community are demonstrating that truth for the rest of us to see. Over 1,000 people attending a church for spiritual guidance and support within 24 hours of the massacre? Ask yourself, would YOU be witness to something that profound in your community? I admit that I wouldn’t. We tend to isolate, relying instead on gadget connections, TV reality shows and violent movies to connect us to something to make us feel alive. Today, I am going to find a way to connect more closely with my community, if only to reach out to the very next person who seems to need it more than I do.
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It may be just anecdotal, but I began school when I was 2, which I remember in great detail because I made a concerted effort to become toilet trained so they would accept me, and I distinctly recall thinking that school was “world.” I surmised that “world” had different rules from “home”, too, and I behaved much better for my teachers than I did at home for my parents (who were authoritative, not permissive).
In my experience as a classroom teacher, I often had parents who were surprised to learn how well behaved their children were in school, because their kids tested the limits at home with them. I’ve discussed this a lot with my students, who are early childhood teachers,and most have reported encountering the same thing. (Of course, there are always outliers.)
I don’t mean to diminish the role of parents as children’s first and most important teachers. I just wanted to point out that the Original Poster was not really off track, and that children’s perceptions can differ greatly from those of adults.
Of course, “world” can be private school, too. I went to a private “nursery school”, in the 50s, since there weren’t any public preschools then and the few kids who attended were sent for socialization and enrichment. I really loved school and my teachers and, because of that, I associated “world” with positive experiences. I think that I also learned how to behave better in different environments, including at home with my parents, as a result of those wonderful teachers and the engaging early learning experiences they provided.
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Perhaps the best and easiest forum for connection will become social media? Your monologue winds through your thinking until you get it just right at the end…what the world needs more of is… love. Pure and simple. Human connection. I agree that the reform pundits wish to focus on the bottom line at becoming #1 in the world instead of putting our children and families #1. That is a risk our country is not prepared for. Schooling’s purpose is to grow decent, civilized citizens who will contribute to the world in honorable, productive ways, giving back to each new generation. Nowhere can I find that it is a competition for world rankings. As usual, happiness is in our own backyards, not at the mercy of what others who want us to believe power and prestige will make it so. Maybe the first thing we can do, tonight, is set the dinner table, perhaps more decorative than usual, and sit down with our families and begin a dialogue about what is important in life. Let it begin with me, you, us…one day at a time. Wouldn’t it be something if recovery began with bringing the family meal back into vogue. It’s where we all began with good intentions but were so easily distracted by things that really don’t matter. I love the phrase “You matter in the world”. Do our kids hear that often enough?
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A very thoughtful post…
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There is so much to be sad for and our hearts go out to our friends and families in Newtown. The emotional impact is only beginning. What is also sad is how this will be used to serve further the anti-gun agenda when the problem is so much larger. We as a society, must examine what we are doing to our children. We have become a nation of adults who accept the trash that is fed to our children through the internet and tv, and then shrug our shoulders and say, “Well, there going to see it anyway.” or “Boy, things sure have changed.” There are millions of messages delivered to a child well before they even understand what a gun is which shapes their minds, their morals and their behaviors. We really need to examine the motives of those who purport to care about children, yet who create policies that abandon them. Why do we have policies that don’t focus on family or support the strength of family? Why do we have entitlements (i.e. food stamps, welfare) that literally chain individuals to a particular way of life because there is no way to get off? There is no support or transition plan to a better life. Why has television, movies and books focused on issues that serve to provide images and life choices that are not good for children? We are pushing for education reform which is going to make this even worse. We know children are sponges, eager for information yet who develop at their own pace – they are a rainbow of personalities and abilities. So why do we test them on one narrow band? Why do we create programs that will further alienate children from their teachers as teachers begin to feel the fear that if their child of many colors doesn’t do well on this one particular measure, they will lose their job? There is so much that needs to be examined. We have to think about why we have abandoned children. We are living in the new Industrial Revolution where children are measured by the number of hours they go to school, what they produce, and we no longer monitor how their minds are shaped. It is a sad time.
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Perhaps this tragedy will give us the courage to stand up, speak up and declare that we aren’t going to take it any longer. The hearts and souls of the children in our schools matter far more than any competition with other countries, test scores or rankings. Enough IS enough. And I think we’ve all had enough already!
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We have food stamps so that people who cannot find work or who make unlivable wages, like Walmart employees, don’t starve to death. And we have not had “welfare” since it was eliminated in the Clinton administration. What we have is Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and if you worked with as many families as I have who’ve gotten kicked off of it, you would know that it IS temporary and that there are very specific work and education/job training requirements to qualify for it.
The problem is not “entitlements,” unless you count the entitled rich who are too greedy to pay workers in the trenches of their highly profitable corporations livable wages, outsource to Chinese slaves and hide assets in offshore accounts to avoid taxes.
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Why do they make unlivable wages? What choices have they made in their lives? Were their choices limited as a result of the public policies which put their families in chains under the many varied programs which “serve” to help them? Are they young, single mothers who got pregnant because the school handed them birth control without telling their parents, and which they did not use? Are you saying that they are incapable of success unless someone hands them enough money? At what point are we in charge of our destiny? I grew up with parents who never graduated high school, who worked as laborers, who stressed education above all, who fed us pasta every night because that was all we could afford, who made me know my life was under MY control. Why do you think so little of the people you pretend to help? And yes, it is very convenient to lump in those people who have earned their entitlements, or those who are physically and mentally unable to provide for themselves. That isn’t who I am talking about. Let’s work together to break down the 47% and really see what it consists of. If the goal is to perpetuate the class warfare which only serves to make the government grow fatter, we will run out of the “rich who are too greedy” because they will cash out, close up shop and leave the country.
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I’m not going to debate here about Romney and his conservative supporters who blame people for being poor. It’s common knowledge that the Walton billionaires give their under-paid Walmart employees brochures about how to apply for food stamps, and there’s plenty of evidence that low-wage workers are employed mostly by large, highly profitable corporations: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/19/low-wage-workers-_n_1687271.html The Republican party has long favored corporate “job creators” while it disdains workers in the trenches: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/21/opinion/krugman-disdain-for-workers.html
And by the way, I have three college degrees, decades of experience, three jobs with no benefits and I am poor. Full time job opportunities and equitable pay are very hard to find anymore, due to widespread implementation of the business model and corporate incursion in a variety of fields.
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This country would be a lot better off if the avaricious bastards did “cash out, close up shop and leave the country”. Good riddance.
Faux news and R. Limpballs talking points not withstanding you might want to take a course in logical thinking.
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So if the avaricious bastards making 250k a year or more running a medium size business left, then what?
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Not all families working below the poverty line made those choices; some choices are foisted on them. Factories closed or kicked out the unions and wages, which used to be enough to raise families on single incomes, plummeted as overseas competition grew and larger forces like Wal-Mart demanded lower and lower prices from manufacturers, who it turn took it out of their workers. And Wal-Mart itself will hire those who’ve lost other jobs but won’t hire them at enough hours to make a living wage or any benefits. I have two degrees but nobody’s hiring music teachers here right now, so I’ve piecemealed 4 income sources together but no way could I raise a family on it – it supplements what my husband makes and together we make a living, but if anything happened to him, we’d be hosed, and not by choice. It doesn’t all come down to kids dropping out of school and becoming pregnant instead of getting degrees; outside economic forces are absolutely at work here as well, and our society has very little in the way of safety nets for any of these people. 😦
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Five Myths About the 47%: http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-09-21/opinions/35497776_1_income-taxes-federal-income-tax-code
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Yes, we should absolutely be talkin about our education and social values.
But on this day, following the unspeakable horror of what happened to 20 of our children and some of their teachers in Sandy Hook Elementary School, maybe the following is more appropriate.
This time is for them. And for us.
In the Torah, in the Book of Numbers, you will find the following:
‘”The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.”
It is beautifully expressed in this video of the Westminster Choir College.
“The Lord Bless You and Keep You” by the WestminsterChoirColl
(Cut and paste it into your browser)
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How beautiful. Thank you for posting.
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……..every now and again, as I walk in to school from the parking lot, I wonder if today could be the day some deranged soul might do something like this at my school………the thought passes quickly and the days begin and we go through our paces,,,,,,,,,,,,,then, something like THIS happens at someone elses school……………..I really do not know what to say or how to articulate what I feel………Thank you Diane for putting a voice to some of what is churning inside…………..God help all of those in Newtown, God help all of us………………
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Humanity (http://www.pegwithpen.com/2012/12/humanity.html)
Trying to move forward after yesterday. I’ve had many conversations with friends and family as we all try to figure out what to do, how to help when we feel helpless, how to grapple with fear, anger and absolute despair. I would be lying if I told you that I went to bed last night with any hope left in my soul. But then this morning I began to sift through my emails and my conversations with all the teachers I have spoken with and the word that continues to come forward is love.
And then I think about our schools and the love, the heart, the soul that has been stripped from them. And then I think about our society and the love, the heart, the soul that has been stripped from it.
And I watch the corporations, the media, the politicians, tell us what is good for us, attempt to desensitize us, attempt to create workers – not thinkers who feel love, pain, anger, frustration – and have the tools – the voice – the power – with which to deal with these feelings, and make choices and decisions which help our democracy thrive – with soul.
I watch the testing cycle in my own school. One cycle ends, another begins. These mandates cause us to forget what we know, these mandates leave us no time to do what we know – all of it, one more strategy to take the heart out of learning and teaching. I see the wear and tear on the teachers as they try to bring heart into their lessons in the midst of these mandates. I see the beauty of learning that seeps through the cracks and grows and flowers amidst a country that attempts to deprive it of rain.
But then I go back to yesterday, before I knew about Sandy Hook. In the morning I watched some of the children get their weekend bags of food to take home. The children were quietly brought out of the classrooms to fill their backpacks without the rest of the children watching. The adults spoke to them in soft tones as the children filled their bags and commented on how heavy they were. I watched and I saw the kindness, the compassion and the love for these children. So much love.
I thought to myself, I would like President Obama to witness this moment. This moment of poverty in action – it’s brutal rawness in the light of the holidays and the spirit of renewal and hope. I wanted him to see the way the love wrapped around these children.
And then Sandy Hook. And the rawness turned to such pain, so severe, that I had no words, no resources, no way to comprehend it.
My mind raced, as I am sure yours did. So many thoughts and no answers. And emotion so strong that clear thinking seemed impossible.
Education, schools, teaching, learning, it is all about humanity – helping each of us to be human, to have compassion, to be part of society and all that could and should make this world a better place.
And I will be damned if I will allow this to be stripped from us.
If there was ever a time for educators to demand more for our children the time is now.
If our schools were allowed to have heart. If our schools were given the resources to grapple with poverty and all of the mental and physical trauma that rears its ugly head in the face of no food, shelter and clothing, imagine how our society might begin to become more loving, less violent and more willing to fight against those who attempt to destroy our souls. Imagine how empowered everyone would be as they knew they were safe, knew they had options, knew they had a voice and could use it to make their world, our world, a better place.
I wish I could do more for Sandy Hook. I feel helpless. But I will do what I can for our society today and tomorrow, as a mom, as an educator and a citizen of a country that has lost its way.
Blessings to you Sandy Hook. Much love, much heart, much soul – all to infinity.
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I am so deeply appreciative of the above postings. In different ways many of them underscore the importance of “connections.” But connecting takes time and effort and patience and sometimes, even wisdom. So please remember what a blessing “Diane Ravitch’s blog — A site to discuss better education for all” has been and continues to be for so many of us.
Each person will deal with what happened in his/her own way. I simply offer this as my reaction. The staff at the school set a good example for all of us. They were caught up in what could have been a paralyzing fog of gunshots, terror, uncertainty, and confusion. It would have been so easy to lost their bearings. Instead they put the well-being of others before their own and took action, some of them paying the ultimate price. Heroes all, not because they were fearless but because they faced their fears even under such daunting circumstances.
We can do no less fighting for a “better education for all.”
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The statement by the Connecticut governor, though well-intended, indicates part of the problem we are dealing with: “Evil visited this community.” Such a viewpoint externalizes the problem, when we need to be looking in the mirror. The “evil” comes from within our culture, and will not be solved by better security. As several commenters above have noted, the issue is really one of connectedness. The NRA is a symptom, not a cause. The cause is the violence within us, which will erupt time and time again until we face up to the glorification of violence that permeates our culture. I would encourage your readers to revisit a wonderful poem by Longfellow, “The Arsenal at Springfield,” that shows just how far astray we have gone.
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http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/arsenal-at-springfield-the/ Here is the poem.
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This is the first time I have cried reading a blog post. Thank you for taking the time to give your thoughts.
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There are solutions to these issues, but it will take everyone working together, something we sadly lack these days. I pray, in the name of these children, that we can put aside our differences and work to see that these horrible scenes are never repeated. Already, sadly predictable, defenders of the status quo attack those who have differing views. That’s unacceptable, all solutions must be on the table for discussion. Then and only then will we be able to provide the future our children deserve. In God’s name I pray.
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Diane, I do think gun control is a good start. However, I think that all the money being taken away by charters and vouchers is hurting schools assess our students for learning disabilities and emotional/behavior problems. I cannot tell you how many times in my 13 years of teaching that I took a child to child study and was given things to do in the classroom to help the student. I tried what I was told, but it never worked. The child needed much more than I could do. One particular year when the Principal had stacked my class with children with problems and I was not even allowed to get them help, I cried my eyes out after class at the end of the year. I knew that I was sending these children on without the help they should have been given. The last school I taught at had over 800 students in a K/8 public school in a low income area. We had one social worker and one counselor. They had more than they could handle in the upper grades. When did they have time to help the younger students?
I try to tell people I meet about the difficulties at our schools. I am always met with “it’s the parents’ fault”. They don’t discipline like they should. I want to scream. I had very good parents in the low-income schools. Yes, I did have the occasional parent that you just wanted to tell off, but that was rare. Parents often don’t understand, or don’t have the insurance to get their child assessed, or are afraid that their child will be labeled. One year I had an autistic girl–the symptoms were very apparent. I had the best school psychologist. I went over my principal’s head to get the psychologist involved. This psychologist was able to have a meeting with the mom and help her to understand the needs her child had. It was the best feeling to know I was able to accomplish this even if my principal reprimanded me after for going over his head.
So, I don’t think it is only gun control. It is all of the things that you have been advocating. We need to stop the pencil and paper testing and start truly meeting the needs of our children. Every time a young man kills others, I believe there is a teacher some where who knew there were problems, but went up against a brick wall to get him help.
I am deeply saddened by the events of 12/14. Thanks for listening. Keep advocating!!
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The names of students I wasn’t able to help to the degree that was needed still haunt my memories today. The only resource was to take their stories to the intervention team, of which I was chair for 16 years to be told to take back some new strategies and see how it goes. Finally, out of desperation on behalf of one little boy who lacked empathyfor others and was rapidly digressing in his own dispair, during a heated intervention meeting with other teachers I climbed onto the table and raised my voice indignantly and exclaimed that I was not trained nor capable of helping this child and until we find a more suitable solution, I will ask that he be kept home rather than put him and the other students through another day of hell. He deserves better. He was moved to a special classroom on another campus. The following week, the students and I spent a lot of time discussing the reality of his leaving until everyone agreed that they understood and felt like we could move on. That student’s mother came in to say goodbye for him and spoke to the students as a class and individually told each one that her son loved them in his unique way and was not angry. I knew better, but it was comfort to the students he left behind. It was a rugged semester. Today, he is being tutored at home by a professional and is making progress. We teachers tend to believe we have miracles because we care so deeply for our students. Do I worry about him and his future. You bet I do. No amount of distraction of test prep, ranking competitions or brow beating to reform toward a more corporate approach will ever trump that kind of devotiion.That’s what keeps the great teachers coming back day in and day out. Shear devotion to making a difference in the life of a child.
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Charlotte Bacon, Daniel Barden, Rachel Davino, Olivia Engel, Josephine Gay,Ana M. Marquez-Greene, Dylan Hockley, Dawn Hocksprung, Madeleine F Hsu, Catherine V Hubbard, Chase Kowalski, Jesse Lewis, James Mattioli, Grace McDonnell, Anne Marie Murphy, Emilie Parker, Jack Pinto, Noah Pozner, Caroline Previdi, Jessica Rekos, Avielle Richman, Lauren Russeau, Mary Sherlach, Victoria Soto, Benjamin Wheeler, Allison N. Wyatt.
Rest in Peace.
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Gun control isn’t the issue. In Mexico it’s illegal for citizens to own guns…” (FJ wrote this – along with a string of old and worn out slogans. Gun in itself does not kill – we all know that. Having access to guns is not a factor either – if you live in a country where the attitude to weapons are those of a tool, a hunting neccessety and so on. BUT you live in a nation where a weapon is primarily sold for protection. Canada has more guns per capita tha the US. Canada has very few fatalities that are gunrelated.
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Whatever happened to the teaching whether in school, church, or best of all the family of the Golden Rule: Treat others like you want to be treated. Period. Parents, teachers, neighbors, relatives should reinforce the actions that reflect the Rule.
You like being lied to? No, ok, don’t lie to others. You like people making fun of you? No, ok, don’t make fun of others, etc.etc.etc. In this case, do you like it when nobody talks to you? No, ok, do talk to others who seem alone.
It’s a short, rational, penetrating thought that should become a belief. Do teachers or anyone else emphasize this anymore in the States? (I’m an American living in Peru.)
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This link is a powerful a speech by Robert F. Kennedy in 1968. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ub0pqvHDiTk The speech is known as his Mindless Menace of Violence speech given in April, 1968 (just a few months before he was killed). The video is contemporary which makes it difficult to watch emotionally – but wow – if only we’d gotten serious about some of this decades ago.
On another note – if I may in reaction to a few of the comments of the day (this blog has been very helpful anticipating Monday) –
For the special education teachers writing – you are remarkable. You dedicate yourselves to children that most would run from in a moment – you do miracles and the toughest part is owning up to the fact that you can’t do every miracle.
And, that’s where mental health and combined community/agency/school services must stop being cut from budgets.
And – for the “guns don’t kill people, people kill people” writers or countries with gun laws still have crime – please. I don’t know what this means – Bushmaster .223 assault rifle – but I know that no one in America needs one!
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I am an educator of 25 years. We had just practiced a lockdown at our Michigan School ironically at the same time this was taking place…9:30am. It sickens me that this happened at a school that had a system in place. The young man who did this had mental illness. Why then would a mother have 5 or 6 guns of this nature in the house and even let him know they were there or where the ammo was? We need stricter laws! I think for one there needs to be a limit on the number that can be in any household. Secondly, I do not think that anyone should have semi or automatic weapons other than the military or law enforcement officials. Hunters don’t need or use glocks to put down a deer. Furthermore, no one but law enforcement and the military needs bulletproof vests. Many of these mass shooters wear this gear so as not to be shot and to do massive damage. They would think twice about entering a place be it a school or movie theater (like Aurora) without their protection, for they want to choose to take their own lives. It is all about control with them. It would be way easier to stop them sooner without the protective wear.
In Michigan legislation is being passed that allows guns in schools. I am appalled and writing our Governor to ask him, in light of this horrific situation, to veto it. Our classrooms are supposed to be warm and caring places. I cannot feel that or safe if I know there is a gun in the room, or worse if I am ever asked to pack one. That is sheer craziness! As a mother, my heart goes out to the parents who lost their children, and the parents who didn’t, for they must comfort their traumatized children and help them heal.They have healing to do themselves. As an educator, my heart goes out to the school psychologist, teachers and principal who so bravely gave their lives to protect their kids and staff. They and the teachers who consoled and protected the surviving children are true heros! This is a small community where everyone knows everyone. They will all be forever changed by this horrific event, but I hope they will find strength in each other as they heal.
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Diane,
I didn’t know any of the victims personally, and I feel sick to my stomach thinking about the tragedy at Sandy Hook. I can’t even begin to imagine what the families are going through.
So many people are offering a definitive prescription, a monolithic cure-all that will magically stop this violence and make our children safer. Few people seem to be really listening.
Perhaps we need a more holistic examination – consideration of all possibilities, including gun control, mental health care, education, the role of pharmaceuticals, family, relentless violence in popular media, foundational values of our nation, the deification of the deeply disturbed people who commit these crimes.
I don’t know the answer, but I am encouraged by the discussion that is taking place.
Thank you for your beautifully articulated post, and thank you for encouraging dialogue instead of monologue. I am listening.
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Student’s First put out a statement. However, when you read the last part, it’s not even a veiled attempt on Rhee’s part to attack the public school system.
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“Our children are our most valuable assets” AAARRRGGGHHHH!!!!
I hate it when someone refers to a child as an asset like they can be bought and sold like any other commodity.
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Thanks for pointing this out. I found Rhee’s statement here: http://www.studentsfirst.org/pages/michelle-rhee-statement-school-shooting-tragedy-in-newton-connecticut
I think it’s shameful that Rhee completely ignored the heroic acts of all the Sandy Hook educators who put the safety of their students’ lives before their own, and that she exploited this tragedy, in order to take another swipe at schools and promote her cause. (It also sounds like an underhanded plea for more donations to her organization.)
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It’s definitely self-promoting. And what’s ironic is that Dawn Hochsprung was not a fan of Duncan and the reformers. She believed students should be critical thinkers, not test takers and Tweeted as much. Leave it to Rhee to turn the screw.
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Michelle Rhee is nothing more than a self absorbed, maniacal piece of trash.
I KNOW Dawn would have been disgusted by her self promotion.
Dawn is in heaven, rest in peace my friend.
Michelle will never get there.
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I left this angry message on their contact us tab. How dare she exploit this tragedy:
Could you even include one sentence to recognize the educators who died, to recognize their commitment to children, to acknowledge what teachers do everyday…the union, collective bargaining kind?
You include a self promoting statement about your mission, which is nothing more than the destruction of our PUBLIC schools. YOU, Michelle, make this about your pathetic, self promoting, back stabbing, privatizing mission.
P.S. Don’t dare record this message as a supporter of your “grassroots” scheme…we know all about your deceptive tricks.
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Stricter gun control, in and of itself, while laudable and overdue, is not the answer. We must dig deeper into our collective psyche and examine how we have increasingly lost our sense of humanity and caring for one another, replacing it with a virulant us v. them mentality that has eroded the fabric of our society, demonizing anyone who doesn’t agree with you, and where “2nd amendment remedies” are the primary knee-jerk reaction; where mental health support is limited at best, and where the pursuit of profit, at any cost, is de rigeur. Lucinda Marshall’s scathing blog entry, “A Society that Condones the Killing of Children and Teaches Children to Kill,” says it far better than I could…
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/12/15-3
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“How do we get back to normal?” The typical question asked after horrible tragedies. And what is the answer, really?
Never!
How can anything be “normal” after such horror? In fact, I don’t want to go back to normal. Our accepting of others’ defined normality surely contributed to this nightmare.
http://atthechalkface.com/2012/12/15/im-sick-of-normal/
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As is to be expected, people are now focusing on the role of violence in media as a potential cause of tragedies such as the one that just happened in Connecticut. What I have not read or seen much of is a discussion of the role our wars have in creating and perpetuating a psychology of violence – one that I believe is far more influential than any movie or video game. We have been at war in Afghanistan since 2001 and in Iraq since 2003. Over 6,000 US service personnel have died and over 100,000 have been wounded. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and Afghanis have been killed and hundreds of thousands wounded and the ill effects from 10+ years of war (that includes the use of depleted uranium weapons that are causing birth defects on a massive scale) will continue for decades. We cut our education budgets and our funds to help children as we spend trillions on mass murder. It is not the media that is causing this violence – it is our society as a whole that has condoned these absurd wars based on lies and allows them to go on seemingly without end. If we want to know why people in our society believe that violence is the appropriate response to their problems, it’s because our society believes that violence is the appropriate response to our problems.
http://costsofwar.org/
http://antiwar.com/casualties/
http://www.laprogressive.com/civilian-casualties-hundreds-thousands-iraq-tens-thousands-afghanistan-counting/
http://www.aclu.org/human-cost-civilian-casualties-iraq-afghanistan
http://unama.unmissions.org/
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We also must have a serious discussion about how we stigmatize and then do not treat mental illness. All must have health care for our entire being including the brain.
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Dear Diane,
It has been wonderful reading all those reflections from your readers. Thank you so much for offering such a space for social dialogue.
In “America’s Teachers: Heroes or Greedy Moochers at the Public Trough?” (http://www.nationofchange.org/america-s-teachers-heroes-or-greedy-moochers-public-trough-1355674260), Dave Lindorff quotes a man demonizing public school teachers “in an attitude all too typical of many Americans’ thinking” and questions:
“Some of those ‘non-revenue-generating’ unionized teachers, and the school’s non-revenue-generating principal, just died defending those kids. I wonder if their tax-obsessed critics would have done the same?”
Reading this article made me think of how important it is to build teaching profession that celebrates teachers who think of teaching as their life work… rather than a simple stepping stone for their career. The message of those brave Sandy Hook teachers is clear: “We will never leave you and always fight for you.”
What kind of teachers do we want as a society?
Daiyu Suzuki
Doctoral student, Teachers College
Co-founder of Edu4
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I wanted to cry. When the teacher across the hall told me, I wanted to cry. I couldn’t. I had 23 kids in my room, immersed in trying to build a container that would keep an ice cube frozen. They were working. Full of life, joy, and curiosity. Something a crazed gunman had just taken from 20 children. Something he had taken from 7 adults.
When someone says, “How are your kids?” I tend to say, “Which ones?” Meaning my kids I gave birth to or my kids in my class. I am sure I am not the only teacher who feels this way. They are our kids. And no matter what they take us through, just like our kids, we want to keep them safe. We want them in an environment where they, and their loved ones, know they are loved and cared for. But he took that away from them yesterday. Just as others have done before.
It’s obvious from reading the articles each time this happens, that teachers are Mama and Papa bears when it comes to protecting their students. The school took the proper precautions to keep the school safe, no one can blame the school. I hope no one does. How do we protect our students from a gun? How do we protect our students from a crazy with a thirst for his or her perceived vengeance? How do we stop the senselessness of it all?
I continued through the day with a heavy heart. I did not discuss what had happened with my students, I know Morning Meeting will be filled with questions. I know my students will wonder if I can keep them safe. They will wonder if it can happen here, at our school. What do I tell them?
I cried for Connecticut. For the children and adults who had their lives stolen. For the parents and loved ones who have lost their child. For the survivors, who will be traumatized for a very long time. My prayers and my thoughts are with them. We have to find a way to keep our kids safe. To make school a place they can go, and you know they will come back.
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Like teachers and moms everywhere, I am heartbroken by this tragedy. I don’t know what to say. The shooter — barely an adult — needed mental health services that he didn’t get. He needed NOT to have access to those guns … no one needs access to those types of weapons.
What can we do to support the surviving teachers? How do those of us in the classroom help our own students process this? I teach in the inner city and I’m sure there are guns in many of the students’ homes. Many of them live lives already marred by violence.
There are no easy answers but we MUST control access to guns in this country. Some are suggesting that the teachers should have been armed in an era when we can scarcely keep a sharp pair of scissors in the classroom. Mental health care MUST be accessible and we need to work to remove the stigma of seeking help. What support is there for parents with a violent child?
We love to point fingers (the parents at Columbine should have known!) because we desperately want to find a reason — if there is a simple reason, we can fix it, and it can’t happen to us. But it can and will continue to happen unless we can learn to help those with mental illness, and give their families the support and compassion they need.
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So many feelings and so hard to put them all in words. Thank you Diane for another post that has helped me and many others through a dark day although we never dreamed of a day this dark. Thank you also for giving me the strength to stand up and keep fighting for my students that I care for so much. Although what I do pales in comparison to the teachers and the principal and psychologist at Sandy Hook. Tomorrow I and several other teachers are scheduled to be in a workshop and substitutes are scheduled to be in our classrooms. I have emailed our district superintendent (as union president) that I believe the workshop should be rescheduled. I believe that we teachers need to be in our classrooms with our students whom we have a connection with to answer their questions and assuage their fears about this horrific event. Some districts around us are also ramping us security this week. From everything I have read, students are going to need normalcy this week and I believe that includes having their regular teacher in their classroom rather than the workshops that are scheduled this week. So far no luck. Sadly our superintendent is much more engrossed with this grant (partly funded by Bill Gates grrr) then being concerned about the emotional well-being of our students. I’m pushing the fine line by posting on online on social media sites that I want to be in my classroom tomorrow and of course many parents of past students have replied that I should be there and have said that I have always been supported their children in the past. We are small town USA even smaller than Sandy Hook and everyone here truly does know each other. I’ve been very vocal about how I feel about everything (testing etc) and I often send all the teachers copies of posts from your blogs. Thank you again Diane. You keep blogging and I will keep fighting here in rural small town PA. May there be comfort for the families of the victims in Sandy Hook.
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My Facebook post for today. Many of my friends and family are/were teachers and I know we all feel this every day of our lives. Stay strong, my fellow educators. Not one of us is alone.
“Going to work will be a little bit tougher tomorrow morning. It’s not something I like to think about very often, that I put my life on the line on a daily basis. I can think of many jobs I could be doing in which that isn’t the reality. But I love what I do and will not stop because the worst could happen. I will not stop because people who do not understand what I do consider me a liability. I will not stop because there are kids in this community who need what I can give. Yes, it will be harder to go to work tomorrow, but go I will, as will millions of other teachers, students and administrators in this country. We only ask that you give us some extra thoughts and prayers in what will surely be a tough day.”
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My heart goes out for every kid and their parents who lost their lovely, sweet and innocent kids in the Connecticut school massacre. had there been stricter rules for keeping guns under license and allotted to people who really need to protect themselves on proving their need to the police and showing evidence, and not because they have an interest or hobby for collecting arms and weaponry to add on their walls . A short poem i have written for the kids all around the globe who have been victims of such crimes., and dedicate it for the angles and their bereaved families.
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Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts. I would leave a extensive comment, but I think my latest post sums up my feelings on this tragic, terrifying, heartbreaking event.
http://fieldnotesfromfatherhood.com/2012/12/17/dont-let-it-happen-again-really-dont/
Give it a read if you have a moment. It will be the last thing I post for a few days – everything else seems pretty trivial.
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I agree, why is this country so infatuated with violence. The mind has issue to these thoughts.
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I’m a School Resource Officer, soon to retire and as I contemplate my next move in life, I am wanting to pursue getting in as an SRO at my own childs schoool, that is without an SRO currently.
The teachers were as heroic as could be! The principal was heroic, the other adults too! HOWEVER, they were led to the slaughter by a law that keeps them from addressing the issue they faced on Friday.
GUNS EXIST, they have for a long time. We will never remove them from society! Gun Control is the problem, but not as many think! What if the principal had been armed? What if the teachewrs had been armed? What if there had been an SRO?
We trust these teachers to care for our kids, but then handcuff them when some unhinged person decideds to go off at one of our schools. We teach them to hide in corners and lock doors and stay quiet! Meanwhile, a psycho shoots up their co-workers and beloved children.
Gun Control is to blame in part.
One of the comments I hear over and over is how these killers want to be famous as they go out! In order to do that they need big kill numbers. The bigger the number the more famous!
The truth is, if someone comes in with a gun someone is probably going to be killed! Still the damage can be reduced by having a response that is effective. Telling a principal to confront the killer with mere words is insane and utterly ineffective!
Teach them and allow them to truly protect our children! Arm them, arm our teachers. Train them, and qualify them.
These killers will not go where they can’t make a name for themselves.
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Reblogged this on OttawaSmilesDental and commented:
So well stated, and clearly written.
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Diane – When I heard this news I was sitting in a Restaurant in San Ignacio Belize with our mission team, celebrating a great week of witnessing and serving some incredibly nice and faith filled people. It was a shock to her and then embarrassing to know that the United States is known as well these days for the unspeakable and senseless violence these type of events come form.
I am praying for the families that lost their little ones, that God will help them cope, give them peace and see them through the healing process.
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The teacher’s actions you mentioned, along with the actions of all of the brave public servant leaders at the school, have inspired us to call on our leaders to put politics aside and come together now.
As mothers from different political “sides” who have been advocating for a new Strong Mother model of public leadership, we know this is a tragedy that cuts across those divisions by offering such inspiring examples of leadership by the teachers and staff at Sandy Hook. These brave educators have become role models for us all. We must lead to protect our children in whatever ways we can.
We hope you will consider supporting our bipartisan call for real leadership on mental health. Thank you for your thought provoking piece and the resulting conversation. We share your sorrow and continue to send our prayers and support to the Newtown families – and the educators mourning across the nation today.
http://momsleadershipvoice.org/2012/12/15/bipartisan-mothers-call-to-action-after-connecticut-school-shooting-an-open-letter-to-american-leadership-voices/
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A friend who subscribes to The Intelligent Optimist sent me this. I think it is crucial in the discussion:
Dear Elizabeth:
About the massacre: Mother Theresa famously said: “I’m not against war, I’m for peace”. Profound wisdom.
Please take a moment with me to direct your love to not just the young victims of the overwhelmingly painful massacre at the school in Connecticut and their families, but to all people who live in challenging, sad and painful circumstances in our world. Anyone can turn into a gunman if s/he is feeling left out, disconnected and lost. A gunman shames us all. Let’s make sure that we take care of all our sisters and brothers.
Let’s focus on a world that we do want to create and live in. Let’s ignore the media that will spread ever more fear with their reporting.
Gun control will help to prevent massacres. But ultimately we can only create a peaceful and safe society when we are wholeheartedly and passionately for such a society. And not when we are against guns.
We must change our thoughts from being against things we don’t want to being for things we do want. Scientists are discovering that thoughts are vibrations. Thoughts are energy. And from physics we know that energy cannot be destroyed. Today we live the life of our yesterday’s thoughts. Whatever occupies our minds becomes reality. So if we direct our thoughts to something that we don’t want, that energy will translate into the very thing our mind is preoccupied with and we get what we don’t want.
For most of us, when we look at our lives, we see many things we don’t want. We give a lot of thought to what we don’t want. Therefore, as strange as that may sound, we should not wonder why bad things continue to happen. Our lives and society reflect our thinking.
Dramatic transformation happens when we consciously direct our thoughts to what we do want. That’s what people do who miraculously recover from life-threatening diseases. That’s why breakthroughs happen after decades of violent conflicts when leaders finally embrace peace.
We need change. We long for peace. So let’s think peace. Let’s dream peace. Let’s do peace. Every day.
Let’s feed our minds and souls with possibility. We have not prevented the massacre in Connecticut. Yet, there is one thing we can do today. We can commit ourselves to the world we really want to live in. We can commit ourselves to joining the ones who dare to dream for better, safer and more just.
Scientists have found that stress leads to neural degeneration. If we bombard ourselves with negative thinking and negative news we increase the rate of cell death in vital parts of our brains. That’s the beginning of many problems.
We want the life of “for” and “pro”. We need to sustain our belief in opportunities and positive change. We need to embrace our optimism — the very mission of The Intelligent Optimist.
It is an answer to the hurt we feel about the school in Connecticut and to the hurt we feel about so many other wrongs in our world.
Please join us in our mission to spread the message of “for” to change the lives of many.
This is the time.
We are the ones,
Optimistically yours,
Jurriaan Kamp
The Intelligent Optimist
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Such a sad day for us all. I agree with you that we need to spend more time repairing the serious ills of our society. Thank you for your blog!
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I have written a poem dedicated to those innocent victims of this tragedy. Please feel free to view it on my blog. My deepest condolences to all those families. I cried for the first time in a long time that day…
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There are so many factors that contribute to this problem with violence we are struggling with: loose gun-control laws, the media, the tendency for Americans to victimize themselves and blame others instead of taking self-responsibility. The list goes on. I believe these problems begin with the cradle, though. The lack of nurturing first relationships…what the American family has become. Someone commented above about families needing to sit down at the table every night as a whole family and talk. THIS IS SO IMPORTANT! Our job as parents is to raise children who are capable of loving and receiving love. That is our goal. Everything else will follow if we succeed in raising children who are selfless, kind, accepting, and who know how to love in return. We have lost sight of what our goals of parenting are. We have lost sight of what the whole world needs. While I believe that there are many different factors that contribute to this problem, I strongly believe there is only one answer to all of it: love. We must teach our children what love looks like, in our marriages, in our friendships, in our relationships with our “enemies”, in everything we do.
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I couldn’t agree more. The irony is that one of those little kids told us what to do. When she saw another kid that was sad or “off to the side” she would try to provide comfort in her own way. Are adults going to take notice? Unfortunately I doubt it. They will however ponder and wonder for years to come instead of remembering that old phrase: out of the mouth of babes….
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There are no answers. No reasons. Just reflections and the determination to make a difference. Little by little, no good deed goes unnoticed. Thank you for sharing!
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Thank you
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beautiful, absolutely beautiful…and you’re so right, it’s time to start asking the right questions.
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Dear Diane, I am an educator from South America, the only English speaking country, Guyana. Here we follow the tragedy of Newtown. For us, the loss of Newtown is the loss to our world. Each one of us do feel the loss of our loved ones. Especially, loss of our children. Very often as educators, much emphasis is based on the cognitive and psycho-motor aspects of our child development and as such the affective domain of a child’s development may not be given the required attention. ( stand to be corrected).
To develop a healthy mind; to offer the avenues to think well and to provide the knack of presenting the wide variety of choices, to our learns is a tremendous challenge we face, As educators. I honestly do believe the selfless act of the teachers deserves a quote from my holy scripture; I quote. ” Anyone can do that is possible, Only the beloved of God can do the impossible..”,( Baha’i Faith).The teachers of Sandy Hook School did the impossible. To them I say death is the messenger of Joy. I love every word of the views presented by each and every one. I may have not known the precious innocent lives we lost,but I know them through you. As much as I mourn, I celebrate their lives. I celebrate the memories that the parents and community members of Newtown would hold so dear to their hearts. Thank you once again. I am happy that I stopped by.
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A teacher and a student myself, I feel the pain for bonds which are broken. And as an Indian I get this chance more often. Wish the world would have been safer.
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Reblogged this on Just What I Want to Talk About (And Nothing Else) and commented:
Even though I have two WordPress blogs of my own…I just had to share this with you. Thinking back on Friday past, I suddenly pictured my grand-niece (a fourth-grader, btw)…and stopped cold in my tracks.
But, there’s NO amount of laws (current or future) that’ll stop people from getting a gun and killing others. It’s just un-doable. Plain and simple.
20 first-graders dead…all because some fucktard with “mommy issues” had access to a gun. And yet, the politicians/celebrities/athletes/media types…ALL can’t find the urge to just SHUT THE FUCK UP!! No, it’s politicized now…shitheads.
So, for what it’s worth, I reblog this piece. READ IT, people!! That is all.
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One person with a gun can kill, but one person with a Bushmaster assault weapon that fires six bullets PER SECOND can create a massacre. Lets start by removing all semi-automatic and assault weapons from civilian hands.
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Reblogged this on Moana Leilua and commented:
In light of the events in Newtown, Connecticut..sharing a blog from Diane Ravitch…. RIL to the Newtown Angels
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Do what that teacher did and make sure your kids know that they are loved irrespective of how they look and the rest of this materialistic and physical nonsense.
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Nice article. Enjoyed reading it.
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Beautifully said, Diane. I find myself fighting back tears quite often these days. Many people say there is nothing we can do. I say we can try.
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Yes, thank you for posting. If it would only seem like all whose values and morals I seem to share with everyone here would just push further into families. No one wants to admit it. Families are too busy working and trying to get further ahead with the “American dream”. Or they bury themselves in too many keep me busy activities.. Its a lie. They are loosing the true ethic of family. There will be other consequences towards “bigger and better” change. More tolerance, more rules, more time consuming efforts on policies that will govern America and change our country for the worse. Our change belongs in our families, getting back to basics. While their is a little good in everything (some video games, some tv) ect… People think Im nuts when I don’t let my son play certain games or watch certain shows. How can you not understand that? I think people are desensitized out of fear and greed. People need to see their blessings and start using them for identifying truths of good seeds that were planted in their hearts to begin with. We need to look at ourselves, we need to look at how we are raising our kids. That is a good place to start.
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To start asking society the right questions, we must first ask ourselves the right questions. Maybe this is our whole problem. We never look in the mirror and see more then our own vanity.
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The problem is not guns and the problem is not mental illness. The problem is sin. The solution is to recognize there is a spiritual absence, resulting in these social ills.
If you really want a straight answer that you probably haven’t heard before on the media outlets listen to this commentary. I’m sure it will challenge your thinking a great deal.
God bless us all today. God help bring comfort to those families left to grieve and mourn the loss of their precious little ones.
http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?m=t&s=12171213213610
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Diane, the words and thoughts you express are true. Your weighted emotion is felt across the country. I appreciate this “blog post” and am grateful it was “freshly pressed” so That I had the honor of reading it.
I have worked in media for more than 20 years. Yesterday I sat down and wrote an article that touches on the violence we consume in America by way of video games, television, movies, music, and more. The article I wrote was written from the perspective of wanting to share what I know to be true about HOW this complacency,and acceptance is literally sold to us and our children. It is not speculation or my opinion,
I would leave the link here, but I do not want you or your readers to think I am looking for an excuse to get a ping back. I think you will appreciate the article so if you are interested it is called “Selling Violence to America” and it’s easy enough to find.
The willing consumption of violence in our country is staggering and is one of many of the problems that have lead us to what happened at Sandy Hook and sadly to what will surely happen somewhere else…again.
You are right, I too cannot comprehend “how a parent can live with that terrible knowledge” as you say, but I know that even though I was not the parent of any of those little children I cannot live with that terrible knowledge either. It is time to do more than talk. We must act, because although words can comfort and heal, it is only action that can create change.
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Reblogged this on Oyia Brown.
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I loved your post, here a post I wrote about my processing of this strategy…
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Thanks for this post. I love that you addressed what I consider to be the real root of the problem – You said it so well: “About why we are obsessed about being number 1 instead of spending more time repairing the serious ills of our society.” I have chosen to be a stay-at-home-mother. I realize that I’m fortunate, but it isn’t always easy. We make many monetary sacrifices. I sometimes feel bored with some of the mundane duties I have. And it is easy to get a little defensive when people claim that I’m “wasting my education” by being a stay-at-home-mom. Yet, I can’t help but connect the lack of parental supervision, the overabundance of violence and pornography in our media – and the problems we witness these days.
We really do need to face the actual problems. And it seems, to me, like it could be done without too much “reform” or “regulation.” We just need to go home. Slow down. and Be with our families.
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Incurable tragedy… heart goes to the poor parents. Peace be on the deceased.
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Today I am still mourning the devastating tragedy that took place just four days ago. I am still trying to make sense everything. My heart goes out to the victims families, as well as the whole Newtown community as I am sure this has been devastating for everyone. Thank you for this post. Thank you for continuing to mourn for those that have lost.
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In the end, we are all that we really have – eachother.
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Reblogged this on Suzy Is Opionated and commented:
Today I’d planned to write about, IMHO, something unfathomable and evil. Something that is happening in our country. Something that is slyly growing and spreading at an incredible rate. The word I’d have used is “pernicious.” However, I read Diane’s words and realized that she’s eloquently put into words what I wanted to say.
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Thank you.
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This song was written and performed by Curtis Brand of Mansfield, Connecticut:
http://m.youtube.com/index?desktop_uri=%2F&gl=US#/watch?v=NcanEzWGeZc
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Reblogged this on jamiesaeyo and commented:
Indeed, violence begets violence. Insanity should not be the only explanation to these shootings. My heart goes out to the families of the victims, especially those innocent and angelic 20 kids…
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Diane,
I am a clairvoyant who saw the terrible incident for a split second the night before, seeing the word lockeddown – which at the time made no sense to me, alhtough I had heard it once before – the day before my own daughter’s school was placed on lockdown years ago. It still didn’t make sense until I read it in an article and saw the word lockdown – then it all flooded back. Even in that moment I don’t think I can understand what a teacher felt upon hearing the terrible news. (I run an enrichment program, and know how attached I am to MY kids…) I know now why I saw what I saw – to create an opportunity to honor those lost and to heal. I’ve started an email that has gone around the world and is working in many countries – about making an ornament for at least one person lost that day and placing it on our own Christmas trees – so our families can share Christmas with the children and staff lost that terrible day. Here is the pingback to the post – please share it if you are lead to. I want everyone to be able to express love to the lost, in whatever way they can. here is the original post: http://ifyoucouldseewhatihear.wordpress.com/2012/12/17/connecticut-shootings-a-simple-and-free-family-project-idea-lets-honor-them/
Much love to you and all teachers.
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Thank you, Diane, for sharing your perspective on the events at Sandy Hook. As a resident in CT, I too felt shaken by the tragedy, and even more so because I’ve had experience teaching students this age during my internships. I felt heartbroken because when I reflect on my experiences, I only see children with pure, inquisitive hearts and minds willing to learn. They look up to their caregivers and those older than them. They not only learn from what we teach them on the whiteboards but also by our behavior and how we treat them. I cannot imagine what it would have been like to lose a student in class, or even what it was like for the children to experience what they did. The best we can do is be supportive to our neighbors, friends and families who were affected by this devastating incident the best we can. My prayers go out to those who were affected by this tragedy and to our country in that we will quickly find a solution to this matter. This must stop!
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This is a very sad time indeed. I actually wrote a blog post about this tragedy, which includes live updates. It can be found here: http://rebeccabartley.wordpress.com/2012/12/14/in-todays-news-newtown-connecticut-usa-elementary-school-shooting/
I send my condolences out to all the family and friends of the victims who died (both children and adults) and those who were left with scars in this tragedy.
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Beautiful words Diane. Reading them made me cry. I’m studying to be an English teacher in Sydney, Australia. I hope to play a role in a positive shift from the current culture of violence where young men are encouraged to take on socially constructed masculinities, towards a culture of Peace where inclusive communities invest in caring for, nurturing and supporting each individual. Here are some questions I asked a few days ago on this subject that I’d like to share with you: In a global culture that glorifies violence, what steps can disturbed youths and their parents take to deal with their problems in constructive and nonviolent ways? How can communities reach out and help young people who become isolated and alienated? I believe that as a society these questions are important to ponder.
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Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Diane. I’m so sorry to
read comments on your blog that seem to have mistaken this place as
a platform rather than a resting place for hurting souls. May your
grieving process result in peace in time.
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I am so glad to have found this in my inbox today. I am so
moved by your well written article. Yes, we have so much as a
nation to fix. We don’t seem to see the outcomes of our choices
until the unthinkable happens. Yet, for most of us we raise our
voices and grow louder to what it is we all deserve. We all deserve
to live without fear. Our children live with this every day and now
even more so because of the innocence we lost a week ago. our
community is holding a prayer vigil and we are sending up 27
balloons Christmas day. Our white and green candles will stay lit
from Christmas Eve until New Years day. I think it would be in the
Christmas spirit and in honor of the memory for our children and
for those who still mourn. Our love needs to stay with them for a
very long time. 😦 Just a thought. Our church sign read this past
sunday. “One nation under God or one nation under”. Wishing you a
Christmas filled with peace and love. And a New Year that brings
promise, hope and the courage to act on these changes we need to
make.
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>> I don’t have the answers. I just
think it’s time to start asking the right questions.
While it seems a good rethoric, almost poetic, phrase, it’s also
quite irresponsible. You have the answer, you just don’t want to
say it out loud. And no, it’s not about violent games and movies:
almost every person in every developed country in the world watches
american movies and plays american videogames. We may have our fair
share of problems, but Europe and Asia, for instance, are able to
stay away from problems that are so easy to avoid, away from such
futile tragedies. “Easy”, yes, but do consider that in Japan even
cops must have a good reason to be authorized to bring a gun.
People have the right to buy any weapon because of a constitution
written at the “good ol’ times of Far West”? Ok… silly, if you
ask me, but fine… F.I.N.E. But do you have to sell it almost in
any shop? Without any real test to see if you’re giving a gun to a
crazy person or to the parent of a crazy person? Are
you a crazy person? This
is the question you don’t want to ask, OP. And the answer, well,
you know it already. You want less violence in the streets? Let’s
leave alone the streets, let’s talk about schools, work places,
theaters… Why don’t you look at countries with less violence and
try to see what they do that you don’t? Why this can’t be a first,
very, very simple answer to such tragedies?
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Take a look at Switzerland – gun ownership is mandated hmmm
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http://www.thewrap.com/movies/blog-post/open-letter-mpaas-chris-dodd-get-rid-guns-70511
Hello serious thinker and email pal: will this go anywhere or am i
barking up wrong tree here with OPEN LETTER TO HOLLWOOD CEO RE GUNS
IN MOVIES? please reply me
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will this go anywhere or am i barking up wrong tree here
with OPEN LETTER TO HOLLWOOD CEO RE GUNS IN MOVIES? please reply
me
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Reblogged this on absolutecleaningtupeloms and commented:
I love the questions she asks!
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