A reader in Austin, Texas, writes:
Here in Texas, almost every school has unsightly, cheap, moldy
portable buildings. Because of our portables, my school has six
exterior doors open during the school day! That means anyone from off
the streets could walk into our school. Sure, we have security in
place at the front office, but what good does that do when our
building is so open and exposed.
From a principal:
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.
[From the same principal]
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.
According to the Facebook entry at the end of this post, 27-year-old teacher Victoria Soto hid her students in closets and cabinets; she told the killer the children were in the gym. Her first thought was to protect her children. He killed her.
The Wall Street Journal said this about her on a blog:
First-grade teacher Vicki Leigh Soto, 27 years old, died trying to protect the children she loved, her cousin Jim Wiltsie said.
When the gunfire started on Friday morning, she gathered her students and tried to hide them in a classroom closet, officials told her family.
“In doing so, she put herself between the kids and the gunman’s bullets,” said Mr. Wiltsie, who is a police officer. “That is how she was found. Huddled with her children.” He said he didn’t know if her students were among the dead.
Ms. Soto, who had just turned 27 last month, grew up in Stratford, Conn. She was the oldest of four children in a big, extended family that included many public workers and first responders. Her cousin said that she loved going to the beach and was active in her church.
“Vicki was a great individual with a huge heart and put students first. Unfortunately, that is how she lost her life,” Mr. Wiltsie said. “I wanted people to know that she was a hero for what she did, and that she gets the recognition that she deserves.”
Her life was filled with family and children. From an early age, she knew she wanted to be a teacher. She had worked at Sandy Hook Elementary School for five years—three as a first-grade teacher and two as an intern—and was pursuing her master’s degree in special education at Southern Connecticut State University, according to her biography on the school’s website. She wrote that she graduated from Eastern Connecticut State University with a degree in elementary education and history.
“She was a very nurturing individual—big sister was her role,” Mr. Wiltsie said. “Instinctively as a teacher, all she wanted to do was protect those kids, and that is what she was trying to do.”
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I teach in Connecticut, in another small rural district. We used to have doors that only locked on the outside, so during intruder drills we actually had to open our doors, go out in the hallway, and then lock them. Not a very effective way of protecting students. Eventually the locks were replaced so that we never had to open the door to lock it. My school was built in the 50s during saner times. No one anticipated that schools would have to become fortresses. I am surprised that the front door to her school is not locked. After Columbine I thought that was standard procedure. My pet peeve is the teachers who wedge open side doors so they don’t have to keep taking out their keys when going in and out of the building. I would hire a locksmith for your daughter as a holiday gift. School maintenance takes forever: 2 years to fix a leaky faucet in my classroom.
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.
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.
Yes, there is an answer, an almost fool-proof way to make sure that mentally ill people never again have the means to slaughter other people.
Yes, there is a way to end gun violence.
Here it is.
Frankly I am sick of hearing about how much people love their weapons. Adam Lanza’s mother loved her gun collection. Now she’s dead, killed by one of them.
Twenty babies in Connecticut lost their lives. They were ruthlessly destroyed by a man with weapons, each of them legally obtained by Adam’s mother in a state with tough gun laws.
We don’t have to wait until every mentally ill person is cured. We must make sure that mentally ill people are never allowed access to weapons of death and mass murder.
No one other than a law enforcement officer or member of the military should own a gun.
What about hunters? Let them own single shot long guns that must be reloaded after each shot. Nothing more.
Nothing more.
End the violence. Remove the means of mass murder.
The children’s right to live and the parents’ right to peace of mind trumps the right to own weapons of carnage.
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.
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.
Diane Ravitch's blog 