School Shootings: As a Teacher, I Asked My Students 4 Important Questions (Their Answers May Surprise You) by Tamara Ritchie

I had my students do a quick write about school shootings, and I asked them four questions: 

• Why do you think school shootings are increasing?

• Do you feel less safe at school?

• What do you think contributes to the problem?

• What possible solutions would you suggest?

Not much Chemistry and Food Science happened today, but the resulting conversations were both cathartic and illuminating. These kids had vastly different opinions. Some wanted all guns outlawed and some wanted teachers armed. Some felt that social media and bullying were to blame, and some felt that the participation trophy entitlement issues were the problem. Most agreed that the media needed to stop glamorizing the shooter and some even suggested never showing his picture or naming him to limit other shootings from people with the desire to be Twitter famous.

Many mentioned the lack of resilience in their generation combined with the constant pressure to perform. What I found surprising is that most of my kids still felt very safe. They recognized intuitively that although one school had a mass shooting, thousands of schools across the country didn't.

We went over lockdown procedures, alternate scenarios and what to do. We talked about the three active shooter scenarios: Run, Hide, Fight. As a teacher who loves my students, it hurts my heart to have to talk to them about literally fighting for their lives if it came to it. But as a mom, I want all my babies to be prepared should the unthinkable actually happen.

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