Is School a Place Where Children Die?

Is School a Place Where Children Die?

by Kelly (of rituals) ♥ 7 Comments
Malala Yousafrzai
Malala Yousafrzai

Has going to school become a risk for our children, even in the United States?

This is the question I ponder after receiving an automated message saying that a threat in our district has resulted in increased security– even here, at our tiny elementary building in rural Vermont.

Of course there are no “even here’s” anymore. Shootings can “even” happen in first-grade classrooms during morning circle time in a “safe”  New England town, not just in crowded high schools across the country.

Columbine. When my husband considered shifting from elementary to high school, his safety was my first concern. Who knew that within a decade, violence wouldn’t be limited to teenagers.

Map delineating 387 school shootings since 1992.
Map delineating 387 school shootings since 1992.

“What will be our new normal?” asks a friend.

I think it has already come.

Sobering statistics creep up on us revealing that 387 school shootings have taken place since 1992; and that children in America are 13 times more likely to be murdered with guns as children in other industrialized nations.

“I’m not going to school tomorrow, Mom,” my oldest tells me after we get the call about the threat. “What I learn in a day  isn’t worth my life.”

What about 14 year-old Malala Yousafzai–shot in the head for encouraging fellow girls to pursue an education in Pakistan? Shouldn’t education in the land of the free be that valuable?

Or have we become that cheap?

Kelly Salasin, lifelong educator, mother of 2, January 2013

School Threat

School Threat

by Kelly (of rituals) ♥ 9 Comments

So the violence that has spread through our Nation has reached our community–with a phone call telling us that our schools will receive extra patrol this week due to a threat.

That’s all we know.

Do we really want to know more?

Are we supposed to send our kids to school now?

Is this a test?

“Mom, I’m not going. One day of school isn’t worth it. I’ll be lying there shot on the floor thinking, ‘What a waste.'”

This is what it’s come to. Our children are casual with the possibility of being shot at school.

“Lock the doors!” parents holler.

But Sandy Hook was locked.

I do think we need to be cautious about threats, but I also think we need to be cautions of our fear. This is a society riveted by violence. Defined by it in many ways. Proud of it. We don’t want to encourage those who are prone to acting it out by titillating them with our hysteria.

Local educator, Dan Braden, just returned from the March on DC with his young family. He makes this suggestion to channel our angst:

It’s a great day to write your representatives at every level asking them to take action to reduce the number of weapons such as those used at Sandy Hook immediately.” 

Another educator suggests we seriously ARM teachers in this bold statement that has been circulating around FB (from Mary Cathryn Ricker, the President of the St. Paul Federation of Teachers):

You want to arm me? Good.

Then arm me with a school psychologist at my school who has time to do more than test and sit in meetings about testing.

Arm me with enough counselors so we can build skills to prevent violence, have meaningful discussions with students about their future and not merely frantically adjust student schedules like a Jenga game.

Arm me with social workers who can thoughtfully attend to a student’s and her family’s needs so I. Can. Teach.

Arm me with enough school nurses so that they are accessible to every child and can work as a team with me rather than operate their offices as de facto urgent care centers.

Arm me with more days on the calendar for teaching and learning and fewer days for standardized testing. Arm me with class sizes that allow my colleagues and I to know both our students and their families well.

Arm my colleagues and me with the time it takes to improve together and the time it takes to give great feedback to students about their work and progress.

Until you arm me to the hilt with what it will take to meet the needs of an increasingly vulnerable student population, I respectfully request you keep your opinions on schools and our safety to yourself NRA… “

Kelly Salasin, 2013

Why I Vote Blue

Why I Vote Blue

by Kelly (of rituals) ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Tell me why you vote Red and I’ll tell you why I vote Blue:

I vote Blue because from the time I was a little girl, my Nixon-voting Nana introduced me to the pleasures of the world outside my own.

I vote Blue because in Sunday School I learned that Jesus cared for the poor and the children.

I vote Blue because I was an Army brat who learned to tolerate, celebrate and respect differences
–in religion, color and rank.

I vote Blue because from a young age, I could see the divine in every human being, including criminals.

I vote Blue because as a physician’s daughter, I grew up with the best health care available to me and I want that to be true for everybody.

I vote Blue because when I chose to become a teacher, I experienced first-hand how hard it can be to make ends meet.

I vote Blue because as a woman I know how fragile voice can be.

I vote Blue because I know that when women are empowered–around the world–that life improves–for everyone.

I vote Blue because my ancestors were immigrants from Ireland and Kiev.

I vote Blue because Vermont isn’t supposed to get washed out by hurricanes.

I vote Blue because food is political too.

I vote Blue because I want my vote to serve everyone, including you.

Kelly Salasin, November 6, 2012