It’s not recent news that gun violence in America is a problem. I’d like to begin with the acknowledgement of political parties, and how I’m not writing this to bash one versus the other. I’m writing about what keeps being said but is never resolved: gun violence in America is at an alltime high, and that needs to stop.
As a future educator of your future children, I find myself becoming more skeptical of my career choice. School should be a place of safety for students- a welcoming place, full of teachers there to help guide students’ futures and provide a listening ear if need be. It’s not always the place most students want to be at for upwards of eight hours a day, but that’s how it is, so ensuring that students are kept safe and protected is the number one priority among school staff. But what if I can’t protect my students? What if there’s nothing I can do to keep them safe? A high school student in my family cannot wait to graduate, simply because he’s afraid of going to school and not coming home. He’s afraid that one day, he’ll be sitting in class, listening to the teacher, and the next moment he’ll be locked in a room, hiding under a desk as an active shooter patrols the halls killing innocent students that are there to learn.
It’s so difficult to write this, because some people still do not understand how terrifying it is to be a student, teacher, or staff member at a school. Students have enough to deal with already: pressure to maintain the highest GPA possible, working to become a varsity athlete, trying to have a good group of friends, while ultimately working towards getting into a good college. The last fear on their mind should be saying goodbye to their parents after breakfast and not being able to say hello again before dinner. Whatever your opinion on guns may be, hopefully there is a common agreement that gun violence in schools is a terrifying reality that needs to end.