Love

Friday, a horrific shooting happened in Connecticut at an elementary school killing multiple students and teachers.  The gunman, a 20 year-old with no clear affiliation to the school, was “troubled” and “not well” as the media reported.  Why he elected to promote his rage and power in the elementary school is still unclear; we only know what has been revealed at this point, creating more questions than answers.

In any situation like this we ask ourselves about the sanctity of life, about precious moments, about safety, and we tailspin into the “what ifs” and “whys” and the “hows”, most of which never get answered in the now no matter how hard we search.  But amongst our questions, our pain, and our tears, we find heros that emerge through the rough.  

The teacher who hid her students, and jumped in front of the gunman so that she could protect them from harm’s way.  The teacher who took her students into a bathroom and tried to keep them calm, telling them she loved them so that they knew someone loved them, even if it was the last thing they heard.  The principal who ran toward the gunman to protect the students.  And of course all of the beautiful souls that lost their lives in the process.  

These are the acts that make us remember humanity, not forget it.

Upon hearing the news of this tragedy on Friday, one of my students asked me who I would “hide behind” if this happened to us.  I looked at her, knowing that this is just how sixth graders think, and said, “No one.  I would take the bullet for you...”  She said I was a “nice teacher”, but the truth is that I never said it to be “nice”, nor did I say it because it’s my “job”.  Nowhere does it say in my job description, “Willing to take bullet for students”, but it is in my beliefs, it is in my DNA as a human being, and it is part of my duty to serve and love.

Most teachers don’t get into education thinking of it as a dangerous profession.  We do it to better our children, to help those in our future, and because we love what we do.  And if any of that means putting our students’ needs and safety first, then we do it.  It’s not because we are “nice”, but because we know that you are the most important people we see during the day, and most importantly, because we love you.