Submitted by Paul F. Nimmo
I need to just vent… In case you have not heard, there was another school shooting last week. This has sparked debate and everyone has the answer.
People that have been friends for years are now arguing whether 3rd graders can buy Uzi’s, whether bullet proof vests should be assigned with student lockers, and if students should have to arrive at school 2 hours early to pass through security screening.
There are some things we have traded for our freedoms. Civility, courtesy and compassion seem to be casualties mixed with the bodies. Gun control or freedom? Crazy about guns or gun crazy? Who decides who is crazy or who is sane? Mental health or just mental?
I don’t have the answers. What I am not going to do is live in fear. What can we do? Well, we can continue to debate, but action is needed.
I would have loved to have been a teacher, but my life went another direction. But all of us have a responsibility in our communities to be educators. We need to re-engage with our kids, the kids in our schools, the kids in our communities. Our kids have many negative influences in their lives, plenty of bad role models. It is time to make sure they have plenty of positive role models in their lives. We don’t need more security, we need more people involved to make them feel secure.
Even if your kids are “long out of school”, there are still plenty of opportunities to be involved. Schools are screaming for volunteers. There are many other youth organizations desperately seeking to reach youth but our limited in either funding or staffing. Youth sports always need coaches. Businesses can be invaluable resources and educational providers.
It is easy after events like this to be enraged… but now let’s get engaged.
Patti Lundgren says
Well put!