10 years ago, I was a teacher in a large urban high school. Before Columbine, whenever I mentioned I was such a teacher, I used to get oohs and ahhs about how dangerous my job was. I told them the truth. It is not like the movies. It is relatively calm and maybe a fist fight once a week is about it as far as violence goes. Public schools, no matter where they are, are actually quite safe and secure. School is one of the safest places to be.
After Columbine, I got even more comments about why I was a high school teacher. People see stuff on TV and the movies and think it is happening all over.
Columbine was a sad and very shaking experience for anyone. It should not have happened. But it was not because schools are unsafe. Anywhere and everywhere, something like this may happen if the circumstances are right. Or wrong, for that matter.
Think about the shootings that have occurred the last few days. Would you say hospitals are an unsafe place to work just because some idiot shot someone in a hospital? No.
Tell your kids that school is safe. It is. It is more dangerous to be in other places. But yes, things can happen. School children need to be feel safe. The way their parents, friends, classmates, and teachers act has a big impact. Watch what you say and do. Do everything you can to make your child feel no fear.
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