Sunday, School, and What I'm Thinking About--

I am up and having my coffee. It's overcast (what a surprise), but the weather dude says sun is coming later. I sure hope so.

In the meantime, the roosters are crowing a duet next door, and the crickets have a constant chirring with the occasional chitter-chirp. It's pretty peaceful, and I'm enjoying it immensely.

Tomorrow, I go back to the classroom, year 37 as a teacher. I've been in classrooms every fall for the last 53 years. 

OMG.

Isn't it funny how, when we put an actual number to it, it feels overwhelming? I like schools, for the most part. Books, kids, the chatter and bustle in the halls-- there's a lot that is really welcoming about "back to school"-- I love new school supplies like nice pens and blank notebooks. I don't love the undercurrent of panic and despair that has crept into the experience, though. I'd like to shove that darkness back into a deep vault and forget the combination. Kids --and teachers-- deserve the opportunity to enjoy the wonder and excitement, and not get sucked down into the murkiness of all that anger and angst. Suffice it to say, school is not what it was, and ours is not all that different in many ways from those in bigger geographical locations. We don't have metal detectors or gun-wielding SROs, but we have the drills, the policies, the response plans and people who are tasked with keeping us orderly and safe. And I'm glad those people and plans are in place, because I am actually afraid I'd be entirely useless in a crisis. I can't run, and I'm too short to be threatening. I can't even get down the stairs quickly. So, I guess my role is to be the distraction and the sacrifice? O lordy.

But back to the wonder of school and autumn and new clothes and all that chatter. I want to keep the idyll in mind when I get ready for work tomorrow morning. But I will also be vigilant, just like every other teacher in the country. If I'd had a crystal ball forty years ago, I am not sure I'd have completed my teacher training. There are other things I could have done then, like work in a bookstore or library. I chose teaching-- it was a job and it paid better than minimum wage-- and here I am. I've gotten pretty good at this gig over the last almost-four-decades, and I don't regret it. But I do wish that we could just go forth in happy expectation, and not keep looking around corners, waiting for the evil to appear. 

We need prayers, but we also need active legislation and funded programs to help stem the tide of anxiety and anger. This is a true pandemic, and our governmental representatives from the conservative side of things will not work with those of us who are scared in order to try to address this problem. If only they were as outraged about gun violence as they were about masks.

It's time for us to confront the cesspool of anger that manifests itself in gun violence. Just yesterday, there were three incidents (the ones I've heard of, anyhow) that involve multiple people and guns, one of which was in Boston, at a parade. It's exhausting, all this constant worry. No wonder kids don't want to engage-- the news is full of stories about how people want to kill them. 

That said, I hope to enjoy this Sunday. I hope you do, too. 

Be safe,

C