Happy New Year!

I hope that everyone had a good first day back!  I'm sure it was emotional for many as we remember the tragedy in Connecticut.  It is extremely disturbing that so many innocent lives were lost.  However, the heroic tales of the many teachers who acted to save their students is truly inspiring.  We should be proud to be part of this profession.  After all, how many of us refer to our students as "my kids".

This dark event for our nation has sparked much conversation.  Should schools have more security?  Should teachers carry guns? Did the shooter have autism?

To start with, many of us go out of our way to make our students feel safe and welcome in a nurturing environment.  It would be difficult to nurture trust through metal detectors, bars, and armed guards.  And in a time when most schools systems are dealing with drastic budget cuts and teachers are woefully underpaid for their expertise, how would we pay for this extra security?

Secondly, as most teachers know, we have faced increasing restrictions on how we interact with our students.  Our current "first aid kit" is a wet brown paper towel.  We cannot even apply a bandaid for fear that a student may have an adverse reaction or be improperly treated for their injury.  However, some suggest that teachers be allowed to have a gun on campus.  For safety, I'm sure that any weapon would have to be  properly locked away.  The incident in Connecticut from start to finish lasted 4 minutes.  By the time a teacher safely secured their students then unlocked the stored gun, a dangerous person would already have wreaked havoc. I don't want to even think about the dangers of actually having a gun stored in the classroom on a daily basis!  One missed step, forgotten lock could lead to another tragedy.  Children are killed or injured every year when they manage to get hold of guns that their parents swore were properly stored in the home.

Finally, I have had the pleasure of teaching students with autism for over 20 years.  While I have seen many of my students have tantrums and upsets due to confusion or frustration, the planned nature of the violence of this event was very out of character of a person with autism.  I recently researched state definitions of autism and was surprised to learn that the eligibility criteria for autism in this country is different in every state.  We will probably never know why the Connecticut shooter chose his actions but we should not blame autism categorically.  We do not know on what basis the shooter received this title (if he truly did) and whether he had any other mental disorders as well.

All I can say is that every person with autism that I know responds positively to caring and understanding, to an appreciation of their special talents and gifts.  I look forward to helping them shine a little brighter each day.  I'm proud to be a teacher.