Voices Sing

A Salute and A Prayer

Teachers can take a lot of guff in our society and, when that is deserved, be it from abusing a child or colluding to cover up abuse, they deserve not only the guff but a stiff criminal penalty. But truth is, in addition to teaching reading, writing and arithmetic, teachers and their administrators often are our children's first lines of defense at school, whether the danger be a sexual predator or a madman with enough rounds of ammunition to obliterate multiple classrooms. This is one of the reasons I and my associates work so hard with teachers and school administrators to get all staff trained in abuse prevention/response and encourage community parents to get trained themselves and insist on such training for their schools. 

My hat is off to the many teachers and other staff who have worked so hard with me in that endeavor, inviting me to train at their schools, beseeching their superiors to make such education mandatory, laboring to understand an aching child's symptoms in an effort to help, agonizing when they realize their charges have been suffering. My hat is off to, and my heart aches for, those children who have been victims when such measures and caring were not in place. In the wake of the tragedy in my beloved home state of CT, my hat is off to, and my heart aches for, especially, those teachers and staff who literally put themselves between the killer and the kids on Friday in Newtown, wanting nothing more than to keep those children safe. 

May we never forget and may their memories be forever for a blessing.

Oh, yes...

"The pen that writes your life story must be held in your own hand." 

        ~ Dr. Irene C. Kassorla