Sunday, December 16, 2012

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.

2 comments:

  1. I agree that it’s appropriate to honor the teachers who gave their lives defending their precious charges at Sandyhook. I might never be brave enough to sacrifice my own life for another and hope never to find myself in the position to find out.

    A teacher should be the first line of defense at school, but I won’t take my hat off to every teacher, especially not to those who sexually abused me. I thank you for the reminder that it’s important for me to avoid generalizations that might minimize another person’s experience.

    ~Carole

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  2. Carole,
    Thank you for writing and reminding me that I need to be very clear with my words as an expression of my thoughts and heart and that nobody can read what I have not written. Toward that end, I have reworked my original post to more accurately state that which I intended.
    Please accept my sincere apology for expressing myself in a way that would sound dismissive of your experience. I am truly grateful you wrote to explain so I could clarify. I am also a survivor and would never intentionally belittle the pain, experience and legacy of that suffering.
    With much respect and appreciation for your thoughtful expression,

    Susan

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