My Thoughts On The Florida School Shooting As A NYC School Teacher

I took a few days to gather my thoughts around another senseless school shooting in America. And... I purposely haven't discussed it with anyone or voiced any of my thoughts for two reasons:

1. When a tragedy like this occurs it is very difficult to wrap your mind around the evil that truly exists in the world. Moments like this solidify just how awful people can truly be, and it's a terrifying thought to come to grips with.
2. I had to go in to work the next day, and teach 150 students a lesson regarding English. A lesson that they probably wouldn't remember the following day, and maybe not even give a second thought about the moment they walked out of the classroom doors. I had to go in to teach and it was devastatingly difficult to say the least.

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I've been an English teacher for the last eight years in a New York public school. I've taught in a total of 3 schools over the course of this time. In this time since 2010, there have been 145 incidents within a school building, 239 injuries, and 160 deaths. One hundred and sixty people have died inside of a school building. A building that is supposed to be safe, a beacon of knowledge, a place for the future to thrive and grow.

Usually when a country has a problem, they make every effort to make it better instead of worse. However the image above (I found it from Wikipedia so... I take it with a grain of salt), clearly shows that instead of getting better we seem to be moving towards the wrong direction. Something is very wrong in a world, in a country, where a place of education is a target for malicious and terrible acts of senseless violence.

Below I share my full thoughts and sentiments on the Florida school shooting, as an NYC teacher. Please feel free to leave any comments or questions for me below. Any ridiculously disrespectful comments will be deleted. You've been warned.

My Thoughts On The Florida School Shooting As An NYC Teacher