What Can We Do About the Violence?

As most of you, I've been very upset by yet another school shooting.

I've been upset by all the mass shootings we've had in our country in the last few years.

All those children that won't be coming home.

All those parents that can no longer hug their children.

All those children who survived, yet see the scene over and over again in their heads.

It's all too much to bear.

Letting this continue is unacceptable.

What can we do about it?

I know there are many responsible gun owners out there who are afraid of losing their guns. 

There's no way I'd ever suggest that! 

Arming teachers? As a teacher myself, I know there are a lot of us who could NEVER fire that gun, and would feel real uncomfortable having one in a classroom where there are small children. It might be my Catholic School background, but I believe "Thou shall not kill" is not negotiable.

I could never live with myself if I shot someone. 

Other teachers might feel differently. I just couldn't.

If you feel as strongly as I do about protecting our students, you can contact your senators and congressmen through THIS LINK.

You can find them through THIS LINK.

Or,  you could donate at THIS LINK.

or THIS LINK.

What else can we do?

We can make our children feel safe. This is a tough one, since we honestly know the next school could be your school. It could happen anywhere. 

But we need to let them know you will protect them. 

(As we all know teachers will, the best they can!)

This video is worth watching. It's a song I sang with my singing group years ago, which answers the question, "What can we do when there's nothing left to do?"

We Can be Kind.

In honor of the need for kindness, this resource, (which typically costs $4.50) will be free through tomorrow (February 16, 2018) It's readers theatre, where children have typical school conflicts, and the ending is created by the audience, using kindness. I hope it brings more kindness into your life!

I honestly hope the killings stop, and students, parents, and teachers feel safer in school.

I'm not going to stop praying, but it's no longer enough. 

We need to act!

How Can We Help Them Learn Kindness?

There is a whole lot of hate in our world. 

It's very concerning when we work with little ones and we want them to be successful. 

Although I'm not going to delve into politics, I'm sure you're aware that political changes here in the USA are pretty uncomfortable for many right now, and people are angry. Yes, BOTH sides of the political system are angry, and it's not helping our children. 

How can we help them learn about kindness? 

Well, here are three ideas!

There are tons of great books with the theme of kindness! I've linked some of my favorites below.

                            

I have a special softness for Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch and The Invisible Boy. 

Be sure to read the books and let the children have plenty of conversations. 

Bring up the topic of kindness and let the children talk about how the characters showed kindness in the stories. 

We know as educators that children are more likely to do what they see than what they're told to do. That means we need to let them see us showing respect and kindness to them, and the people they see us interact with. Let them see you performing little acts of kindness for children as well as adults!

Let them see you writing fun little notes for them and their classmates.

Let them see you leave a treat for the teacher next door.

Let them see you bring flowers to the nurse for Nurse's Day.

Let them see you go out of your way to tidy up to make things easier for the custodians.

Bring the whole class to the Library to sing Happy Birthday on the librarian's birthday.

I'm sure you can think of more examples of showing kindness, and I'm sure your students can think of plenty more!

When problems occur in the classroom, which we know happen often, be sure to address the group with the question, "How can we solve this problem with kindness?"

To help you out, I've got a Reader's Theater freebie that does exactly that! It's a little play for 4 people with a problem children can relate to. Here's the twist: after a discussion on how to solve the problem with kindness, the performers get to make up the ending!

One last thought: my singing group sang this song years ago, and it helps me deal with many difficult situations. Although this isn't my singing group, the song is just as beautiful.

 

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