A TRIBUTE TO TEACHERS by Diane Kelly

As I sit here trying to write a funny blog entry, I just can’t do it.  The tragedy in Connecticut weighs on me emotionally, and the funny just won’t come. I’m sorry. I know our blog’s followers come here for laughs, but I can’t provide them today.

So many lives lost, life stories ending much too soon . . . 

When my son was young, I happened to be in the school library with his class when they ran a safety drill. The lights were turned off and all the kids were told to hide behind the bookshelves. Even though it was just a drill, I experienced a sick feeling as I thought about the tragic events that had led to these new drills and what could happen if the situation were not merely a practice run. I could hardly bring myself to even imagine such a horrifying situation actually happening.

Teachers and school administrators were faced with real horror in Connecticut, and many died trying to protect the children in their care. 

I had lunch on Saturday with a friend of mine who teaches high school and the shooting came up in our conversation. We discussed the fact that teachers are on the front lines in these situations. What an enormous responsibility to shoulder and what an awesome sacrifice to make.

I want to take the opportunity today to say Thank You to all of the teachers out there. Not only do you teach and guide our children, you help them to grow and develop their personalities, ethics, and interests. You serve as role models and expose them to new ideas and ways of thinking. You help to protect them from the evils in the world. For all you do, thanks.

I never faced anything remotely as scary as a school shooting, though some tough girls once picked on me and my sister after school. One of the coaches took me aside the next day and told me that if the girls ever bothered us again to let him know. I felt so much safer and less anxious knowing I had someone to go to.  Thanks, Coach Holloway.

Teachers often go above and beyond to do things for their students. Please share your stories today as we show our gratitude for the teachers in our lives and the lives of our children.