A Quiet Day

I had prepared myself this weekend to put my counseling skills into use for a sensitive, reassuring discussion with the students today regarding the tragic shooting. I thought I would follow their lead after getting a sense of  how much the children came into class already knowing. I also wanted to observe them for a little while to see the reaction of the children to this terrible tragedy before speaking to them.

Surprisingly, not one child spoke of it. Nor did they inquire about our heightened security precautions today. I assume that open discussions have already been had at home or parents have chosen to shelter them from the news completely. Because the students did not bring it up, I made the decision not to discuss the tragedy the classroom today. I tried to keep the day as normal as possible and fun for the children with lively music and holiday activities. At some point, perhaps even tomorrow, students may express an interest in talking more openly.

Please encourage your little ones to express themselves as needed at home and please let them know that I have said that I am always here to listen when they need me. Feel free to write or call to let me know if there is anything I can do to help your family or your child to cope with the news of this heartbreaking violence.

I dreampt I stood

In a studio

And watched two sculptors there,

The clay they used

Was a young child’s mind

And they fashioned it with care.

One was a teacher

The tools she used

Were books and

Music and art;

One was a parent

With a guiding hand

and a gentle loving heart.

And when at last

Their work was done

They were proud of

What they had wrought

For the things they

Had worked into the child

Could never be

Sold or bought.

And each agreed they would have failed

If they had worked alone

For behind the parent

Stood the school

And behind the teacher

Stood the home.

-Author unknown