Teaching after Uvalde: Teacher Concerns

Teachers expressed heartbreak, rage, and fear after a school shooting that left 19 children and two teachers dead.

  • “I’m not doing well today. I’m crying in my office. I’m [going to] use my tools and do my things that I know work. But if you’re also not doing well and are in a sea of people who seem to be fine. Know there’s a second grade teacher all the way in Oregon crying along with you.” –Teacher in Oregon

 

  • “Please: All the parents & politicians who love children and are so vocal about masks, curriculum, and censoring books & teachers… please please please instead put your efforts towards becoming vocal about gun laws in the US. Learn from any other country to fuel your voice.” –Middle School ELA Teacher in Illinois

 

  • “Appreciate the visit this morning from our AP @APMikeLavelle to personally check in with each class and see how the kids were feeling in the wake of the atrocities that occurred in Uvalde yesterday. It’s the first time I remember such an administrative step after such an event.” –Middle School History Teacher in Massachusetts

 

  • “To everyone working with kids today know that I’m sending you all of the vibes, all of the energy, all of my love, and I’m so sorry we’re experiencing yet another ‘day after’.” –High School Math Teacher in North Carolina

 

  • “Today was just rough. So many of students scared while others are trying to just process. The halls were soooo different today. I’m about 2 hrs from Uvalde.” –Middle School Science Teacher in Texas

 

  • “Now I get to go to work tomorrow as a teacher of children not much younger than those in Uvalde. We have a lockdown drill Friday, where we’ll stress to the kids that we have to hide in a dark corner and make no noise because “sometimes bad people do bad things to kids”. –Teacher

 

  • “I am so tired of hearing Republicans—the same people who are vilifying Medicare for All and banning social-emotional learning from schools—cite mental health issues as the reason for the massacre in Uvalde. They only value their power. And their greed is killing our children.” –Teacher in Wisconsin