Dear Fellow Teachers,
After watching the horrifying video pictured below several times, a wave of absolute sadness hit me. Then, and without warning, a tsunami of anger. This is not our America. This is not what we stand for.
I have spent the past few years terrified and confused about the future of our country. I have buried my head in the sand, just waiting for things to get better. I am not talking about politics. I am talking about an epidemic of hate and the growing tolerance for it.
No more.
The faces of those young men- smug, arrogant, yet so so so ignorant. Those faces are hiding in our classrooms. They are lurking in our halls. While I wish I could say with certainty, they are not, I know I would be wrong.
We can change this. We can stop this.
Yes, I know.....but social media, but friends, but parents, and youtube, and media, etc. etc.
We are on the front lines. We are this country's first line of defense against what brought those boys to that spot. To stand in front of a Vietnam Veteran- a man who fought for them and the country they live in. A man who's ancestors have more right over this land than any other man ever has.
Those faces haunt me. They also ignite me.
We can hit this hard. We can make an impact.
You may say, "my classroom is small in comparison" and you would be right. But multiply your current student population by the numbers of years you have/will teach. Thousands of hearts to change and lessons to be learned.
This battle is just beginning. I am awake. I am ready to take this one. I am ready to fight for MY country.
See you Tuesday.
Mrs. B
