The tough stuff

Today, I read about a school shooting that took place in Chardon, Ohio.  Apparently (I apologize if my information is off, the articles are constantly being updated) someone who I'm assuming was a student stood up in the cafeteria and started shooting.  When I saw the reports this morning, 5 students had been injured, but as of now two have passed away as a result.  And to make it even more real, one of my friends at school is from that area; her brother is a senior at the affected school (he's alright by the way).

This is the type of situation that no one can prepare you for.  I read that two teachers chased the gunman out of the school, and I have no doubts that their reactions prevented more injuries/casualties.  I don't know what the other faculty did, but I'm sure each member of that school community tried to do what they could, whether it was keeping students safe in lock down or evacuating them to a nearby elementary school.

No matter what events have happened in the past, no one is ready to deal with a school shooting when it happens.  And even if the situation is dissolved with as little physical damage is possible, there's still the emotional scars that are left behind.  This is one of those events that scares me not only because it can happen anywhere, but because it's something that you can't predict no matter what you read, learn, or study in school.

I'm not saying that I'm afraid to teach because of what might happen; that's life.  But I can't help but wonder what could have happened to set this person off?

I honestly don't know who reads this blog, but I'm asking that anyone who does keep this community in your thoughts and prayers.

Don't breathe on me!!

Everyone is sick.  A good chunk of my friends at school are living off of soup and coughing everywhere, and today 99 students were absent from the high school.  My co-op told me that's about an eighth of student body that is either out sick or enjoying an impromptu three day weekend.

I find myself using hand sanitizer like I'm being paid and keeping everyone at arms length (literally), because I know getting sick would be one of the worst things to happen during this semester.  There's so much going on that I just can't afford to lose any time sleeping afternoons away and working at half speed.

So here's to antibacterial soap, vitamin C, and hoping I stay healthy until Spring Break!

What they don't tell you in teacher school

So today in first period we had a really strong gas smell.  Not headache causing craziness, just enough to cause confusion.  The whole language wing of the school smelled like a broken Bunsen burner.  We kept teaching, but another teacher came in and asked if we smelled it too, while a student who showed up late mentioned that they were talking about it in the office.  It was enough where I half expected the school to send us outside, but they never did.  Later I found out that it was just our section of the school; a girl I know who also is doing her field there said they couldn't smell anything.  So we just opened the windows and moved on (after figuring out if it helped more to keep the door open or shut.  Turns out it didn't really matter).

It wasn't too bad though, other than the obvious annoyance of the smell.  Jokes were cracked and the kids seemed in good spirits.

The calm lasted about 10 minutes.

Then the whining started, along with the complaints of headaches, not being able to stand it anymore, and, my personal favorite, the Oh My Gosh If We Don't Get Out Of Here We're All Going To Die.  These were funny for about 3 seconds, but they got old really quickly.  It really wasn't that bad.  I wanted to tell the little sweethearts that no, you're not going to die, if you were we'd probably have left already.  But we just shushed them and moved on with our activity, which included some partner competition which magically seemed to make the headaches go away.

Since it wasn't a huge crisis, it wasn't terrible and it was a good experience to have.  However, I started wondering about what I would have done had I been there alone, along with thinking about all the other possible situations no one prepares you for.  My co-op contributed some stories of her own, so at least if I get a situation about highlighter attacks or tampon throwing (I kid you not), I'll know how someone else handled it.

But still, I'm a little anxious to see what they throw at me in the future...