Teachers across U.S. say they're 'paralyzed' by fear after Texas school shooting
Teachers are sharing their anxiety, sadness and concern after 19 students and two teachers died in the school shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas on Wednesday.
"It’s a rough time to be a teacher," one person wrote on Twitter. "If it isn’t the entire system collapsing, it’s a school shooting."
Educators across the country have taken to their social media feeds to express the reality of being a teacher during a decade bookmarked by two of the deadliest school shootings in history, including the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in 2012. And, as solutions for gun regulation or more protection in schools have yet to surface, the fear among teachers who feel unsafe in their workplaces is increasing.
I am sitting here paralyzed; not out the door to go to my classroom. It runs through my mind that my life may depend on having a kevlar vest to wear. This is where we are. Stress for teachers is increasing. Educators are walking away because their lives don’t matter.#FreshWords
— Southern Sister Resister - Wordsmith #IAmTheStorm (@ResisterSis20) May 25, 2022
To the teachers at that school that are expected to show up like yesterday didn’t happen I see you. To teachers across America I am thinking of you….this is so draining and sadly as a country we are acting like this is NORMAL.
— @herstory1920Edu (@herstory1920Edu) May 25, 2022
I am upset this morning, and that’s putting it mildly. I am a teacher. All I know is that we need change.
— Theo Huxtable - Maverick Minded (@letgreglive_) May 25, 2022
To all the teachers like me, the ones barely holding themselves together, who are getting ready to teach this morning:
Bless you. Bless us. May we find some way to keep keeping on, one day at a time.— Chanea (sha-nay) or The Madwoman in the Classroom (@heymrsbond) May 25, 2022
While some wrote about their reluctance to show up to their own classrooms the day after tragedy struck at an elementary school in Texas, others shared blessings and motivation to fellow educators, acknowledging that the day would be difficult. One teacher even shared that she had thought of calling out sick but knew that the 25 fourth graders counting on her to teach couldn't do the same.
I didn't sleep at all. I considered calling in sick today. But I have 25 4tj graders who can't call in sick. 7 more school days and then I quit. I'm out. Not worth my life.
— Kimberly Smith Van Metre (@KimMetre) May 25, 2022
"7 more school days and then I quit. I'm out," she wrote. "Not worth my life."
Tuesday's shooting was a reminder of the real danger that teachers and students may face at school. However, many explained that they've done their best to prepare with active shooter drills in classrooms.
Every teacher has a plan. Every teacher has thought it through. #notokay
— Kristen (@alb_kris_10) May 25, 2022
I work in a school.
We have active shooter drills all the time.
We “know” what to do.
I’m sure they practiced in Texas too.
I’m sure the kids & their teachers “knew” what to do.
14 kids & a teacher died.
School preparedness isn’t the problem.
The problem is the gun.
It’s the gun.— Jo ?? (@JoJoFromJerz) May 24, 2022
Even so, educators express that they could never be fully prepared to face such horrific tragedy doing a job they didn't expect to put their lives at risk.
A colleague reached out last night to ask what training we can incorporate into our teacher prep program that would help prepare our teacher candidates for tragic events like yesterday. Maybe I’m cynical, but I said I didn’t think there was anything that we could do. 1/4
— Meghan has a secret podcast side project ??? (@thepursuinglife) May 25, 2022
3. I do think they should be prepared for tragedy. But also teachers aren’t firefighters. They didn’t sign up thinking there would be a risk they could die for their jobs, and their training programs don’t equip them to evaluate & face that risk. Yet… here we are. 4/4
— Meghan has a secret podcast side project ??? (@thepursuinglife) May 25, 2022
"I do think they should be prepared for tragedy. But also teachers aren't firefighters," one teacher wrote within a thread of tweets. "They didn't sign up thinking there would be a risk they could die for their jobs, and their training programs don't equip them to evaluate & face that risk. Yet... here we are."
One teacher who volunteers for Moms Demand Action — the organization fighting for laws and public safety measures against gun violence born out of the Sandy Hook shooting — recalled her own experience going back to school the day after the tragedy in 2012. She even pled with parents to show their kids's teachers some kindness and grace.
Going back into the classroom after Sandyhook was one of the hardest days of my career. Your kids’ teachers are struggling. Please understand that they are simultaneously worried and about their students’ & their own lives. This could’ve been any school in America. #Uvalde
— Tristan (@Tstutz27) May 25, 2022
"Going back into the classroom after [Sandy Hook] was one of the hardest days of my career. Your kids' teachers are struggling," she wrote. "Please understand that they are simultaneously worried about their students' & their own lives."
She added the stark reminder, "This could've been any school in America."
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