It made national news in a matter of hours, and even though any reporter could swap out city, state, victim and assailant names, this one felt different because it happened here.
I don’t know any staff at Millard South High School, but as a speech coach, I spent 10 hours there once a year at a speech tournament. I know the layout of that building. I’ve walked through the halls, eaten in the cafeteria.
There’s not a word to really describe what I’m feeling. It varies from shock, to disbelief, to fear, to anxiety, but always settles on sorrow.
I go back to school tomorrow, and my students, I’m sure will want to spend a little time talking about it. I resolve to leave them with this message: nothing, nothing, nothing in this world is so unfixable that resorting to violence towards others and ultimately yourself is a viable solution.
So scary. I never wrote you back. It's too close to home… (3 hours away)Hope your students understood your message.