While the month of December
is best known as a happy and joyous month filled with holidays, friends,
and family and sharing, it
has also been the cruelest of months. On December 1st 1997 several
students were shot and killed in a school in Paducah, Kentucky. One year ago,on December 14, 2013 the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut was
rocked by another senseless and tragic shooting. 20 students and 6 adults were
killed by the shooter along with the shooter’s mother.
While the education community
mourns the losses of student and staff, we need to take a moment to reflect on
what has been done and should bedone to ensure the safety of students and
faculty in America’s schools. Recently a
network television reporter made attempts
to gain entry to several schools to test their security. Most of the schools
passed, either denying him entry or having an escort take him to the main office. The
reporter did gain access to one school rather easily and started walking down the
halls looking for the office.
After all the education community
has suffered- Columbine High School, Virginia Tech, Paducah and Sandy Hook, we
need to continue to be diligent and provide our students with maximum security without
inhibiting their curiosity and desire to learn in a nurturing and creative environment.
This is no small task.
Let us remember those who lost
their lives just for being students and teachers and strive to make America’s schools safe for all who enter.
C.2013 J. Margolis
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