I feel it in the air as soon as it starts getting cold. The body keeps the score; it knows when December 14 is coming up.
13 years ago tomorrow, on December 14, 2012, I walked into Sandy Hook School for the last time. What was supposed to be a normal school day changed me, my students, and our community forever. I huddled with my second graders and tried to sing to my students, tried to read to them, tried anything I could to drown out the sounds.
No matter how many drills our educators and students practice to prepare for situations like this, the truth is: there’s nothing that truly prepares you for when it actually happens. The terror, the crying, the running.
In the days, weeks, and months following, the nation grieved alongside Newtown. Eventually, the headlines moved on…
I continued teaching; I felt a responsibility to be there for my students. There was no guidebook to tell us how to navigate through our grief and trauma. There still isn’t.
Gun violence changes people — the way our brains work, our relationships, and so much more. I know that firsthand, and that’s why I co-founded Teachers Unify: Educators must be part of the change to protect students, teachers, and communities from experiencing these preventable tragedies.
Those who were taken that day and every day by gun violence should still be here, and those who are impacted shouldn’t have to experience what they do. We’re fighting for them, my friends, my colleagues, my students, and for everyone who has had to confront the ugly truths of gun violence in America.
I’m grateful to every single one of you for being a part of this movement.
Teachers Unify is a grassroots movement of educators across America whose mission is to empower its constituents and supporters to demand that communities are safe from gun violence.
