America, Fix this broken thing

Vision adviser’s response to the Florida shooting

Katie Michell, Vision Adviser and Teacher

Fix this. Fix this broken thing in America.

I am doing what I can as an educator to help kids be better and do better. I am looking out for their mental health as best I can.

I am listening and speaking out to colleagues and authority about who might need care.

I am thinking about my practices and engagement with them and our broader community.

I am encouraging kids if they see something, then say something.

I am trying to help us raise good American citizens.

I am also practicing hiding behind doors.

I am also rehearsing in my mind where I would run or how I could break a window or break someone’s focus.

How I could calm the kids who are crying in fear as I struggle to maintain my own presence of mind.

I’m thinking about our boys too, and how they need purpose and hope and attention.

What do they want? What do they need? How can I identify red flags?

But, again, I come back to a child with a plan.

A boy with access to an AR-15. Because how does that happen? How do we allow this to happen? How do we actually stop it?

I don’t want a gun in my classroom or in my kids’ classroom. Period.

I want us to get the big guns out of any hands.

Responsible gun owners? I feel your pain. It must be frustrating to feel like someone does not want you to have an AR-15. You are a good person.

So, as a good person, make a sacrifice. Help make safer gun regulations. Figure it out.

Sacrifices? Yes. We are asked to make them.

But how many more sacrifices must we make for this?

We have to pack up our kids and pray for them, pray for the losses, and pray for us.

I want no more of it.

Fix it.

If you love your guns, if you love your kids, if you love this country.

Fix it.