This broke me....I have been trying very hard to keep it together. I have my own

[airmid]

personal reasons for hating gun violence. But this did me in...



Earlier I shared a post from my friend, Mr. B.

Well now I have my own.

In 7th period, out of nowhere today, the fire alarms at my school went off. My students stood up as they always do when the alarm goes off for drills.

My brain immediately went into robot mode. I recalled the incident from yesterday like a mathematician calculating a problem on a whiteboard. Zero emotions. Zero fear.

“Wait,” I said, holding up my hand. The kids froze. “Let’s sit for now,” I said calmly. They sat, looking at me in terror.

“What if it’s like—!!!” One child cried out, but I turned, shook my head, and kept my hand held out.

“It’s not. Probably someone pulled the alarm. It’s okay. Let’s just wait.”

We waited. I kept eye contact with the teacher in the classroom across the hall from me. We both shook our heads.

Then I waited to hear gunshots.

Do you hear me?

I stood in front of your children and I waited to hear gunshots.

DO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT????

I didn’t want to put them in lockdown just yet. Calmness and control is the only defense I have against a room of panicked teenagers. I turned and I looked every single one of them in the eyes and I nodded my head reassuringly. You are my babies. I have you. I have you.

I kept glancing across at the teacher across from me. He shook his head. We stayed still.

Suddenly, I saw our guidance counselor in the hallway. She beckoned for us to come out. I stuck my head out and said “it’s safe?” She said “Yes, let’s go out.”

“Come on, guys,” I said. “It’s all right. We can go outside.”

They behaved wonderfully. They followed me out calmly, we evacuated, and then we stood outside for 30 minutes while fire trucks and police cars checked out our building. It was a faulty alarm. Everyone was safe.

I took my children back inside. We had a successful drill. Everyone was safe. I even made a point to update parents and community that we were all safe.

School dismissed.

The kids left, chatting excitedly how they missed half a class period.

I sat at my desk.

My little sister came in to say goodbye for the day and I lost it. Sobbing, snot coming out, face burning, nauseated.

I was waiting to hear gunshots. I was waiting to hide my kids. I was waiting for the shots.

Keep your opinions off my post. I’m home and I’m angry.

I stood in front of your kids and waited to die for them.

I STOOD IN FRONT OF YOUR KIDS AND WAITED TO DIE FOR THEM!

[voteearlyvoteoften]

1. i don't know what to say

But I am with you. I believe you would sacrifice yourself for your students. This is the moment. Now is the time. Stop the violence.

Peace be with you😥

[Docreed2003]

2. Thank you for sharing your story...nt

[Scarsdale]

3. Mentally disturbed people

reside in every country in the world. WHY is the US the only one that makes weapons of mass destruction, in this case automatic weapons, readily available.? Related to this, why is the US the country where politicians can be bought with huge donations to their bank accounts?? Why isn't THAT called BRIBERY?

[renate]

25. exactly!

Your point needs to be made over and over and over again.

Mentally ill people, even just disturbed and angry and vengeful people, are everywhere, yet this only happens in the United States. We all know, even they know, the real reason this only happens here. Yet politicians hide behind shooters' mental illness as an excuse (while still not fully funding treatment for mental illness).

[Oppaloopa]

4. Thank you

[ananda]

5. This is SO wrong on so many levels!

Thank you for being there for your students!

[scarletlib]

6. This makes me cry.

This is the sorry state of our nation. Guns above children. Fear for our lives, there is no "freedom" in that.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

7. You are strong and that was very hard for you. Thank you. . . . . nt

[DiverDave]

8. My opinion?

They are all our babies.
Thank you, my son is in high school and I
am terrified that I will get "the call".
Hopefully his teachers are as awesome as you.

[cate94]

9. Heart wrenching

And powerful.
I used to think that we should have our Congress people wear pictures of their sponsors on their clothes, like NASCAR, but I’ve changed my mind. The photos of the dead should be hung in chains around their necks and the amount they received from the NRA tattooed on their foreheads.

[scarletlib]

20. AMEN!

[CaptainTruth]

38. +1000!

[steve2470]

10. this makes me cry

Our country has become so sick, that now you and other teachers and kids have to think about this.

God help us. We have become so sick.

[Fred Sanders]

16. The NRA and its corrupt politicians have achieved what ISIS could not: terrorizing America coast

to coast.

Rubio all emotional over Guns being restricted, not children dying, is a disgusting as it gets.

Not a human, some kind of of world alien is the only explanation.

[cilla4progress]

11. Thank you that you would do this for our children

You are, in the words of Fred Rogers, one of "the helpers." We look for you, and to you. A true leader, not a false one...

[surrealAmerican]

12. What if there had been a fire?

I hadn't thought about the implications for fire safety before, but it seems the recent shooting could cost more lives because it will make teachers hesitant to evacuate when they hear the alarm.

[AtheistCrusader]

34. Fire does not propagate fast enough in a modern building to make what that teacher did, dangerous.

Not in that context.

If the fire is that impending, it'll be obvious.

Worse, a real fire isn't even 'all clear'. Explosion and fire in the Bath school shooting in 1927 was just the beginning.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bath_School_disaster

[heaven05]

13. I love the teachers here

and to have kids and adults go through an adrenaline pumping fear inducing situation like this is just so sad. And unnecessary.

[ancianita]

14. ...

[mia]

15. Powerful post.

Thank you. I just retired from the public school system and can imagine being there with you.
May I copy this and post it on facebook?

[mia]

19. Stephanie Kuzy Jenkins facebook page

https://www.facebook.com/segany

[Hermit-The-Prog]

17. Thank you.

My son is a teacher. Little kids, pre-teen. May his handle it as well as yours.

[world wide wally]

18. Is America great again yet?

[Freedomofspeech]

21. Thank you for sharing this...

As a retired educator, my heart aches for anyone in the classroom now. I was a high school librarian when Columbine happened and many students died in their library. That stayed with me until the day I retired. Love and peace to you.

[Initech]

22. Make America Murder Again!

[Dem_4_Life]

23. Thank you for sharing your story.

This is so heart breaking and unnecessary. This makes me so angry that we have to go through this as a country and looking at what we have become.

I am so grateful that my Grandpa passed away shortly after Trump was inaugurated. This would have killed him internally to see what his America became. The country that he fought for and the country that he loved.

Every single day I am so horrified and angry.

[California_Republic]

24. (( hugs )))

[renate]

26. thank you for what you do, for being cautious, for being protective

That sounds so traumatic, but only for you and not for your kids, because of your level-headedness and calm. You protected them from fear. You did an amazing job.

[sheshe2]

27. ...

[herding cats]

28. .

Both my mother and my sister are teachers. I never imagined I’d worry about them being safe at work.

[magicarpet]

29. Crank up the hate.... then crank up even more hate....

Use hate as a weapon and a vehicular motif to make political gains....

.... this is the end result - some young Rebel with his head screwed on backwards mindlessly and incoherently lashes out and reeks mayhem.

Thank you President Trump for making hate come into such sharp focus and making it such an important component of American political discourse.

This monster of your creation now wanders, roams, and haunts our political landscapes and is infecting our communities.

Thank you for cranking and ramping things up to this degree. Only the stupidest among use could not have recognized and anticipated this end result that rampant and relentless hatred would bring.

[Smickey]

30. Don't forget your kevlar dear.

I am so sorry you had to experience that moment in time.
The idea that teachers have to mentally prepare for being a human shield is truly horrifying to me as it is I am sure to most everyone else. It terrifies me that young teachers and prospective teachers (like my daughter) have to factor this into decisions about remaining as or becoming teachers in the first place.

The loss is ours.

What have we come to.

[airmid]

31. I should clarify...this was shared by a friend on Facebook. I have not been a teacher for many years

But this went all through me. I am still unable to function since I read this. We are a broken country....

[Heartstrings]

32. As a child of 2 teachers

This could have been either one of my parents. They would have sacrificed my brother and I for other people's children. That's what teachers do....and yet, appreciation is rarely given for all the sacrifices they make daily.

But don't ever forget, they have families and most likely children themselves.....

#enough

[niyad]

33. I wish there were sensible, sane words for the insanity in which we find ourselves. Bless YOU,

and all the other wonderful teachers and staff in our schools. I cannot imagine the courage and dedication it takes to show up every day in what has become a war zone.

[lunatica]

35. All I can say is thank you!

You and the other teacher did the right thing no matter what was actually happening.

There seems to always be a teacher in these horrible incidences who puts their body in defense of the students, or who talks the killer down, and many have lost their lives doing it.

As a matter of fact I can’t remember a single story of a teacher hiding behind their students or running away.

I would like to see heroic teachers recognized in a meaningful way.

[cp]

36. Sending love

Thank you for being a true teacher and good-hearted person. Please take good care of yourself.

[alwaysinasnit]

37. Thank You!

Your kids will remember this and they will especially remember that you were prepared to do whatever it took to keep them safe.

[Raastan]

39. Thanks for sharing

I am a teacher, too.... I get it.

[CaptainTruth]

40. Both of my sisters were teachers, both retired now.

They can't believe the right-wingers who want to arm teachers & expect them to face shooters with assault rifles.

This is insane. Our schools should not be battlefronts.

[Lifelong Protester]

41. Thanks for that,

we teachers can't even get sufficient pencils and toner, now there is suddenly money for Glocks???

[MontanaMama]

42. Oh my.

I'm sorry. Sick and sorry. Thank you for teaching and leading and caring for our children.

When you feel able, please share this with your elected representatives.

[LiberalFighter]

43. Proud of how you and your fellow teacher handled it.

[BigmanPigman]

44. As a first grade teacher I have complete empathy.

I know. I know. WE know!

[Aristus]

45. Just one more reason why I shout from the mountaintops:

TEACHERS ROCK!!!

[dae]

46. Thank you.

[orleans]

47. here's a reference point to the letter

The full letter from teacher Stephanie Kuzy

http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/39109707/florida-school-shooting-teachers-letter-spooked-after-fire-drill/

fucking chilling

[Cha]

48. Heartbreaking account, airmid

Mahalo for your poignant story.