photo #4367007

This is long but well worth the read: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This week was heavy….. I packed up my last classroom and said good bye to my last full class from 15 years of being a teacher. This year was HARD and that’s probably an understatement. But in light of what happened this week in Texas, my emotions were really all over the place. Wednesday afternoon I packed personal items, pulling my ratchet strap out of my closet and adding it to my things. The ratchet strap I have kept in my room as my “plan”. Why do you need a ratchet strap in a classroom? Well you see when you are teaching 5-6 year olds, they don’t quietly and calmly carry you desks, chairs, tables, etc to quickly make that safety barricade and keep an intruder out. You are it, the one who has to keep them safe as quickly as possible and get to your very scared kiddos as quickly as possible and my ratchet strap was that “plan”. It was carefully measured to hook my door to a cabinet with only a few pumps and be ready to hold the door in case of a failed lock and give us time to get out of the school. This hit me extra hard this year. I thank Jesus I did not have to use this plan, but am sad that I had to have this plan ready at a moments notice. I told my kids all year that my first job is to keep them safe and I meant it every time I said it (and I said it a lot this year). So what is happening?? Is it gun control? 🤷‍♀️ Is it a mental health problem? 🤷‍♀️ maybe a combo? 🤷‍♀️ but I DO know this…. When I talk to my kindergarteners about things they ”do” or “like” I find some things concerning. 1. 5 and 6 year olds are PLAYING games like Fortnight, Halo, Five Nights at Freddy’s Security Breach, among other games…. Obsessively (in fact more than half of my kids answered the question “what are you doing this summer?” With the answer playing and then naming one of these games) these games are intended for adults and adults play these games unfiltered 2. Kids are watching these games and other things on The YouTube. When we approach parents about them we get told “I don’t know how they found that but now I can’t get them to stop watching it” wait…. What? 3. Kids are reenacting shows/games at school for recess. Yes, we had to ban red light/green light as a kindergarten team (remember they are 5 and 6) as they were calling red light, then pointing their hands as guns and shooting each other and falling over. Reenacting shows that are intended for a much older crowd. 4. Kids are idolizing characters like Huggy Wuggy (5-6 year olds). I had to ban all things Huggy Wuggy from my classroom- they were drawing pictures, talking about, one even brought in a stuffy of it this year. These kids are becoming obsessed with things that do not promote the value of other people. They are starting these obsessions at such a young age and have many more years where their brain will be developing and learning from those around them (or on YouTube or playing live unfiltered games on the other side of their online game). I know parent say “it’s just a game” and “it’s not real” and “they can handle it”, but from my point of view- I miss the obsessions with trains, robots, animals and unicorns. I miss the responses where over the summer they are looking forward to seeing family or playing outside with their toys. Just some food for thought when we look at the crisis across America. Bring back the trains, robots, animals and unicorns! Focus on showing kindness, patience, compassion, and empathy to ALL humans and show these kids that we value people! Just one teacher’s opinion.