On the heels of the latest school shootings...

This letter is long, but I love this retired teacher's answer to the tragic circumstances of school shooters:

IN LIGHT OF THE RECENT TRAGEDY IN FLORIDA, WALKING OUT OF SCHOOL IN PROTEST OF POOR SCHOOL SECURITY WILL NOT LEAD TO A SOLUTION, BUT IF YOU ARE SINCERE IN WANTING TO BE PART OF THE REAL SOLUTION, CONTINUE READING…



Dear Students,
I know you. I am a retired teacher of 24 years. I have taught you as 7th graders all the way through 12th grade. This is not a tweet or a text. It’s called a letter; lengthy and substantial. Do you really want to make a difference? Are you sincere about making your schools safe? Don’t walk out, read this instead. Walking out of school is easy compared to what this letter will challenge you to do.
First of all, put down your stupid phone. Look around you at your classmates. Do you see the kid over in the corner, alone? He could likely be our next shooter. He needs a friend. He needs you. Go and talk to him, befriend him. Chances are, he won’t be easy to like, but it’s mainly because no one has tried to like him. Ask him about him. Get to know him. He’s just like you in that respect; he wants someone to recognize him as a fellow human being but few people have ever given him the chance. You can.

Next, see that kid eating lunch all alone? He could likely be our next shooter. Invite him to eat lunch with you. Introduce him into your fold of friends. You’ll most likely catch a lot of flack from the friends you eat with because they don’t want him upsetting the balance of their social order. After all, who you hang out with is critical to your status, is it not? If status is important to you, don’t you think it’s important to him also? The only difference being that he has no status because generally, shooters have no friends. Are you serious about wanting to make your school safe? Invite him to your lunch table and challenge your friends to do something meaningful with thirty minutes of their lives each day.

Lastly, are you completely frustrated by that kid who always disrupts your class and is consistently sent to the principal’s office? He could likely be our next shooter. Do you know why he causes so much trouble? He initiates disruption because that’s the only thing he does that gets him attention, and even bad attention is better than the no attention he receives from you and your classmates. You secretly wish he would get kicked out of school or sent to the alternative disciplinary school so that he wouldn’t disrupt your classes anymore, that somehow, he would just disappear. Guess what? He already feels invisible in a school of thousands of classmates, you included. So, before he acts out in your next class, why don’t you tell him you’d be willing to help him with the assignment that was just given? Or why don’t you ask him to join your study group? If you really want to blow his mind, ask him for help on the assignment. He’s never been asked that. Ever.

If you’ve read this far, you probably really do care about the safety of your school. Don’t trust that walking out of school will bring an answer. Gun control or more laws is not, and will not, be the answer. You are the answer. Your greeting, your smile, your gentle human touch is the only thing that can change the world of a desperate classmate who may be contemplating something as horrendous as a school shooting. Look past yourself and look past your phone and look into the eyes of a student who no one else sees. Meet the gaze of a fellow human being desperate to make contact with anyone, even just one person. You. If you really feel the need to walk, walk toward that person. Your new friendship can relieve the heartache of one person and in doing so, possibly prevent the unjustifiable heartache of hundreds of lives in the future. I know you. I trust you. You are the answer.

And teachers, my fellow guardians of our youth, I know you too. I know the desire of wanting to make a difference in a young person’s life. I know the thrill of stepping in front of a classroom of students but simultaneously intimidated by the trust bestowed upon you. I also know the crushing, sometimes unbearable responsibility that your shoulders are asked to carry. But that’s why you got into teaching, because you have big shoulders. And a big heart. You’re overworked (I would add underpaid, but you didn’t get into teaching for the pay, so it needn’t be said), underappreciated and exhausted. May I add one more item to that list? You’re also a miracle waiting to happen in the life of your worst student. He could likely be our next shooter. The next time (and there’s always a next time) he’s ready to wreak havoc in your classroom, I challenge you to pull him aside and ask him if he’s ok, if there is something bothering him and is there anything you can do to help? Your genuine concern for him may be just the miracle he’s looking for. The miracle we’re all looking for. I know you. I trust you. You are the answer.


A former teacher who is as heartbroken as you and trusting you not to walk out on the real answer,
David (yes, teachers really do have first names) Blair
Science Teacher, retired
HEB and Joshua ISD
 

.

Texas school district threatens to suspend students who protest gun violence during school hours


" A Texas school district is threatening to suspend students who protest gun violence during school hours as “walkouts” among young activists take place nationwide.

Curtis Rhodes, Superintendent of Needville Independent School District, stated in a letter posted to Facebook and reportedly sent home to students on Tuesday that while the school district "is very sensitive to violence in schools including the recent incident in Florida," the district "will not allow a student demonstration during school hours for any type of protest or awareness!!"....

... " If students do choose to protest, the school district said they'll suspend them for three days, and they'll "face all the consequences that come along with an out of school suspension."

more at link

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/02/2...protest-gun-violence-during-school-hours.html
 
.

True story

When I was in high school [Texas], there was an upcoming football game against our main nemesis, the only other high school in town. On Friday, before the big game, towards the end of the school day, many students began chanting football slogans in class. Then some students left class to chant in the hallway. The impromptu football rally grew bigger and bigger when other students [thinking it was a surprise school approved event] left their classrooms to join the other students who were now marching up and down the halls chanting football slogans. Next thing we knew at the end of the main hall stood our high school Principal with his hands on his hips and a scowl on his face demanding the "riot" stops now and everyone return to class. Everyone scrambled quickly back to their classrooms.

"One Riot = One Ranger"... or in our case, one Principal ;)


How's this for irony... the other high school in town had a cannon by the main entrance [as in Texas' famous "come and take it" cannon in the Texas Revolution.]

My high school had a Confederate rebel theme.

Before the big game, our guys would sneak over to the other high school and paint their cannon, red, white and blue.

.
 
KingsX said:
Strong's G5331

Transliteration
pharmakeia

Strong’s Definitions

†φαρμακεία pharmakeía, far-mak-i'-ah; from G5332; medication ("pharmacy"), i.e. (by extension) magic (literally or figuratively):—sorcery, witchcraft.

Outline of Biblical Usage

1. the use or the administering of drugs
2. poisoning
3. sorcery, magical arts, often found in connection with idolatry and fostered by it
4. metaph. the deceptions and seductions of idolatry


more at link

https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?t=kjv&strongs=g5331


Rev 18:23 speaks about the "great merchants of the earth" right before it says all the nations are deceived by pharmakeia.
Drugs... legal and illegal... are a huge global business that makes plenty of "merchants" very wealthy and powerful.
Click to expand...

Fair enough, and I agree with your closing statement, but you only cite Strong's Concordance, which is the go-to reference for Biblical terminology.

It is NOT the final word on etymology among linguists.
 
Cap'nSacto said:
This letter is long, but I love this retired teacher's answer to the tragic circumstances of school shooters:

IN LIGHT OF THE RECENT TRAGEDY IN FLORIDA, WALKING OUT OF SCHOOL IN PROTEST OF POOR SCHOOL SECURITY WILL NOT LEAD TO A SOLUTION, BUT IF YOU ARE SINCERE IN WANTING TO BE PART OF THE REAL SOLUTION, CONTINUE READING…



Dear Students,
I know you. I am a retired teacher of 24 years. I have taught you as 7th graders all the way through 12th grade. This is not a tweet or a text. It’s called a letter; lengthy and substantial. Do you really want to make a difference? Are you sincere about making your schools safe? Don’t walk out, read this instead. Walking out of school is easy compared to what this letter will challenge you to do.
First of all, put down your stupid phone. Look around you at your classmates. Do you see the kid over in the corner, alone? He could likely be our next shooter. He needs a friend. He needs you. Go and talk to him, befriend him. Chances are, he won’t be easy to like, but it’s mainly because no one has tried to like him. Ask him about him. Get to know him. He’s just like you in that respect; he wants someone to recognize him as a fellow human being but few people have ever given him the chance. You can.

Next, see that kid eating lunch all alone? He could likely be our next shooter. Invite him to eat lunch with you. Introduce him into your fold of friends. You’ll most likely catch a lot of flack from the friends you eat with because they don’t want him upsetting the balance of their social order. After all, who you hang out with is critical to your status, is it not? If status is important to you, don’t you think it’s important to him also? The only difference being that he has no status because generally, shooters have no friends. Are you serious about wanting to make your school safe? Invite him to your lunch table and challenge your friends to do something meaningful with thirty minutes of their lives each day.

Lastly, are you completely frustrated by that kid who always disrupts your class and is consistently sent to the principal’s office? He could likely be our next shooter. Do you know why he causes so much trouble? He initiates disruption because that’s the only thing he does that gets him attention, and even bad attention is better than the no attention he receives from you and your classmates. You secretly wish he would get kicked out of school or sent to the alternative disciplinary school so that he wouldn’t disrupt your classes anymore, that somehow, he would just disappear. Guess what? He already feels invisible in a school of thousands of classmates, you included. So, before he acts out in your next class, why don’t you tell him you’d be willing to help him with the assignment that was just given? Or why don’t you ask him to join your study group? If you really want to blow his mind, ask him for help on the assignment. He’s never been asked that. Ever.

If you’ve read this far, you probably really do care about the safety of your school. Don’t trust that walking out of school will bring an answer. Gun control or more laws is not, and will not, be the answer. You are the answer. Your greeting, your smile, your gentle human touch is the only thing that can change the world of a desperate classmate who may be contemplating something as horrendous as a school shooting. Look past yourself and look past your phone and look into the eyes of a student who no one else sees. Meet the gaze of a fellow human being desperate to make contact with anyone, even just one person. You. If you really feel the need to walk, walk toward that person. Your new friendship can relieve the heartache of one person and in doing so, possibly prevent the unjustifiable heartache of hundreds of lives in the future. I know you. I trust you. You are the answer.

And teachers, my fellow guardians of our youth, I know you too. I know the desire of wanting to make a difference in a young person’s life. I know the thrill of stepping in front of a classroom of students but simultaneously intimidated by the trust bestowed upon you. I also know the crushing, sometimes unbearable responsibility that your shoulders are asked to carry. But that’s why you got into teaching, because you have big shoulders. And a big heart. You’re overworked (I would add underpaid, but you didn’t get into teaching for the pay, so it needn’t be said), underappreciated and exhausted. May I add one more item to that list? You’re also a miracle waiting to happen in the life of your worst student. He could likely be our next shooter. The next time (and there’s always a next time) he’s ready to wreak havoc in your classroom, I challenge you to pull him aside and ask him if he’s ok, if there is something bothering him and is there anything you can do to help? Your genuine concern for him may be just the miracle he’s looking for. The miracle we’re all looking for. I know you. I trust you. You are the answer.


A former teacher who is as heartbroken as you and trusting you not to walk out on the real answer,
David (yes, teachers really do have first names) Blair
Science Teacher, retired
HEB and Joshua ISD
Click to expand...

This teacher points to something that can be done to make schools safer for students. Good pastoral care structures need to be in place in order identify isolated students, among other problems in the student population. I don't know what structures are common in US schools but where I have taught it was either based on the home rooms and year groups, or a house system. Sometimes both.

The house system takes all new students and assigns them membership of one of the houses - think Harry Potter being assigned to Gryffindor by the sorting hat. Teachers are also assigned to houses as part of a pastoral care team. In this way every student belongs to a tribe with tribal elders from both the senior students and the faculty members. In school competitions in sport, debating etc students can to contribute points to their house which enhances the sense of belonging.

Even if nothing else is done, this system has merit. If combined with an intentional pastoral care program that is guided by school counsellors the house system can be of benefit to students doing it tough in the playground. For example, new students, as part of their orientation, can be assigned senior students to be their buddies and mentors helping them fit in in their first year of high school. The student leaders and the staff leaders can also work as a team by discussing problems as they arise, whether it be bullying or something happening at home such as family breakup that the teachers are not yet aware of. Early intervention can prevent a small problem from becoming something much worse further down the track.

By intentionally working to make schools kinder communities for all students it might just be possible to stop some individuals from developing that inner rage that is finally expressed in murderous revenge.
 
Do schools still have guidance counselors? I know it would be rare these days to have a school nurse. Those positions could be expanded to recognize and refer students in or causing trouble. Maybe a small piece of the prevention solution.
 
Warrigal said:
This teacher points to something that can be done to make schools safer for students. Good pastoral care structures need to be in place in order identify isolated students, among other problems in the student population. I don't know what structures are common in US schools but where I have taught it was either based on the home rooms and year groups, or a house system. Sometimes both.

The house system takes all new students and assigns them membership of one of the houses - think Harry Potter being assigned to Gryffindor by the sorting hat. Teachers are also assigned to houses as part of a pastoral care team. In this way every student belongs to a tribe with tribal elders from both the senior students and the faculty members. In school competitions in sport, debating etc students can to contribute points to their house which enhances the sense of belonging.

Even if nothing else is done, this system has merit. If combined with an intentional pastoral care program that is guided by school counsellors the house system can be of benefit to students doing it tough in the playground. For example, new students, as part of their orientation, can be assigned senior students to be their buddies and mentors helping them fit in in their first year of high school. The student leaders and the staff leaders can also work as a team by discussing problems as they arise, whether it be bullying or something happening at home such as family breakup that the teachers are not yet aware of. Early intervention can prevent a small problem from becoming something much worse further down the track.

By intentionally working to make schools kinder communities for all students it might just be possible to stop some individuals from developing that inner rage that is finally expressed in murderous revenge.
Click to expand...

Home rooms at the high school level is now gone in most high schools (actually, I don't know if any still have them), and student counselors were replaced with "Career Counselors", whose main purpose was to guide students toward preparing for college, and now few high schools have counselors at all. (I know 3 teachers, 2 of whom still teach. One says money saved on counselors is now going toward buying technology, the other two say it's supporting retired teachers.)

Also, to the point highlighted in blue - this was one of the best systems ever. Students who excelled could also help students who were struggling. Both these systems no longer exist at the high school level as it is viewed (by the Dept of ED) as demeaning to struggling and new students.
 
C'est Moi said:
What a crock. You are in Canada. I am in Texas. All my life I have been around guns, and people who own them. Including myself. No one I know has ever "shot up" anything except target practice and during hunting season. Guns are not used "to settle arguments" except by emotionally disturbed individuals.

Nearly half the households in the US have guns. We raised five children in this house, with guns. They are all responsible adults now with their own homes, and they own guns. Amazingly, we have never used any gun to settle an argument. We are rational and responsible gun owners and plan on continuing to be.
Click to expand...

Same here. I've been around guns all my life. I was taught at an early age to respect them and to handle them safely and responsibly, and I will continue to do so.
 
Butterfly said:
Same here. I've been around guns all my life. I was taught at an early age to respect them and to handle them safely and responsibly, and I will continue to do so.
Click to expand...

Me too. In the home where I grew up. there were two closets in our entryway, one on either side of the front door. The closet on the right side was where we kept our guns and other weapons (knives, etc.). That closet was always locked, and only my father, my mother (who never shot a gun in her life), my brother and I knew where to find the key. On the inside of the door my father posted the rules for gun use. The first rule was no loaded guns inside city limits. Dad checked our guns regularly to make sure they were unloaded and we were cleaning them properly.

I own a handgun and I am licensed to carry a concealed weapon. In all these years of being around guns, it has never entered my mind to shoot someone because I was angry.
 
My neighbor who lived alone for two years after his wife passed, was doing very well at the age of 89. He went out every day to just go out, had dinners and lunches with neighbor friends, in other words doing well. Then one day he got it into his head that his neighbor and friend of 40 years stole a clock on the wall of his garage. He took his gun over to his neighbor, showed him his gun and told him that he knows that the clock was in the neighbor's bedroom. When he went out daily, anybody could walk right into to his garage and take anything they wanted. I had the key to his house and if he thought something was missing, he could have accused me and come over with his gun. Anyway, he was arrested and jailed and apparently had a great old time making friends with the jailhouse guards. He's on five-years probation and his son moved him to Florida where he lives.

One morning making breakfast and watching the TV news, a report came on that a husband and wife were found dead in their home. What happened was that the daughter was a long-time friend of mine and it turned out that she couldn't get hold of her parents for a few days, and finally went to the house and had to climb through a window to get inside where she found her mom and dad dead on the kitchen floor. The mother had shot the father and then shot herself.

Another morning when I was again watching the TV news, there was a report that a man had gone to the airport where his girlfriend worked in one of the offices. The girlfriend had broken up with him. He shot the girlfriend dead and then himself. I was attending a couple of business courses with this guy.

So, what is the moral of these stories?

Don't watch the morning news and don't live next to a neighbor with a gun.
 
My Ex used to carry a gun tucked into the back of the waistband of her jeans. She never left the house without it. Well, one day we decided to go to the gun range. I set up the targets for her and she tried it out for the first time. Click. Click. And again, click. I unloaded the pistol and took it to the range master. Upon examination he told her that there was no firing pin.

As it turned out her previous husband had removed the firing pin. Furious does not begin to describe how angry she was.
 
Traveler said:
My Ex used to carry a gun tucked into the back of the waistband of her jeans. She never left the house without it. Well, one day we decided to go to the gun range. I set up the targets for her and she tried it out for the first time. Click. Click. And again, click. I unloaded the pistol and took it to the range master. Upon examination he told her that there was no firing pin.

As it turned out her previous husband had removed the firing pin. Furious does not begin to describe how angry she was.
Click to expand...

If had been him, after removing the pin...I would have filed for divorce...the two just seem to justify each other...
 
Butterfly said:
Same here. I've been around guns all my life. I was taught at an early age to respect them and to handle them safely and responsibly, and I will continue to do so.
Click to expand...

Did any of you own an AR-15 semi automatic gun like the one that was used in Vegas, Texas, and recently Florida.

I know everyone pines for the good old days and what used to be.

It's a different world out there and a different mindset.
 
Camper6 said:
Did any of you own an AR-15 semi automatic gun like the one that was used in Vegas, Texas, and recently Florida.

I know everyone pines for the good old days and what used to be.

It's a different world out there and a different mindset.
Click to expand...


The AR-15 is very popular with gun owners, including me.
 
Camper6 said:
Did any of you own an AR-15 semi automatic gun like the one that was used in Vegas, Texas, and recently Florida.

I know everyone pines for the good old days and what used to be.

It's a different world out there and a different mindset.
Click to expand...

Camper6 said:
The question I asked was did you own one as a kid?

The way I look at it there's no way a high school student should be owning a semi automatic rapid fire rifle.
Click to expand...
.My son and grandson both own one and come out here to Target/skeet shooting. I have shot one but would not want one.
 
Ken N Tx said:
.My son and grandson both own one and come out here to Target/skeet shooting. I have shot one but would not want one.
Click to expand...

Ken,

I'm curious about what drew them to purchase AR-15 semi automatic rifles. Was it to test their skill, hunting, protection, just because they are cool, etc...

I grew up around long guns in a hunting family but they were all pretty basic shotguns, .22, .30-06, etc...

I'm not against gun ownership but I don't see a good reason for an individual to own such a powerful weapon. I'm just curious about your thoughts and those of your family when it comes to owning this type of gun. Just looking for an honest view/opinion from a person whose judgement in such matters I respect.

Thanks, B
 
Aunt Bea said:
Ken,

I'm curious about what drew them to purchase AR-15 semi automatic rifles. Was it to test their skill, hunting, protection, just because they are cool, etc...

I grew up around long guns in a hunting family but they were all pretty basic shotguns, .22, .30-06, etc...

I'm not against gun ownership but I don't see a good reason for an individual to own such a powerful weapon. I'm just curious about your thoughts and those of your family when it comes to owning this type of gun. Just looking for an honest view/opinion from a person whose judgement in such matters I respect.

Thanks, B
Click to expand...
They/we have our long guns and pistols. I personally do not want or see a need for an AR-15. They both deer hunt (not with AR) and Target and skeet shooting.
 
I'm sorry, but I have to say this, and I already know that it will be met with sarcasm, scoffing, and accusations that I'm a religious fanatic. But its how I feel and from previous posts, you know where I'm coming from, or you can read my profile if desired. So....

On February 19, 2008, the Florida State Board of Education adopted new science standards in a 4-3 vote. The new science curriculum standards explicitly require the teaching of the "scientific theory of evolution".

Basically, evolution teaches that natural selection, random mutation, and other similarly undirected natural processes have produced all that change implied by the tree of life, so that all the forms of life we see today are the result of this purely natural mechanism called natural selection and random mutation.

To a young, impressionable mind, this is saying that humans are born because of a “biological process” with no thought to being God’s creation, as special person in God’s image, one He loves and seeks to redeem, and one born with unique characteristics with a purpose for his/her life.

Evolution avoids the truth that humans are infected with a lethal malady, called sin. I’m a sinner, you’re a sinner, and all have been born in sin. Therefore, youth of today don’t hear the Good News – God died for us (Rom 5:8). The penalty of our disease has been remedied, and there is no condemnation and hell can be avoided to all who accept Him. The blood spilled on a cruel has paid the debt in full, and so we can experience the peace of God.

The bible and the truth of the a loving God has been thrown out of the schools, unfortunately for the most part. I should know. For the past 18 years I have been a member of a Christian group whose only objective is to distribute God’s Word to those in the highways and byways of life – especially to school children. I have been yelled at, had the police called on me, lectured to by school administrators, etc. However, I’ll continue my work as long as God allows.

I welcome your comments - whether good or bad.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top