Enough is one word that I need to say aloud more often. I do say that word often to close family and friends when I have been pushed beyond my limits. I also said it often throughout the more than 30 years that I was charged with the care of young children, my own and everyone else’s. Now retired and able to stay out of the public eye, except for a newspaper column and volunteering in schools all over the country as an author, as well as my daily use of social media, I could keep my comments to myself. But I am not and I am not going to stop continuing to act an advocate for children’s safety in schools.
Stop is another word I should say aloud every day as well. Once again before resorting to anger in my own small life, I need to employ an old teaching tool. When you go into the field of education, those are two words one is taught to use very effectively in the introductory teaching classes in behavioral management. The best teachers did not use their anger and rage to keep students under control. One can lose a teaching license and find themselves in court if while trying to control a classroom physical and verbal abuse occurs. I have had friends lose their jobs in both Ohio and Colorado for falling back on a technique that was commonly used to keep children from misbehaving. Paddling, spanking, and other “Old School” teaching techniques have not been legal for almost 50 years in most school districts.
We are not protecting our children. All of us can be implicated for not stopping the violence in our schools. Whether one has taken sides, pro-gun or anti-gun to ensure our children’s safety, we all need to step back and breathe deeply. We have been moving backward too many steps lately and need to move forward toward making a difference in the life of a child. Politicians of every stripe need to say stop, enough, then call for a verbal ceasefire. I know that all of us can solve this problem by working together to take immediate action by participating in public discourse.
I will stop posting anyone else’s opinions on the subject on social media when I am outraged. A few days ago, I re-posted a friend’s opinion in the form of a joke that used sarcasm and name calling without thinking anything about it. I got a response from an old friend and co-worker that posed a serious question to the originator of this message. I know even the posting of that joke was offensive.
It was my own first step back before moving forward. I plan on listening to anyone’s views, as long as our dialogue can be summed up as reasonable. I have continued to teach little ones to learn the social graces I was taught with the classroom rule “keep your hands to yourselves” or “keep yourselfs to yourselfs” as one of my young students yelled.
I never had a problem with talking with anyone reasonably until my own anger changed the nature of a conversation. As a teacher and employee of school districts and summer recreation programs for more than 30 years, I learned that anger and rage could not be tolerated if you expected change.
Enough. Stop. Talk to your family and friends about how you can once again go out and talk to each other so we can protect our children. Take action that will ensure everyone’s safety from now on.
By DOLLY VISCARDI – Special to the Herald Times
