Safety in schools is about more than guns
Given the events 8 days ago we rightly have a concern for the issue of safety in schools, and certainly I have written my share of posts on the issue of guns and schools recently. Safety is about far more than guns, however. And for this week's Saturday meditation on teaching I would like to reflect about the broader issue
I tell my students when I first meet them that I will do all I can to ensure that they are safe in three ways
- physically safe
- emotionally safe
- intellectually safe
I intend to challenge them, and to grow and develop they will need to get outside their comfort zones, which they will only be able to do if they feel they are safe, including in making mistakes. Our entire approach to education needs to recognize this if we want the most from our students, otherwise we are wasting the time we have with
For example, consider this description of the "press conference" -
I tell my students when I first meet them that I will do all I can to ensure that they are safe in three ways
- physically safe
- emotionally safe
- intellectually safe
I intend to challenge them, and to grow and develop they will need to get outside their comfort zones, which they will only be able to do if they feel they are safe, including in making mistakes. Our entire approach to education needs to recognize this if we want the most from our students, otherwise we are wasting the time we have with
Guns, Smoke and Mirrors
What was that?Seriously, what was the National Rifle Association performing on Friday? I thought it was going to be a press conference. It wasn’t. I really don’t know how to describe it. A soliloquy of propaganda? A carnival of canards? A herding of scapegoats?So begins Charles M. Blow in this Nw York Times op ed (whose title I have borrowed for this post).It is well worth the read, as is always the case with Blow.
For example, consider this description of the "press conference" -
It was an appalling display of deflection and deception. So much