School Stress Today

My school is kind of a stressful one. It's not any one particular thing, just everything. Not only did we have a lockdown recently, but the same day as the lockdown, someone drove their car off the highway. They landed a helicopter in the athletic field to airlift the person to the hospital.

The cops are always at the school and it makes alot of us feel safer--students included--knowing that we have someone there all the time. A girl told me that her ex-boyfriend was threatening her and her friends with bodily harm. I told her to make a report with the campus police officer. It helps, I think, that the kids already know him. Not only that, he teaches a law enforcement class that several of my students are a part of.

But when we see lights or hear sirens, the stress level goes up astronomically. Today there were lights by the side of the road as I got to school in the morning. I was really glad when I drove by that it wasn't anything to do with our students. But it ws the third time someone this year drove their car off the road and hit a tree in front of the school. Not a pretty sight for students to see first thing in the morning. Ouch, that must really hurt and he must really be hurting today. It reminded me of one of my students who got hit by a car last year in front of the school and was in a coma for several days. He still has a hard time concentrating and is no longer allowed to skateboard or play sports.

But Friday still turned out to be a good day. Things went smoothly with my high school kids. And the junior high kids finally got to have the Valentine's dance. See, it was cancelled because there was a threat on the internet that someone was going to shoot African American kids at the dance. It was probably smaller than it would have been without the threat and having to move it to a different day. But actually having it was a moment of healing. I let them give me extra stamps at the gate for fun--on both hands, then my arm and two on my face. I put my arm around the principal when I asked her how she was feeling after being sick. I felt really happy.