Our Hearts Are Not Enough

I feel totally unqualified to write this post.

Yet, when my primary job is to keep kids safe, how can I not write this post?

I agree with what so many of you have already said.

We need to build strong, positive relationships with our students.

Parents need to parent their children–to love them beyond belief, monitor them closely, and to hold them accountable for their behavior.

When the creators of our constitution included the right to bear arms, they did not mean weapons of mass destruction like semi-automatic guns.

We need wrap-around mental health support for students.

But, we knew all this before last Wednesday.

And still we failed to keep our students and staff safe.

I am so so so sorry Parkland. Our hearts are with you, and we know that is not enough.

What can we do differently this time, how can we actually make a difference?

Paul Liabenow, the Executive Director of MEMSPA (Michigan Elementary and Middle School Principals Association), shared these action items this week:

• Notice the people around you, and if you see something concerning, say something.
• Call your legislatures to demand mental health services for traumatized students and to demand stricter gun controls.
• Don’t let this go. Don’t move on when the media moves on. We need to keep fighting for our kids.

Let’s put these items on our to-do list from now until we develop a plan that will actually make a difference.

Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much. -Hellen Keller