Wednesday, November 23, 2011

"Put Away Your Guns and Knives"

Back when Virginia Tech was hit by the student shooting other students and teachers, it started with some colleges setting up an alert system of some sort, usually sending alerts to someone's pager via email or text. It also got me wondering how other students like me are able to keep from getting killed when this happens. It's too easy for deaf people to walk into the middle of a gunfight and be shot dead, never hearing the fatal shots. Same with those with walking issues, as they can't move fast enough out of the line of fire. So what is the best way to keep this from happening to them if the alert messages aren't received in time?

It's also not a time for anyone to make any sort of humor about this event. I had one or two teachers actually say "put away your guns and knives." Now just how heartless is that sort of quote when you have a tragic event like this happen and people died or nearly did? This is not the time for making fun of what happened. Teachers are, in a way, a first line of defense against something like this due to working with their students. Listen to your students. Maybe in the first few minutes of class, ask how your students are doing and how they're feeling.

But saying "put away your guns and knives?!" Report that teacher to the dean.

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