The shooting at Sandy Hook scared all of us, students included. One of my third grade boys that year said hearing about the kids who died, “made (his) heart hurt.” I took it upon myself to rearrange the bookshelves in my classroom to create hiding spots and barriers should anything ever happen. Imagine that. Billions (?) of dollars being poured into our military and national security and I’m building a bookshelf fort (filled with books I’ve purchased with my own money) to protect my students from being murdered with assault rifles.

The idea of having a gun in my classroom or any of my coworkers’ classrooms makes me sick. It’s incredibly irresponsible and frankly it’s insane. In 2017 there were over 2,000 accidental shootings. I can only imagine what that number would be if guns were allowed in schools. Like I said, I can’t believe we’re even having this conversation in 2018.

I love my job, I love my coworkers, I love my kids, I love their families. But if arming teachers ever became mandatory I’d walk away from it all. I’d leave behind the hundred or so books I’ve bought for my classroom library, the posters and worksheets and games I’ve made, the decorations and supplies I’ve bought, the lesson plans I’ve slaved over, all of it.