In 2023, a 6-year-old boy shot his first-grade teacher, Abby Zwerner, at a Virginia elementary school. Recently released bodycam footage shows reading specialist Amy Kovac caring for the child as her colleague fought for her life. She deserves a medal and a raise.
Teachers are educators, counselors, caregivers, referees and, sometimes, crisis responders. Oh, and somewhere between all that, they're supposed to teach reading, writing and arithmetic. The Richneck shooting was an extreme case, but it raises a broader question: how can teachers focus on educating our children when they're spending so much time managing their behavior?
I attended Catholic elementary school, where the nuns believed in prayer, education and something affectionately known as the board of education. And, let me tell you, some of those sisters had a swing that could have gotten them drafted into Major League Baseball. I'm not advocating for a return to those days.
Children shouldn't have to fear being physically harmed by an adult to learn how to behave. But, somewhere between the wooden paddle and today's classroom, have we struggled to find the middle ground? I'm also the daughter of a teacher.
My mother spent more than 20 years in the classroom, and one of my favorite stories is how she learned to establish authority on the first day of school. A principal once advised her to fill a trash can with paper and give it a good kick if the students got too loud. Mama thought that was the silliest advice she'd ever heard.
Until one day, the classroom got a little too rowdy. And you know what Mama did? She kicked that damn trash can.
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