depotoo
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Parents need to hear this from a Florida Teacher of the Year winner. Itās not the complete answer, but it is a large part-
Kelly Guthrie Raley
Kelly Guthrie Raley
February 15 at 8:25am Ā· Eustis, FL Ā·
Okay, Iāll be the bad guy and say what no one else is brave enough to say, but wants to say. Iāll take all the criticism and attacks from everyone because you know what? Iām a TEACHER. I live this life daily. And I wouldnāt do anything else! But I also know daily I could end up in an active shooter situation.
Until we, as a country, are willing to get serious and talk about mental health issues, lack of available care for the mental health issues, lack of discipline in the home, horrendous lack of parental support when the schools are trying to control horrible behavior at school (oh no! Not MY KID. What did YOU do to cause my kid to react that way?), lack of moral values, and yes, Iāll say it-violent video games that take away all sensitivity to ANY compassion for othersā lives, as well as reality TV that makes it commonplace for people to constantly scream up in each othersā faces and not value any other person but themselves, we will have a gun problem in school. Our kids donāt understand the permanency of death anymore!!!
I grew up with guns. Everyone knows that. But you know what? My parents NEVER supported any bad behavior from me. I was terrified of doing something bad at school, as I would have not had a life until I corrected the problem and straightened my ass out. My parents invaded my life. They knew where I was ALL the time. They made me have a curfew. They made me wake them up when I got home. They made me respect their rules. They had full control of their house, and at any time could and would go through every inch of my bedroom, backpack, pockets, anything! Parents: itās time to STEP UP! Be the parent that actually gives a crap! Be the annoying mom that pries and knows what your kid is doing. STOP being their friend. They have enough āfriendsā at school. Be their parent. Being the ācool momā means not a damn thing when either your kid is dead or your kid kills other people because they were allowed to have their space and privacy in YOUR HOME. Iāll say it again. My home was filled with guns growing up. For Godās sake, my daddy was an 82nd Airborne Ranger who lost half his face serving our country. But you know what? I never dreamed of shooting anyone with his guns. I never dreamed of taking one! I was taught respect for human life, compassion, rules, common decency, and most of all, I was taught that until I moved out, my life and bedroom wasnāt mine...it was theirs. And they were going to know what was happening because they loved me and wanted the best for me.
There. Say that Iām a horrible person. I didnāt bring up gun control, and I will refuse to debate it with anyone. This post wasnāt about gun control. This was me, loving the crap out of people and wanting the best for them. This was about my school babies and knowing that God created each one for greatness, and just wanting them to reach their futures. Itās about 20 years ago this year I started my teaching career. Violence was not this bad 20 years ago. Lack of compassion wasnāt this bad 20 years ago. And God knows 20 years ago that I wasnāt afraid daily to call a parent because I KNEW that 9 out of 10 would cuss me out, tell me to go to Hell, call the news on me, call the school board on me, or post all over FaceBook about me because I called to let them know what their child chose to do at school...because they are a NORMAL kid!!!!!
Those 17 lives mattered. When are we going to take our own responsibility seriously?
15K Saves
Florida Teacher of the Year's gun violence post goes viral after school shooting
Kelly Guthrie Raley
Kelly Guthrie Raley
February 15 at 8:25am Ā· Eustis, FL Ā·
Okay, Iāll be the bad guy and say what no one else is brave enough to say, but wants to say. Iāll take all the criticism and attacks from everyone because you know what? Iām a TEACHER. I live this life daily. And I wouldnāt do anything else! But I also know daily I could end up in an active shooter situation.
Until we, as a country, are willing to get serious and talk about mental health issues, lack of available care for the mental health issues, lack of discipline in the home, horrendous lack of parental support when the schools are trying to control horrible behavior at school (oh no! Not MY KID. What did YOU do to cause my kid to react that way?), lack of moral values, and yes, Iāll say it-violent video games that take away all sensitivity to ANY compassion for othersā lives, as well as reality TV that makes it commonplace for people to constantly scream up in each othersā faces and not value any other person but themselves, we will have a gun problem in school. Our kids donāt understand the permanency of death anymore!!!
I grew up with guns. Everyone knows that. But you know what? My parents NEVER supported any bad behavior from me. I was terrified of doing something bad at school, as I would have not had a life until I corrected the problem and straightened my ass out. My parents invaded my life. They knew where I was ALL the time. They made me have a curfew. They made me wake them up when I got home. They made me respect their rules. They had full control of their house, and at any time could and would go through every inch of my bedroom, backpack, pockets, anything! Parents: itās time to STEP UP! Be the parent that actually gives a crap! Be the annoying mom that pries and knows what your kid is doing. STOP being their friend. They have enough āfriendsā at school. Be their parent. Being the ācool momā means not a damn thing when either your kid is dead or your kid kills other people because they were allowed to have their space and privacy in YOUR HOME. Iāll say it again. My home was filled with guns growing up. For Godās sake, my daddy was an 82nd Airborne Ranger who lost half his face serving our country. But you know what? I never dreamed of shooting anyone with his guns. I never dreamed of taking one! I was taught respect for human life, compassion, rules, common decency, and most of all, I was taught that until I moved out, my life and bedroom wasnāt mine...it was theirs. And they were going to know what was happening because they loved me and wanted the best for me.
There. Say that Iām a horrible person. I didnāt bring up gun control, and I will refuse to debate it with anyone. This post wasnāt about gun control. This was me, loving the crap out of people and wanting the best for them. This was about my school babies and knowing that God created each one for greatness, and just wanting them to reach their futures. Itās about 20 years ago this year I started my teaching career. Violence was not this bad 20 years ago. Lack of compassion wasnāt this bad 20 years ago. And God knows 20 years ago that I wasnāt afraid daily to call a parent because I KNEW that 9 out of 10 would cuss me out, tell me to go to Hell, call the news on me, call the school board on me, or post all over FaceBook about me because I called to let them know what their child chose to do at school...because they are a NORMAL kid!!!!!
Those 17 lives mattered. When are we going to take our own responsibility seriously?
15K Saves
Florida Teacher of the Year's gun violence post goes viral after school shooting