The Real World

What is there really to say about this?

Yesterday the CP and I went to the bar across the street for our regular Monday lunch. The intent was for her to vent about her Romantic P.S. paper that is due today. There are televisions almost always on above the bar. Normally, it’s some sports thing and they are muted. However, when we walked in the volume was up and Fox News was blaring.
We sat and listened until the repetition of the scant details started.

We are fairly close to Blacksburg. In fact there are at least two (and I think actually more than that) people in our department who are alumni of VT. There was also a shooting incident in one of our dorms a few weeks back. One that most of our students (frankly, myself included) seemed inclined to ignore. The CP mentioned, with full irony, that Columbine played a part in her decision to get out of Secondary Ed and go to graduate school. On the way back to the office she asked, ‘What would you do?’ I realized there is not much you can do. If someone enters your classroom intent on opening fire, what are your options?

As a part of this field we spend a lot of time discussion how to make our classrooms feel like safe places for students to share their writing. An incident like this makes all of that seem more than a little quixotic.

There is actually a lot I have to say about the coverage of this incident, but that will have to wait until the semester is over.