Dateline Boston — I have thought a lot about the Orlando tragedy.
What I would like is for the things we teach in preschool to be taught through college.
Be kind, share, talk about your feelings, listen, don’t hit. Change the conversation to make it appropriate for each age group. Talk about beliefs — yours, and your family’s, which may or may not be the same. Why do some things upset you? What makes you happy?
Sure, as a teacher, you’re there to teach math, or science, or gym. But as you’re teaching these things, have an environment in your class that promotes tolerance and respect. Pay attention to the loner in class. Call someone out when you hear teasing, or see someone rolling his or her eyes. Tell personal stories to drive your message home.
The other day I was with the 8-year-old girl I nanny for, and her 3-year-old brother. My girl asked her brother which of the men he idolized he liked better. I told her that wasn’t a nice thing to ask, that people were not in competition for affection. I told her the true story of when I was her age, I told one of my grandmothers that I liked her better than my other grandmother. My grammie told me that wasn’t a nice thing to say. She said each of my grandmothers loved me very much. That conversation stuck with me. I told my charge that I think what I meant was, “Grammie, I really liked playing that card game with you,” and not really that I liked her better. Everyone has attributes we like and don’t like. Let’s not compete for friends!
Add some home visits before, during, and after the school year! For every grade!
Talking to Children Valuable
I think there’s a lot that needs to be looked at so that mass shootings and bombings will stop being a part of our every day lives. I think, to start with, we need to talk to our children, at home and at school, about bullying and teasing people who may be different from us, or whom we think may be different. I bet if you took a group of people who all looked different from each other, you’d be able to find that each person had something in common with another person.
There’s also a mental health issue in our society. I believe in therapy.
There’s a gun control issue in our society. I got into it with a stranger on Facebook, something I never usually do. It was on a thread about guns. I said that I couldn’t think of any reason a civilian would need to have a gun. This guy said something along the lines of “the enemy has them, so we need them.” That didn’t make a lot of sense to me. I laid out a scenario whereby a responsible gun owner had a gun, and kept it in a locked safe, away from children. If an intruder came in the house, you’d have to go to your locked safe and get the gun, which might take more time than you think. If you kept the gun close by, a kid could get it and hurt himself or another person. It’s a no-win situation.
I have read stories where so-called intruders turned out to be the teenage children of homeowners, sneaking back into the house after curfew, only to be shot to death by accident. I can’t count how many stories I have read of children finding a gun and killing themselves or another child, or their parent. I see no reason why a civilian would have a gun. If someone wants to play with guns, go to the shooting range. I don’t think it should be easy, or even sort of easy, to purchase a gun.
Most of my friends on Facebook have beliefs similar to mine. Some don’t. I have friends with whom I really disagree politically. And socially. I have a friend who carries a gun! And smokes! I don’t agree with these things, but these people are still my friends because we agree on other things, and we like some of the same things, and we respect each others’ differences.
Those are some of my thoughts on the subject. I pray for peace in our world. We’re all in this together.
Ms. Vaillancourt may be contacted at snobbylog@gmail.com
