Today started like any other day....I was running late, I didn't like my hair, and my outfit was thrown together last minute. All of these things meaningless in the grand scheme of things...but all daily routines!
Part way through my work day, I learned that an 8th grade student had brought an unloaded gun to school. At first I was shocked and once I learned who brought the gun, I was literally stunned. I know this student and his reputation at the school is pretty respectable. He is not your "A" student, but he tries, is very likeable, and really has a good attitude in general. As a teacher, he brings flavor to the classroom and offers some much needed comic relief when the situation arises.
The news vans pulled up, parents were informed and the long journey for this student began.
So many times I've heard about school shootings and students with guns, and my first reaction is...punish the jerk! But now that the drama is happening in my own school with some of my own students, the reaction is so much more personal. The student who brought the gun, acted out of his typical character. He didn't have bullets. It was his first offense. He has a family. He made a mistake.
Maybe that whole "grace" concept is actually soaking in. Normally, my heart would evaluate wrong and right, but this time I'm seeing the different shades of the situation.
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