Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Yesterday my school was placed on lockdown. There was a hostage situation two blocks away from the school.From the computer lab, I saw the flashing lights of emergency vehicles, news helicopters hovering over,police activity and swat teams arriving. All this was happening two blocks away. Schools are supposed to be a safe place to protect from the violence occuring in the real world. Yesterday had a surreal quality, almost like being part of a movie but it was reality.The students did not realize the danger outside.Keep the children occupied and safe.The class came into the lab.We started Type to Learn program."F,J,spacebar" the program kept repeating. The students created cartoons from Charolette Web site. The school was creating a safe atmosphere in the middle of the chaos around us.Finally the message comes that the situation is now safe, but a sense of sadness as we learn the outcome of the hostage situation. A father takes the life of his young daughter,critically wounds his young son, and kills himself. The news says it was "domestic issue". Two blocks away there is death taking place as we are teaching the children technology skills to prepare for a better future.It seems unreal and we are shaken.Hopefully,the children will survive the outside world and make use of their skills. It will be a day many won't forget.