BRATTLEBORO — For the weeks following the slaughter of the innocent schoolchildren at Sandy Hook Elementary School, I hardly left the couch of grief and shame.
I've taught kids my entire 35-year career, and I felt as if we - teachers, parents, lawmakers, and society at large - had failed.
Our primary responsibility is to keep kids safe. When parents leave them with us at the schoolhouse doors, we make a contract, explicitly or implicitly: We will return them to you safely. No harm will come to them while under our charge.
After Sandy Hook, I was sure we failed.
A few weeks later, I bumped into a brave and unassuming young mother, Ann Braden, who was starting an organization called GunSenseVT.
I've worked with Ann and hundreds of tireless grassroots volunteers over the past five years. We've had a few legislative successes but feel as if we must do more. I've felt the power that comes with aligning with other like-minded folks. I've experienced my own resilience, agency, and connection as I first got off the couch of grief and shame and then took action.
We protest, we mourn and vigil, we phone-bank and write letters, we honk and make signs. We share our stories and tears. We support commonsense gun laws.
We know that universal background checks work. We know that assault rifles belong on the battlefield and not the playgrounds.
We will not be intimidated by bullies, threats, distractions, and misinformation in this debate. We know that “the arc of history bends toward justice” and that our cause is just.
I was on the steps on our Statehouse on Feb. 20. There were dozens of high school students there, and quite a few of them spoke to the hundreds of parents, teachers, politicians, and supporters.
Their message was simple and profound: “I'm scared. I don't want to die like those kids in Parkland, Florida. What are you going to do about it?”
We will not fail those kids, these kids, our kids.