Today my class did a rehearsal for their Project Citizen public hearings, which are at the end of this week.  In case you missed my post explaining Project Citizen, you can read it here.  One of my classes chose to research and create policy about school violence in our home state, New Jersey.  Not only is it interesting to watch the students take a topic that they care about and run with it, but the passion with which they work and speak is a gift; a gift to me, a gift to our nation, and a gift to humanity.

I was blown away by the group that performed research about school violence and the meticulous detail they provided in their presentation along with the way they articulated their concerns.  The other groups are equally impressive, and I will share their work with you as it comes in, but I wanted to share this piece of writing by my student, Giulia:

“It’s been happening everywhere, I’ve felt—I’ve always kind of felt like eventually it was going to happen here, too.” That’s how one survivor responded to the most recent Santa Fe school shooting, where 10 students were killed, another 10 injured, and a state and community were forever altered. After an event like this the dynamics of our conversation about school shootings change from, “Can this really happen to us?” to, “When will this happen to us, and what can we do to be prepared?” This change manifests the fear of students, teachers, and parents, but this fear should not exist, and we must make some changes to alleviate this fear. Sante Fe was just one example of the multitude of school shootings that have taken place this year. And while our thoughts go out to all those affected by school violence, events such as Santa Fe and Parkland remind us of the necessity to make reform and ensure the safety of our children and teachers in schools.

Our children are watching, they’re learning, and they care.  And they’re going to save our world if we let them.  #notonemore