Teaching through the tragedies

On Thursday, Jan. 10, I arrived at work to find an email informing me that a student I taught last year had been murdered (Jan. 14, “Community Grieves”). This is the third former student that has died by violence who the second incident affecting my students in less than one calendar year. To say that this is hard is a gross understatement. Incidents like this are tragic on their own, and they also bring trauma to the surface for many of our students and staff.

In addition to the loss of our student, we had unsubstantiated threats to the safety of our school. In addition to our normal teaching duties, my colleagues and I spent a good portion of Jan. 10 and 11 checking in on one another and thinking about ways we would be able to protect our students if something did happen.

Sometimes, I wonder how long I will be able to this job. My caring for students so deeply helps me to be great at what I do, but it also wears me down. The worry I carry for “my kids” does not turn off when I leave campus. I think about how each student who dies or is injured makes our community a little less whole and about what we can do to restore those holes.

Peers of the student who died came in to talk about him and overwhelmed me with their thoughtfulness and kindness. Students who didn’t usually talk to each other were quick with words of condolence and encouragement. I was at once overwhelmed with sadness and with the kindness my students. This kindness keeps me going through tragedy, and I hope that it will help me work in the Pittsburgh Public Schools for many years.

SARAH MUELLER

Greenfield

The writer is a chemistry teacher at Allderdice High School.