During my time as a student teacher I dealt with a number of

emotional break-ups, drama-filled hallway transitions, and even a few

emphatic protests from students. However, none of this could have prepared
me for the day after the tragic shooting of two Muslim students on the UNC
Chapel Hill Campus. To my surprise the deceased young lady was the cousin
of one of our beloved students (lets call her Sara) and, understandably, Sara
took the news very hard. Sara shared her situation with one of our team
teachers and requested that it be treated as any other day. The first 2
periods of the day went off without a hitch.
Around lunchtime, I noticed several girls standing in the hallway with
tear-filled eyes. They were crying and trying unsuccessfully to comfort each
other. Sara was not among them. When I approached the girls to inquire as
to why they were crying, they asked me if I had heard Saras story. I
acknowledged that I had and realized that they were crying because they felt
an overwhelming sense of love for their classmate and injustice in the events
that had taken place the day before. After glancing around I realized that
there were no team teachers on the hallway so I ushered the group of girls
into the classroom where Sara and her friends were eating lunch.
As soon as the girls and I got settled into the classroom, Sara and her
friends realized what was happening and started crying as well. I knew at
that point that I needed to settle the girls, talk them through what they were
feeling, and make sure that they could return to class to finish the day
successfully. I began by asking Sara about her feelings. She expressed the
young man and woman had been recently married and that it was unfair that
their lives ended so shortly. I agreed with Sara and asked if she felt that she
was capable of making it through the day. Sara said that she wanted to stay
at school and have as normal a day as possible. I then turned my attention to
the rest of the girls and gently told them that this was our time to be upset
but as soon as lunch was over we needed to return to class and give Sara
what she had requested, a normal day. We briefly discussed what they were
feeling and that their emotions were justified and acceptable. They spent the
rest of lunch quietly talking among themselves and trying to fixed smeared
mascara. I spent the rest of lunch confronting the girls individually to make
sure that all of their concerns had been addressed. Additionally, I updated all
of the team teachers about the situation.
This experience was humbling and inspiring all at the same time. I was
reminded of the reason that I love working with students in this age group. If
more adults viewed the world the way that they do, maybe these injustices
would not have taken place at all. I also feel that working with these girls
helped me to grow as a teacher. I was required to empathize with them while
also reminding them that we still had a job to do. A balance of both emotions
and procedures played a large part in handling the situation.