Americans are becoming numb to gun violence.

For teachers, it's all too real

Ashley Lauren Samsa

5
There have been numerous school shootings already in 2014. We can't afford another year
without action on gun control
Thu 23 Jan 2014 The Guardian

10 As teacher, I expected to return to my classroom after the holidays refreshed and ready for the
second half of the year. That's happened to a certain extent, but I can't ignore the ongoing
violence in America's schools. On 14 January, a 12-year-old boy in New Mexico came to
school with a sawed-off, 20-gauge shotgun and opened fire, wounding two students before a
teacher was able to persuade him to put the gun down. On 17 January, two high school
15 students were injured at a charter school in Philadelphia when another teen opened fire. On 20
January, a student sitting in the parking lot of Widener University in Chester,
Pennsylvania was injured by an unknown gunman. On 21 January, a teaching assistant
was killed by a gunman at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. Yesterday,
the University of Oklahoma was shut down because a member of the faculty reported hearing
20 what he thought were three gunshots, though, fortunately, police are now saying what he
heard was more likely machinery backfiring.

All this horror in the the first weeks of January alone.

Not one of these events has prompted the national uproar America saw after the Sandy Hook
shooting on 14 December 2012. While the damage done at these schools was far less than that
25 done at Sandy Hook – where 20 children and six staff members were killed – the lack of
attention paid to these events is indicative of a larger issue: Americans are becoming numb to
gun violence.

For teachers, however, these tragedies are all too real. With so many of these shootings –
many of them the worst the nation has seen – taking place at schools and universities, we
30 educators can't help but feel afraid. Though all of the teachers I've spoken with, myself
included, have said they feel safe at their own schools, we don't have the luxury of tuning the
media out. Our students naturally have questions about the shootings that hit the news, and it
is our job to answer them and combat any insecurities that might arise from these issues.

Schools now practice lockdown drills to prepare students for what to do if a shooter does
35 enter the building. These drills entail getting all students out of the hallways, turning off the
lights, locking doors, and having students sit silently on the floor and away from the windows.
These drills are practiced multiple times a year, so these issues are constantly on students' and
teachers' minds. It's downright depressing every time a shooter takes away the safety our
students should be able to feel at school. For many, school was the last safe place left, and
40 now they don't even have that.

The other tragedy is that these issues aren't new. In September, President Obama began to fear
the nation's immunity to mass violence. The incidents this month are part of what he called a
"backdrop of daily tragedies"; just part of the fabric of American culture.
 We are frustrated as a nation. There are concrete actions we could take to better protect our
45 classrooms, but we're stalling. After the shooting at Sandy Hook, President Obama promised
the nation stricter gun laws, mandatory background checks before gun purchases, and more
ways to keep guns out of the hands of people who shouldn't have them. However, two thirds
of the gun laws states passed since December 2012 have actually loosened regulations. And
legislation at the national level completely halted after the Senate voted down Obama's
50 proposals.

Frankly, the national debate about gun control is becoming "mind-numbing", as New Orleans
Mayor Mitch Landrieu put it. The NRA is running ad campaigns denouncing gun control laws
as fast as Democrats can introduce any legislation. The debate is loud and sounds divisive. In
reality, the majority of Americans – 65% according to an April 2013 Gallup poll – favor
55 background checks for gun purchases, a measure the Senate did not pass.

It is estimated that there are about 30,000 gun-related deaths each year in America. With all of
this violence and all of the seemingly futile debate surrounding it, it's no wonder Americans
tune it out. It's common enough to feel mundane and frustrating enough to cause more than a
few grey hairs.

60 My teaching colleagues and I crave action. We want stricter gun laws to keep guns out of the
hands of the bad guys. We don't want to carry guns or see our students and visitors to our
schools subjected to daily metal detecting; we want guns to stay out of the hands of people
who will use them maliciously in the first place. We want the Senate to do what the majority
of their constituents want and pass comprehensive gun control laws rather than bickering and
65 stalling on this important issue.

Experts expect President Obama to again call for gun control laws in his state of the union
address on Tuesday. My fellow teachers are demanding more this year; parents across this
nation should be, too. So should all Americans. Background checks for gun purchases and a
ban on assault weapons are common sense reforms. They are the least we should be doing to
70 our schools, and our nation, safe.

Vocab search: Find the equivalents in the text:

75
Revigoré ex de confinement Banal
Incessant engendrer Desirer
Engendrer ne pas trouver d’issue À mauvais escient
Tollé contexte Querelles
éteindre obligatoire Achats
naître verification d’antécédent

1 What is the source of the document ?

80 2 Find four dates: Fill in the grid.

Dates What happened ?
 3Right or wrong Justify by quoting the text.
85 A People reacted more vividly after Sandy Hook
B The Sandy Hook was deadlier
C Teachers are scared in their schools.
D Students are trained to cope with school shootings.
E School is still regarded as safe.
90 F Obama thinks it shouldn’t happen in the USA
G Public opinion agrees with gun control.
H Since Sandy Hook states have tightened gun control.
I in the state of the Union Obama will support gun control

95 4 List the 4 drills in schools:

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5 What did Obama promise ?quote three groups of words

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105 -
6 What was the Senate’s response ? quote

7 What do teachers want ? quote 5 groups of words

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115 8 What does the teacher expect ? quote

Summarise the article in 80 words. Explain the link with the text entitled Who’s Next ?