2.4.24

I’m feeling much better tonight, and true to form, I had no trouble honing in on a song to write about.

As a teacher, my most important job is not teaching my kiddos things like multiplication and main ideas and paragraph structure. My absolute most important job is keeping them safe.

Safe from whatever harm that might come their way. Some harm is easy to mitigate. Like teaching a kid how to handle scissors and not to run in the hallway.

Other things are trickier, requiring constant vigilance, regular reminders, and insight. Bullying and harassment, for example.

Then there’s the dreadfully difficult stuff, the unexpected incursions that violate a student’s safety in ways beyond any sort of control we possess as educators. Things brought upon kids by (mostly) adults who would do them great harm, quite often without a second thought, sometimes not even realizing they are doing harm.

It happens much too often (not that there’s an acceptable amount of it).

Tonight’s song, Safe and Sound by Capital Cities, was pivotal to my understanding of what grownups do at school.

The song came out in 2013, right when I was beginning to work with students (long-term sub back then). The middle-school students I worked with were fairly enamored with it, which impressed me. It’s a lot better than a lot of what was getting radio play back then.

The more I listened to the song, the more I understood not just the importance of being a safe person for my students, but also the absolute privilege that goes with that role.

There is so much of keeping kids safe that is difficult and frustrating and scary, but much like the song, there is a lot of joy that comes with being that person.

If you want to feel special and worthy, spend a day in a classroom with one or two dozen 3rd graders who are thinking and talking and working (and yes, making trouble) together because they feel safe enough to do it. In a day’s time, I hope and sure as hell try to teach the kiddos what they need to know and understand. But at the end of the day, if the only thing I’ve done is provide comfort to a kid who came to school scared or nervous, I’ll call it a win.

My students know what I’m up to. We talk about it as we discuss upcoming safety drills and process how those drills went when they’re done. I remind them when they come to me individually, seeking comfort and guidance. And they know my job makes me happy.

“My most important job is keeping you safe.”

The thing is, though, they do the same darn thing for me in so many ways. We’re safer together.

You could be my luck

Even if the sky is falling down

I know that we’ll be safe and sound