In memory of my colleagues

Dear Friends,
According to an article I read sometime ago, thinking in a second language is an antidote to impulsivity. Researchers have discovered that the 'other' language creates an emotional distance between the speaker and the speech. Till this afternoon, I hadn't given the article much thought, since I can be as impetuous in French and English as in my mother tongue, Farsi!  

A few hours ago, I called my mother in Paris, to wish her Happy (Iranian) Mother's Day. Inevitably, our conversation led to the horrific shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. Although I had surfed the Net for hours and had read all there was to read, my mother's recount of what she had heard in the French News, shattered my guard. As her words in Farsi knocked down the second-language barrier, I found myself in the darkest emotional pit. At first, my thoughts turned into images of young children running and screaming, and then my horror developed faces - faces of my own students and grandchildren. I literally became sick to my stomach, and hung up. 

Weapons and mental illnesses are like cotton and fire. I truly hope politicians pay as much attention to one, as to the other. I also hope parents and school boards pay more attention to educators when they identify a student as 'troubled.' It has been documented, over and over, that at some point, a teacher had seen and heard what the eyes and ears of parents and neighbours had missed. 
I dedicate today's posting to the memory of my colleagues in Newtown, Connecticut, who courageously abandoned their life on the floor of their school, beside the little bodies covered in blood.