High school student Maya Morales, 15, holds a sign during a walkout and demonstration for gun control at a Texas high school last week. (Photo: Jay Danner/ American-Statesman)
I Am a Teacher, Not an Instrument of Violence
I will not carry a weapon in the classroom. I will sacrifice my life, if need be, as other teachers have done, on behalf of my students, but I will not kill.
I am a teacher. My goal is to educate, to open the minds of students to important ideas of past and current thinkers. Among so many other things, I strive to encourage critical thinking, to stimulate awareness, and motivate concern regarding the importance of the social and political justice and fairness.
I am a teacher. I have confidence that what I've been entrusted to accomplish in the classroom is important and that my efforts can make a difference, perhaps even contribute in a small way, to making the world a better place in which to live.
I am a teacher. I will not carry a weapon in the classroom. I will sacrifice my life, if need be, as other teachers have done, on behalf of my students, but I will not kill. I believe that to do so is to admit defeat, that what I do as an educator has no meaning or relevance, that violence, and by implication war, is the only effective means available for making change, of resolving differences, conflicts, and disagreements.
I am a teacher. It is my responsibility to make clear by reasoned argument as well as by personal example the superiority of forgiveness over retaliation, of love over hate, and of peaceful reconciliation over vengeance.
I am a teacher; an educator and I will not become an instrument of violence.
Urgent. It's never been this bad.
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission from the outset was simple. To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It’s never been this bad out there. And it’s never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed and doing some of its best and most important work, the threats we face are intensifying. Right now, with just four days to go in our Spring Campaign, we are not even halfway to our goal. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Can you make a gift right now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? There is no backup plan or rainy day fund. There is only you. —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
I am a teacher. My goal is to educate, to open the minds of students to important ideas of past and current thinkers. Among so many other things, I strive to encourage critical thinking, to stimulate awareness, and motivate concern regarding the importance of the social and political justice and fairness.
I am a teacher. I have confidence that what I've been entrusted to accomplish in the classroom is important and that my efforts can make a difference, perhaps even contribute in a small way, to making the world a better place in which to live.
I am a teacher. I will not carry a weapon in the classroom. I will sacrifice my life, if need be, as other teachers have done, on behalf of my students, but I will not kill. I believe that to do so is to admit defeat, that what I do as an educator has no meaning or relevance, that violence, and by implication war, is the only effective means available for making change, of resolving differences, conflicts, and disagreements.
I am a teacher. It is my responsibility to make clear by reasoned argument as well as by personal example the superiority of forgiveness over retaliation, of love over hate, and of peaceful reconciliation over vengeance.
I am a teacher; an educator and I will not become an instrument of violence.
I am a teacher. My goal is to educate, to open the minds of students to important ideas of past and current thinkers. Among so many other things, I strive to encourage critical thinking, to stimulate awareness, and motivate concern regarding the importance of the social and political justice and fairness.
I am a teacher. I have confidence that what I've been entrusted to accomplish in the classroom is important and that my efforts can make a difference, perhaps even contribute in a small way, to making the world a better place in which to live.
I am a teacher. I will not carry a weapon in the classroom. I will sacrifice my life, if need be, as other teachers have done, on behalf of my students, but I will not kill. I believe that to do so is to admit defeat, that what I do as an educator has no meaning or relevance, that violence, and by implication war, is the only effective means available for making change, of resolving differences, conflicts, and disagreements.
I am a teacher. It is my responsibility to make clear by reasoned argument as well as by personal example the superiority of forgiveness over retaliation, of love over hate, and of peaceful reconciliation over vengeance.
I am a teacher; an educator and I will not become an instrument of violence.