Fear

I have been asked many times what my greatest fear is. I usually grimace and say, "Snakes!" However, if I am to truly reflect on this question, my answer would have to be, "My greatest fear is that something would happen to my children that either compromises their quality of life or causes them to be taken from me." Yesterday, I learned that "my children" extend to my students and faculty, and it would devastate me if something terrible were to happen to any of them. As I ponder this further, I have to ask the question: is fear necessarily a bad thing? I suppose in the context of using fear to exert power over another person, it is bad, but there are circumstances where fear is a good thing. It is my fear of snakes that reminds me to wear long pants and boots when I go hiking in the woods. It is my fear that something will happen to my children that causes me to know who their friends are, to know where they are going, to know phone numbers and addresses of their acquaintances, and to make sure they wear a seat belt and check the safety of their car. It is also my fear of something happening to my students and teachers that causes me to pause and reflect on procedures that keep them safe. We often have the mentality that something terrible can't happen to me, and then we are shocked when it happens to someone we know. What happened yesterday at school reminded me that there is evil in the world, and we can not be complacent when it comes to school safety. So, I will keep that fear with me to remind me of everyone that is trusted into my care and to never take their safety for granted.