As I gently rocked my little one to sleep, tears streamed down my face. I wept for the victims, the students, the parents, and the educators at STEM Highlands Ranch. I mourned for every child who grows up thinking that school shootings are just a part of life.
Another tragic school shooting. Another senseless act stemming from our inability to enact stricter gun laws to keep our kids safe. This incident hit particularly close to home, just a short twenty-minute drive away. We know several families with children attending that school, and the wait to hear if their kids were alright was agonizing. I can’t even begin to fathom the fear and anguish those parents experienced, and I never want to.
At this point, my oldest isn’t even school-aged; we still have two years before kindergarten. But that moment will arrive sooner than I can imagine, and a daunting decision looms ahead. Just a week ago, we had considered adding STEM Highlands Ranch to our list of potential schools. My son loves building things and diving into science experiments. A STEM school seemed like the perfect fit for his curious mind. However, the thought of sending my children to any public or private school now fills me with dread. The idea of sending them off and not knowing if they will return home at the end of the day is unbearable.
Homeschooling was never on my radar until the last couple of years. The landscape of school safety hasn’t improved since Columbine—I still remember experiencing lockdown at my own school, glued to the TV as events unfolded. In those days, schools felt sacred and secure. Parents didn’t have to worry about their children’s safety in such a vital environment. But mass shootings have become a grim reality, and no one or no place seems safe anymore.
I feel powerless to influence government action regarding gun laws and the safety of schools. I’ve reached out to my local representatives and even my congressmen, pleading for more stringent measures to protect families like mine, but my cries seem to fall on deaf ears. It feels as though homeschooling is my only viable option to shield my children from the threat of school violence. I know I’m not alone; many parents are contemplating this route as a way to keep their kids safe.
Homeschooling isn’t the easy solution I yearn for. It may alleviate the anxiety my children face each morning as they head off to school: will they see me, their dad, or siblings again? It also spares me the anguish of wondering each day if my goodbye will be the last. Sadly, it seems that homeschooling has become my only choice at this point.
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In conclusion, the tragic reality of school shootings has forced many parents to reconsider their children’s education and safety. Homeschooling, once an unthinkable option for many, is now a viable alternative for those seeking to protect their children in a world where school violence has become alarmingly common.
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