I was getting ready for school, and my boys (16 & 19) came in to tell me something awful was happening on TV. I was stunned along with the rest of the nation. I called my daughter and told her to watch. At school, my fifth grade students did not know what to think. Some of the teachers thought they were to young to watch the news reports, but when one of the girls came up to me with the map in her planner marked with New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania, she wanted to know how long it would be until they got to us...I turned the TV on, and we watched and grieved together. That class and I had a special bond that year. When I got home, my daughter had arrived, and we were watching when we saw citizens in other countries cheering. My boys got their trumpet and trombone out and stood in the street playing our National Anthem...the neighborhood came outside and cheered. What a terrible day for America and the world. Let us never forget!

Wow, I am taking a two minute break between classes, and read this article and the responses. I see your 7th graders everyday...174 of them. I get a 30 minute lunch, cannot leave campus for it, and by the time I walk my kids to the lunch room, it is more like 25 minutes if I am lucky. I have a Master's Degree, and 28 years teaching experience. I make $60,000 a year. I do have insurance benefits, but certainly not comletely paid for as many assume. I pay $350 out of pocket every month for my insurance, and it is lower coverage than last year. I get paid for 190 days a year, not for the whole summer. I have no paid vacation, and all of my paid holidays turned into furlough days this year. I take work home every night so that students in my classes have current feedback. If I wasn't going to retire in two years, I would look for another profession for sure!! Anyone of you are welcome to come and try to teach the 13 year olds that I teach...They come hungry, worried, and many from homes where there is constant conflict. I love my students, but I am tired of teacher bashing!