How Would You Talk to A Fifth Grader About Not Going Back to School?

Since the April 20, 1999 massacre at Columbine High, 279 students have been murdered in school. If you count the number enrolled in those target schools, 311,000 students have experienced gun violence. (The Washington Post). These have been called the Lockdown Generations.

A mother named Gal Beckerman has made this proposal in The Atlantic: “Today, I’m left with one conclusion: The children and parents of our country need to take the summer to organize locally, build a set of national demands, and then refuse to go back to school in the fall until Congress does something.”

Prompt: Assume you are the parent of a fifth grade son or daughter. Age 10. Give her/him/them a name. How would you explain that they were not going back to school in September? Write down the words you would use in three sentences.

If you do not approve of this proposed boycott, what would you say to your ten year old about why school would not be opening? Write three sentences of your explanation.

Would you consider asking your children to write down how they feel when they hear about shootings at other schools, about having armed security guards at school, and having to practice hiding in the classroom? What two questions do you think you could ask that might elicit true answers?