A Day In The Life
“I'll remember you
When the wind blows
through the piney wood
It was you who came right through
It was you who understood
Though I'd never say
That I done it the way
That you'd have liked me to
In the end
My dear sweet friend
I'll remember you.”
--Bob Dylan
Not sure how to begin this one; but this is an interesting story. My school, aka my place of employment, was put on a Code Red lockdown on Tuesday because a student brought six guns to school.
That student was in my first hour class and was promptly taken out of it within a few moments of school’s start by five police officers. They handled his arrest quickly, professionally, and in a safe manner for all.
Another student saw suspicious activity and alerted school officials of the possible threats; probably saving many lives in so doing. No ammunition was found in the building; as the guns were found in bookbags in students' lockers.
After the student was taken away, my kids were instructed to move against the wall in my locked room with the lights off for the next three and a half or so hours as the school officials and local police secured the entire building.
At some point we wondered if it was a drill, what the student had done, what was “happening” outside of the door, and tons of other philosophical questions. My first hour class is composed of 26 students: 24 of which are males. One of the females is out for the first few weeks: so twenty-three males and one female sat there.
At this point, I figured my job was to keep them safe (not letting them leave and such), keep them entertained to a degree with my usual plethora of bad jokes, and most importantly keep them calm.
During that time, sociologically, I saw something interesting. The twenty-three remaining males and one female truly bonded.
In this room where all different intelligence levels exist; all different social classes are represented, and all sorts of divergent views are presented; these young men and woman bonded in a very real way. They saw a fellow classmate taken into custody; and even though some may have suspected what happened; they all responded positively when I told them not to judge the student (we had no idea what he was taken in custody for at that point) and not to exaggerate or exploit the situation. They all agreed.
They chatted with one another, told stories from their past, laughed with and shared their thoughts with one another in those three and a half hours. It was during that time that something quite remarkable took place. During those moments, each of them realized that every other member of the class mattered. In those three plus hours, they were concerned about each other; they listened—truly listened to each other; and they accepted each other as equals.
No enemies existed among them; they were truly all people who mattered.
One of them told me that this was going to be all over the news and none of us had any idea what was happening. He was right of course, but I told him that such a situation where we are safe and not in harm’s way is a good thing and meant everyone was doing his or her job.
The local Police, the Administration, the Staff, the Faculty, and the Students all did their job which included supporting, protecting, listening, and trusting one another.
In the midst of what could have been a truly tragic situation, the good of humanity came out, and those young men and woman reached a rare understanding of concern for their fellow members of mankind. Today in the room when first hour began, I walked in slowly, they were silent, and I said “so, anybody know of anything interesting to discuss that is happening around here?” They laughed.
I was proud of my students and I knew I did my job; which is the satisfaction. The local paper runs stories and a blog where people can comment.
A parent wrote the following about my class:
“Thankful wrote on Aug 28, 2007 4:27 PM: " My 16 year old son was in the classroom where the young man was cuffed and taken away by police officers. He text messaged me and told me he was safe and was alright. After the incident today, we talked about the situation. His teacher, Mr. Sweetwood should be commended for the way he handled the situation. My child never felt that he was in immediate danger due to the calmness and the way Mr. Sweetwood handled the situation. Thanks to the staff and police in handling this situation in such a professional manner! "
Yep, and thank Goodness all ended up well. The students will remember yesterday. As these young people grow older, they will remember the positives they shared when everyone participated in the group, everyone mattered, and they saw the best of humanity when faced what potentially could have been the worst.
When the wind blows
through the piney wood
It was you who came right through
It was you who understood
Though I'd never say
That I done it the way
That you'd have liked me to
In the end
My dear sweet friend
I'll remember you.”
--Bob Dylan
Not sure how to begin this one; but this is an interesting story. My school, aka my place of employment, was put on a Code Red lockdown on Tuesday because a student brought six guns to school.
That student was in my first hour class and was promptly taken out of it within a few moments of school’s start by five police officers. They handled his arrest quickly, professionally, and in a safe manner for all.
Another student saw suspicious activity and alerted school officials of the possible threats; probably saving many lives in so doing. No ammunition was found in the building; as the guns were found in bookbags in students' lockers.
After the student was taken away, my kids were instructed to move against the wall in my locked room with the lights off for the next three and a half or so hours as the school officials and local police secured the entire building.
At some point we wondered if it was a drill, what the student had done, what was “happening” outside of the door, and tons of other philosophical questions. My first hour class is composed of 26 students: 24 of which are males. One of the females is out for the first few weeks: so twenty-three males and one female sat there.
At this point, I figured my job was to keep them safe (not letting them leave and such), keep them entertained to a degree with my usual plethora of bad jokes, and most importantly keep them calm.
During that time, sociologically, I saw something interesting. The twenty-three remaining males and one female truly bonded.
In this room where all different intelligence levels exist; all different social classes are represented, and all sorts of divergent views are presented; these young men and woman bonded in a very real way. They saw a fellow classmate taken into custody; and even though some may have suspected what happened; they all responded positively when I told them not to judge the student (we had no idea what he was taken in custody for at that point) and not to exaggerate or exploit the situation. They all agreed.
They chatted with one another, told stories from their past, laughed with and shared their thoughts with one another in those three and a half hours. It was during that time that something quite remarkable took place. During those moments, each of them realized that every other member of the class mattered. In those three plus hours, they were concerned about each other; they listened—truly listened to each other; and they accepted each other as equals.
No enemies existed among them; they were truly all people who mattered.
One of them told me that this was going to be all over the news and none of us had any idea what was happening. He was right of course, but I told him that such a situation where we are safe and not in harm’s way is a good thing and meant everyone was doing his or her job.
The local Police, the Administration, the Staff, the Faculty, and the Students all did their job which included supporting, protecting, listening, and trusting one another.
In the midst of what could have been a truly tragic situation, the good of humanity came out, and those young men and woman reached a rare understanding of concern for their fellow members of mankind. Today in the room when first hour began, I walked in slowly, they were silent, and I said “so, anybody know of anything interesting to discuss that is happening around here?” They laughed.
I was proud of my students and I knew I did my job; which is the satisfaction. The local paper runs stories and a blog where people can comment.
A parent wrote the following about my class:
“Thankful wrote on Aug 28, 2007 4:27 PM: " My 16 year old son was in the classroom where the young man was cuffed and taken away by police officers. He text messaged me and told me he was safe and was alright. After the incident today, we talked about the situation. His teacher, Mr. Sweetwood should be commended for the way he handled the situation. My child never felt that he was in immediate danger due to the calmness and the way Mr. Sweetwood handled the situation. Thanks to the staff and police in handling this situation in such a professional manner! "
Yep, and thank Goodness all ended up well. The students will remember yesterday. As these young people grow older, they will remember the positives they shared when everyone participated in the group, everyone mattered, and they saw the best of humanity when faced what potentially could have been the worst.
posted by Eric Sweetwood at 9:15 PM
3 Comments:
I am so glad that you and your students are OK. I think you should be commended, too. It takes strength of character to not only remain calm, but to create that feeling of calm and safety in others during a time of uncertainty and danger. Mary Sweetwood
I can imagine that all of them never doubted that they were safe in your care. I wouldn't have. Altho... I kinda laughed after I found there was no amunition.... remembering back when you joked, "If we have a code red, I'm jumping out the window and leaving all of you here." Hahaha.
Thank Goodness you are all alright.
-Jessie Doran
Eric,
Thanks for being there for the students. It is my understanding that faculty and staff like you kept the students from getting too upset with the situation they found themselves in. Your calmness and attempt to make something good come out of this, ie., the bonding in your first hour class, was a real positive for all concerned.
I would not expect less from you. I know how you operate and you came through in style.
Kudos to Ron Yates and the others who saw a need for the Code Red plan and instituted it as a part of the school's emergency plan after the Columbine situation.
I did not work that much with John Kilgore before I retired and I have not met Leo Johnson yet. The way they handled the situation in presenting the public face of the school was outstanding.
The only people I was embarrassed by were the parents and others who got so emotional that they were the problem when this was over. Kids were responding to the idiots who wrote on the Pantagraph website about the incident. It was the students who told the
others to calm down and not fly off the handle.
How embarassing to the Pontiac community to have a picure of two women being kept separate by a Pontiac policeman while he was trying to calm them down--and this was on Wednesday the next day!
Any rate, my hat is off to you and the rest of the PTHS faculty/staff/admin for the way you all handled this situation.
Lou
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