There’s no hiding it; America has a problem: people keep killing people.

The reasons vary, and some may be just while others are just plain tragic and unexplainable. I believe as Americans we are naturally outraged, and we demand answers and immediate results, while all we do is update our statuses and send virtual prayers. With every ounce of feeling in me personally, I wish these prayers meant something. I wish these thoughts and prayers went somewhere meaningful other than my news feed. Here’s the reality: they don’t mean anything. You can update your status every six seconds, and not one thing will change.

We need real change.

We need real change because our children’s lives are now constantly on the line. Who is left to defend them? There are debates and conversations circulating that the teachers should be the individuals to defend them. As a teacher and caregiver, I wholeheartedly would defend every single child I have ever taken care of in my career. I will NOT yield a gun in front of those children. Ever.

This mentality that teachers should be armed is only perpetuating the thought that there will be more school shootings. This is expecting tragedy. We should not be working toward expecting this. We should be working on preventative measures. “How can these shootings be stopped?” Rather than, “What do we do next time?” is the question we should be asking. As a nation, we are entirely too divisive on crucial issues. These tragedies are times when the citizens of this fine country should be united all the more rather than our bipartisanship to split the gap between “lefties” and “righties”.

As an educator, I am frightened. I am frightened that our youth is desensitized by violence; so accustomed to the disgusting ways people treat each other that they are surprised by genuine niceness. I am frightened that I have to congratulate children who say one nice thing out of ten thousand things they say in one day. So from where does this problem stem? How do we, as educators, work with children to teach empathy and respect when they watch violence occur regularly in their own society?

And who exactly is to blame?

It is not fair to pinpoint blame on one person, or place, or thing, or ideal, etc. There is not one exact reason. At this point, does the reason matter? Is it going to enforce change if we find reasons? I firmly believe that if we continue to try to find blame for our problems, our problems are only going to get worse. We need to unite to fight for change in our education system, change in our moral values, and change in our laws. We need change because obviously whatever we are doing right now is not working. Whether it is our nationwide shortage of access to mental health assistance, lack of morality and empathy, or, dare I say it, gun control; something needs to change.

We need to work together to make this change, together, for our children. Our children do not need to be raised to see consistent violence and murder. Our children are the future; let’s teach them empathy and respect before it’s too late. I know I will.