(WWJ) -- Tuesday’s deadly shooting at Oxford High School in Oakland County has been a wake-up call for many metro Detroit teachers.
The shooting -- which claimed the lives of four students and injured seven others, while devastating a community and changing many lives forever -- hits close to home for many teachers.
One veteran Downriver teacher says it’s “chilling” to have to worry about which students are struggling emotionally and which life-and-death decisions she might have to make one day.
As many students, not just in Oxford, but across the metro Detroit area are coming to terms with the tragedy, the teacher -- who wished to remain anonymous -- said the best thing parents can do is “talk to your own kids” about their feelings.
“Find out what’s going on with them,” she told WWJ’s Sandra McNeill. “Don’t let them go to their bedrooms and hide or be on social media the whole time.”
“Ask them what they’re feeling, what they’re thinking, what their reaction is, and then let us know.”
Many schools in the area are offering grief counselors for students, teachers and staff to discuss their feelings and emotions in the wake of the Oxford shooting.
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The teacher tells WWJ when she saw a video of Oxford students barricaded inside a classroom, suddenly all the lockdown training she and other teachers have received over the years “became real.”
“That was the scariest thing as a teacher,” she said. “What if that kid is on the other side of my classroom door?”
The teacher says some colleagues have privately discussed the idea of buying weapons to protect themselves, even though they would not be allowed inside schools.
“It’s definitely up for discussion," she said. "Like, how can we protect ourselves and how can we protect our students if you’re in that situation?”
Authorities are continuing to investigate what led to Tuesday’s shooting, though Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard said Wednesday there was no evidence the shooter had ever been bullied at school.
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