Safety

Working in an elementary school building can be very stressful. In addition to teaching, keeping kids safe is a daily stress and a huge priority.

The building doors are locked all day, and yet I find myself keeping one eye on the kids and one eye out for strangers. When we are outside for recess and morning walks, I am especially aware of my surroundings.

I suspect that is why the sign posted on the preschool door caught my eye. The preschool classroom is in a “portable” building, with the classroom door leading directly to the outside, so they need to be especially diligent about strangers. The sign was in English and Spanish, so I knew it was important.

The sign was long, but the headline read:
ATTENTION: We are keeping our classroom safe from nuts.

Now I know we all have different names for strangers and intruders, but “nuts” was one I had never heard an educator use before. Usually teachers withhold those kinds of judgments. Oh wait…I giggled as I continued to read the notice. It suddenly struck me- they mean nuts not “nuts.”

From now on, I will keep my eyes out for both.