In the Wake of Tragedy, How One Teacher Found a Way Through

Going above the call of duty is synonymous with being a teacher.

We don't do it for teacher-of-the-twelvemonth awards. They only collect dust. We don't practise information technology for extra pay. That volition never happen. We exercise information technology because our teacher hearts won't let us do annihilation else.

This sums upward speech instructor Laurie Nanni perfectly. She works at Sue Morrow Elementary Schoolhouse in Henderson, NV, where I teach kindergarten in an next classroom. Back in 2004 when she was instruction second course, a brownish-eyed boy with a contagious spirit that could illuminate the room walked into her classroom.

His name was Quinton Robbins, and though Laurie loved all her students, she had a special bail with him that would concluding a lifetime.

Laurie remembers Quinton in 2nd grade.

When your teacher heart gets shattered.

On October one, 2017, my Las Vegas community was completely shaken to its very core. In ane of the worst mass shootings in US history, a shooter opened fire on the Road 91 Harvest Festival, from a suite on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel, killing 58 people. Quinton Robbins, age 20, was 1 of the victims.

Days later on the tragedy, I could hear Laurie'due south guttural sobs of anguish through the walls of my classroom.

The male child anybody knew every bit Q was gone, and sense was nowhere to be found amidst the devastation. Quinton had built up a bit of a reputation as an incredibly kind and friendly person. He coached basketball game and made friends with anybody. Many people were at a loss for how to process and motility on, and then Laurie figured out a mode.

Spreading kindness through gardening and a buddy bench.

Laurie recalled one of her favorite stories almost Quinton as a 2nd grader and how he always had a deep understanding of friendship.

"One day, a girl was sad at recess. It seemed the other girls didn't desire to be her friend anymore—typical 2nd form issues," Laurie remembered. "Quinton jumped right in and told the girls that if they didn't want to exist her friends, and so he didn't want to be their friend. He had a potent sense of empathy, fifty-fifty as a 2nd grader."

The new buddy demote at Sue Morrow Unproblematic.

Laurie wanted to add a buddy bench to our school in Quinton's honor. Buddy benches are made for students who are lonely and are looking for someone to play with. They sit on the bench to point to others that they demand a friend. Laurie knew it would be a perfect way to remember Quinton and go along his positive spirit going at our school.

"If these benches were around when Quinton was young, he would have been the first ane offering up his friendship," Laurie said.

Laurie's efforts didn't stop there. She wanted another way to pay tribute. So she took a cue from the LV Customs Healing Garden in downtown Las Vegas. They had built a memorial garden, in three days, as a fashion to remember the victims, and then Laurie wanted to do something similar at our school.

The kindness garden helps this school remember Quinton.

The garden is right in the playground area for students to see. Along with the plants, nosotros have painted rocks. Students, parents, and teachers have created these and added them to our collection. It'due south a way to encourage positive messages and spread kindness throughout the school.

Keep paying information technology forward.

Information technology has been a year since a joyous evening was interrupted by the unthinkable. The effects are long lasting, but people similar Laurie have made a difference in the community. We need love and compassion like this to drive out darkness.

Quinton's family has created the Quinton Robbins Play It Forward Foundation, which provides sports scholarships to students who attend the same schools Quinton did. Laurie, who shares a close friendship with the Robbins family, continues to find her own style to pay it forward, likewise.

Spreading messages of kindness and friendship is something Laurie practices and encourages every single mean solar day in her role as a teacher. This year, students are writing letters on newspaper hearts to extend kindness to their classmates.

In laurels of the victims of October one, 58 hearts will line the halls of Sue Morrow Simple. Mrs. Nanni said, "There will be one large heart for the 2d grade educatee who captured mine."

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Source: https://www.weareteachers.com/route-91-tragedy/

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