How does a Texas teacher continue working on the day after a school shooting?

How does a Texas teacher continue working on the day after a school shooting?

Transcript¹

Imagine what it must be like to be a teacher in the schools around Uvalde, Texas. Following Tuesday's shooting, you have to go back to work, greet your students and try to make them feel safe.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Imagine for a moment what it would be like to be a teacher in the schools around Uvalde, Texas. This horrible trauma² unfolds. Nineteen children are killed at Robb Elementary School, along with two of your fellow teachers. And then less than 24 hours later, you have to go back to work. You have to greet your students with a smile, make them feel like they're safe and that life will go on.

CARLA PEREZ: We all feel it. We're all a part of it. And it really hurts.

MARTIN: Carla Perez (ph) teaches high school in the city of Kyle, south of Austin. A lot of her family lives in Uvalde, which is about 2 hours away. Yesterday, she went back to school to oversee³ one of the last exams before summer break.

PEREZ: And I kind of - I had that whole scene in the back of my mind. And I was a little bit anxious. But I knew that I had to finish out the year with my kids. And I had to do what I needed to do. And I just prayed that I could be OK today.

MARTIN: Throughout the day, she had to hide her tears from students.

PEREZ: I think one of them caught me and said, what's wrong? And I just kind of said, oh, it's just allergies⁴, you know? I didn't really want to deal with it or go into it while they were there. It - I didn't want to put a damper on their summer.

MARTIN: But it was tough. She lost a member of her extended family in the shooting, 10-year-old Tess Mata.

PEREZ: She's actually my niece's cousin. And we probably just saw her on April 30. They were out dancing. My niece got married.

MARTIN: Carla is still trying to process what all this means for herself and for her colleagues.

PEREZ: Teachers are a tight-knit community. And we - when a child hurts, we hurt. Excuse me. So it's really hard for us to focus on doing our job and trying to wrap up the end of school.

MARTIN: Other teachers were also struggling as they tried to finish up the school year. And it was just surreal for Erin Sutton. She works at La Pryor High School, about 20 minutes south of Uvalde. They decided⁵ to go ahead with the senior class trip to Six Flags amusement park yesterday. I talked to Erin while she was actually on the bus with her students on their way back from the field trip.

What was it like today as you got on the bus, as you talked to everyone? What was that like?

ERIN SUTTON: Well, there was, you know, a lot of questions, a lot of tears, a lot of unanswered questions we couldn't help them with - questions pending⁶, you know, what we're going to do for graduation, then a couple of other events that we had planned. And there was a lot of discussion because one of the senior's kindergarten teachers had lost her daughter during the shooting. So we did a little moment of silence. And it was a rough morning.

MARTIN: You were there to chaperone these kids through this important kind of milestone⁷ in their own career. But no doubt, you had your own apprehensions⁸.

SUTTON: Yeah. I mean, it was hard to want to go somewhere. But at the same time, you know, these kids deserve to have their life, too, you know? It's a tragic⁹ moment. But, you know, they worked really hard to get here. And so we were very torn. We had long conversations about whether we should go ahead with it. But in the end, we decided it was important for them to have - you know, to have something to kind of help them look forward to something, if that makes sense.

MARTIN: What kind of conversations have you had with your friends, with your fellow teachers?

SUTTON: Just making sure everyone's OK. That's - you know, our kids all go to UCSD. What could have been done to prevent it if there was anything, which I don't - you know, it's too soon to tell. How could this happen? How is this possible? You know what I mean?

MARTIN: And you're a special ed teacher, is that right?

SUTTON: Yes.

MARTIN: And you're a parent, too?

SUTTON: Yes, ma'am. I have a 4-year-old.

MARTIN: You have a 4-year-old. So your child is not yet in elementary school?

SUTTON: No, not yet. Next year will be her first year.

MARTIN: Yeah. Still, I imagine, thinking about what has transpired¹⁰, it's hard to compartmentalize, I suppose.

SUTTON: Yeah. It's hard. When I picked my daughter up, she was at daycare. And she was very scared. And she said that - you know, that there was a bad guy with a gun, and she had to lay on her belly¹¹ at school. And my husband is in law enforcement. So she was really scared, wondering where Daddy was because she knows Daddy handles bad guys. It was a hard day. And then, she didn't sleep very well last night.

MARTIN: How did you sleep?

SUTTON: Probably about the same as her. You keep hearing - there was more and more numbers throughout the night. And you can't imagine. You know, I was lucky I got to hold my daughter. A lot of people didn't have that.

MARTIN: Is there anything else you want us to know about this moment in your community?

SUTTON: Just that life is never going to be the same. This community is forever going to be touched. I mean, it used to be known as the honey capital of the world. You know, we had a honey bee festival, celebrated¹² honey. And now this is what we're going to be known for. And it shouldn't be that way.

MARTIN: That was Erin Sutton, a special ed teacher at La Pryor High School in La Pryor, Texas. We also heard from Carla Perez, a high school teacher in the city of Kyle, Texas.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 trauma   

n.外伤，精神创伤

参考例句：

• Counselling is helping him work through this trauma.心理辅导正帮助他面对痛苦。
• The phobia may have its root in a childhood trauma.恐惧症可能源于童年时期的创伤。

3 oversee   

vt.监督，管理

参考例句：

• Soldiers oversee the food handouts.士兵们看管着救济食品。
• Use a surveyor or architect to oversee and inspect the different stages of the work.请一位房产检视员或建筑师来监督并检查不同阶段的工作。

4 allergies   

n.[医]过敏症；[口]厌恶，反感；（对食物、花粉、虫咬等的）过敏症( allergy的名词复数 )；变态反应，变应性

参考例句：

• Food allergies can result in an enormous variety of different symptoms. 食物过敏会引发很多不同的症状。 来自辞典例句
• Let us, however, examine one of the most common allergies; hayfever. 现在让我们来看看最常见的变态反应的一种--枯草热。 来自辞典例句

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

7 milestone   

n.里程碑；划时代的事件

参考例句：

• The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
• I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。

8 apprehensions   

疑惧

参考例句：

• He stood in a mixture of desire and apprehensions. 他怀着渴望和恐惧交加的心情伫立着。
• But subsequent cases have removed many of these apprehensions. 然而，随后的案例又消除了许多类似的忧虑。

9 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

10 transpired   

（事实，秘密等）被人知道( transpire的过去式和过去分词 )； 泄露； 显露； 发生

参考例句：

• It transpired that the gang had had a contact inside the bank. 据报这伙歹徒在银行里有内应。
• It later transpired that he hadn't been telling the truth. 他当时没说真话，这在后来显露出来了。

11 belly   

n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛

参考例句：

• The boss has a large belly.老板大腹便便。
• His eyes are bigger than his belly.他眼馋肚饱。

12 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。