Jill Westbrook

Because only Kamala has expressed any interest in school safety

All students should have a favorite teacher. I had one. He was a hardened Vietnam vet who occasionally cussed in class, but never at us. He saw me at my very worst and believed in me decades before I believed in myself. When I needed to change careers, it was my memories of his classroom that pushed me into teaching. I imagine the lucky former students of Tim Walz are still riding through life on the memory of his belief in them.

Imagine what our country could achieve with two leaders in the White House who believe in their constituents. Who inspire the American people to rediscover the possibilities of the American Dream. Who encourage educators to educate. Who let teachers teach. 

Imagine what our students could achieve with two leaders in the White House who believe in their safety. Who will fight for reasonable gun legislation that will lead to fewer school shootings. Who will support their rights to be exactly who they are regardless of gender. Who will allow them access to brilliant literature that will challenge their own belief systems and introduce them to worlds they have never imagined. Who let students learn. 

Imagine having a president and vice president who think that school shootings are “just a fact of life.” Who are more concerned with maintaining the public’s right to own an AR-15 than the students and teachers whose lives are being lost and threatened by violence in our school. Imagine how much more learning will be possible when we have a president vowing to end the epidemic of violence in our classrooms. Imagine sending your children or your spouse into school each day to learn without the underlying fear of becoming the next Sandy Hook, or Columbine, or Uvalde.

Imagine. Imagine having leaders who want growth and success not power and separation. Imagine who we all would be if our favorite teacher was still the one we looked to to lead us. 

As a public high school teacher on the front lines fighting for students’ right to read and teachers’ right to teach I will proudly vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. There is no other option for the future of our country. 

Jill Westbrook is a teacher, writer, book-ban fighter.