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> I think it scares me a lot that I'm apparently living in a country where it's even POSSIBLE for teachers to get killed in the line of duty, let alone in large enough numbers that anybody would propose a memorial.

If it scares you, think how teachers must feel. But it happens. Just days ago a student shot and killed the principal of his school and then killed himself. What makes it more horrible is that it happened at lunch in the cafeteria with hundreds of students present. I watched the TV coverage as parents came to school and picked up their children and they were *all* crying.

It's not uncommon. There are two or three deaths almost every school year. The last year I taught, a gun was found in a locker outside my classroom. That is part of the reason that it was my last year.
Howard