I am writing to you earlier than usual this week as once again we find ourselves facing our worst nightmare. 21 dead in an elementary school. 19 10-year-olds,—all in 4th grade—and 2 adults.
We will be asked to discuss the tragedy with our students. We will answer that call. We will try to explain the unexplainable and we will try to make sense of the senseless. With all the strength we have left, we will comfort and reassure. We will—it is our job—draw lessons. What are they?
When I lived in Taiwan, we had to learn how to survive an earthquake. The earth shook daily over there. There is very little to do against the strength of nature. You can’t prevent an earthquake, nor can you avoid it, all you can do is be prepared when it strikes.
The latest tragedy in Uvalde reminds us that there is nothing natural about these killings. It is one thing to prepare for them but unlike earthquakes, school shootings are preventable and avoidable. We can—and we must—prevent and avoid them.
I cannot claim that I know what it takes to achieve this but we owe it to our children.
Their safety is our priority, now more than ever. We will review our processes, as we do regularly, to ensure they are the best they can be.