tragedy

Last week was very difficult. I found out that one of my students from last year, who was only 15, was killed quite senselessly. Another teenager stabbed him on the street, probably gang-related though Juan wasn't in a gang at the time. This was something I was hoping never to experience as a teacher. Juan was a very talented artist and was better at symbolism in literature as a freshman than most of my upperclassmen. At the end of the semester I had my students write me a letter and I found Juan's. It was a very positive letter and very comforting. I felt pretty out of it most of the week and thought about him constantly. The sadness is more intermittent now. In some ways, it makes me more thankful that I'm not at McKay anymore, though I would have liked to have been close enough to attend the services. It is never easy finding out that someone you care about is gone. If you would like to see pictures of Juan and his artwork, please go to http://www.williambragg.com/juan/.