Teacher shares sad ‘reality’ of life in US schools: Hiding spots

The reality of teaching in the wake of tragedy.

A Texas educator is rending hearts online after sharing the harrowing “reality” of teaching in wake of the Uvalde elementary school shooting that killed 19 students and two teachers. A video detailing her experience teaching post-tragedy currently boasts 14.2 million views on TikTok.

“It’s sad that we as educators have to do these things & plan for the unimaginable happening, however, this is the reality of being a teacher that a lot of people have no idea about,” Taylor Mora — a seventh-grade English teacher in San Antonio, Texas — wrote on Instagram. “My heart goes out to Uvalde, the parents, students, teachers and anyone that has been affected by this. Enough is enough.”

In the heartbreaking 50-second clip, the beleaguered teacher demonstrates the meticulous routine she employs each day to safeguard her students against potential shooting threats. Measures include drawing the blinds, keeping her doors locked at all times and other preventative steps.

“The reality of being a teacher is making sure your door can quickly lock in case there’s an active threat,” describes Mora. “Having a window cover you can quickly pull down.”

The shooting preparedness trainer continued: “Loving natural sunlight but having to pull down your window covers so no one can see inside your classroom.”

Mapping out a hiding spot is also essential, per the clip. “Making sure your safe place is always clear and accessible in case an active threat happens during your conference or lunch,” explains Mora while demonstrating climbing into a closet during an active shooter situation.

Unfortunately, the vigilante educator says that even the most ironclad prevention plan is often not enough to keep children safe in a nation plagued by gun violence. This year, there have been a whopping 213 instances in which four or more people were shot or killed,” according to the Gun Violence Archive.

“It may not even be of use as you or the kids could easily be in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Mora lamented. She added that she often worries about situations going sideways fretting, “‘well what if they came in this way or how can I hide 20 plus kids and keep them quiet when they are afraid? Heck, I’m afraid and I was never trained for this.’”

Mora added that one of the worst experiences following the Uvalde shooting “was feeling guilty and sad that you get to finish the rest of the school year with all your students when there are teachers who won’t be able to do the same, parents that won’t be able to do the same.”

“Being a teacher and student is scary right now and it doesn’t have to be this way,” Mora concluded.

The heartbreaking PSA sent shockwaves across TikTok with one crestfallen poster writing, “I’m so sorry this is your reality.”

“It’s sad that we have to think about doing this at all,” said another.

One teacher commiserated, “I go to work as a preschool teacher every single day with a plan in my head to be able to protect all my 16 students.”

Others blamed lax gun laws in the US for the state of school safety. “The reality of being a teacher in *America* this is not the reality of most teachers across the globe. I’m so sorry for your children and your country,” lamented one sympathetic poster.

Mora’s instructional video is especially essential given the delayed response by law enforcement to last month’s massacre when law enforcement took over an hour to respond after 18-year-old gunman Salvador Ramos started shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.

According to a Friday statement by Col. Steven McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, the incident commander had waited to respond as they “believed it was a barricaded subject” and “there were no kids at risk” at the time.

This decision came despite the fact that several students had dialed 911 while they were barricaded inside with the gunman — with one kid pleading with a 911 dispatcher “please send police now!” The calls took place until moments before Ramos was killed, proving that people were still alive in the class even though authorities believed the killing had stopped.

Uvalde police and the Uvalde school system’s police force have since stopped cooperating with the state’s probe of the agencies’ response to the Robb Elementary School shooting, according to police sources.

In another shooting prevention tutorial from Tuesday, a samaritan demonstrated how to quickly block a classroom door with a chair during a school shooting.