Bye, Twitter

Image via Virtualization Review

Y’all, I have a confession to make- while I am a social media guru of sorts for many people, today I did something that kind of stunned me, and it may you, too: I deleted my Twitter account. Actually, I also deleted Fort Worth Writer’s Boot Camp’s Twitter account, too.

I want to say it was a political statement due to the overuse of a certain highly powerful US politician overusing the bejeebus out of it, but really, I never could follow it. I never found the platform understandable (really, it seemed too all over the place to make sense), so I never actually went on it to “tweet” anything. I would cross-post from Instagram for my personal account and from Facebook for my business account, but I just never really got into Twitter. It also seems that Twitter never got into me. I never had any re-tweets, nor were very many of my posts liked. I am much more proficient at my favorite social media platforms- Facebook an Instagram.

The reality of the whole thing is that I just don’t think I was meant to tweet. Many of my writer friends will be horrified to think that I would drop a very important social media platform, which will obviously change the way the world finds me. Really, though, I don’t feel like I’ve lost out on anything. I don’t even think anyone will notice that I’ve gone anywhere. At least, they wouldn’t notice except that I’m posting this right here. Also, I will be sharing on Facebook.

The Thoughts of an Educator When There are School Shootings...

My school home.

Wednesday—Valentine’s Day—while my students were all celebrating love and friendships during lunch, a school in Parkland, Florida was under attack. In 6 minutes, 17 students and teachers lost their lives. A fire alarm being pulled was part of the trap to get everyone out of the classrooms and into the line of gunfire.

Thursday—yesterday—we had an unannounced fire drill. This was poorly timed, to say the least, on the part of one of our administrators, but even more- how are we to trust that the fire alarms are now really for drills, emergencies or a trap?

As a high school librarian, I’ve always realized the vulnerability of being in a library during a potential attack by intruders. Libraries are inherently welcoming, inviting places- usually with windows and lots of open space. The two libraries I’ve presided over have been just that. My current library has five huge windows looking out into the hallway. The only way to lock the door is to go out into that hallway to lock it. Four of the five interior rooms have large windows that make them easy targets for anyone wanting to shatter glass to get inside. The fact that I’ve had to strategize with the two teachers in the library as to how we would hide any number of students who could potentially be in both their classes and the library makes this all too real for educators.

Educators have to worry about so much when it comes to our students. Will I teach them what they need to know to pass “The Tests?” Will my students be able to succeed in college or career? Will they be productive members of society once they leave the school doors? And now a new one- Will my students survive the school day?

Thoughts and prayers are nice condolences, but they do nothing for someone who has lost their family due to gun violence. The guns in these mass shootings were purchased legally. When owning a gun is more important than a child or educators life, we really need to re-evaluate our priorities. We need to legislate to make sure the part of that 2^nd Amendment that says “well regulated” is actually well regulated.

Panther City Review 2018 is Open for Submissions!

I am so proud to announce that Panther City Review 2018 is now open for submissions! The theme for this issue is "Wisdom." The submission fee is $5 per entry (Poetry may submit up to 5 poems for $5). Please make sure to include the type of entry in the title of your document file (ie- nf=Non-Fiction, ss=Short Story, etc.). Please make sure your file is an editable file (ie- .docx or .rtf).

We are also seeking art for the cover. If you are an artist and interested in submitting for the cover art, please make sure to include a document describing the art you are submitting and how it relates to the theme of "Wisdom." Please make sure that your submission is a vertical image (the journal is printed 5.125" X 8"), and submitted as a .jpg file no smaller than 300 dpi.

Types of Entries: 
  Cover Art (Up to 2 entries and two descriptions per submission, vertical .png or .jpg, at least 
   300 dpi) 
Creative Non-Fiction (up to 4,000 words)
     Novel Excerpt (up to 4,000 words)  
     Poetry (up to 5 entries may be submitted for one fee of $5)
     Short Play/Screenplay (up to 15 pages)
     Short Story (up to 4,000 words)
  
All submissions chosen for Panther City Review 2018 will receive a complimentary copy of the 2018 issue as well as wholesale discounts on any additional 2018 copies. Any submissions not accepted will receive critique notes as a thank you for your interest. If you have questions, please contact Rachel Pilcher at sleepingpantherpress@fortworthwritersbootcamp.com.

The deadline is April 29, 2018, 11:59PM.