When Schools Are Scary

September 2, 2025

Fair Monduesday, Meteor readers,

Ya girl is back and revitalized! Not from being in nature, which was a delight, but from playing the Beautiful Chaos EP in an endless loop over the speakers in my house when no one was around. And yes, be assured, I was doing the choreography (incorrectly).

In today’s newsletter, I’m channeling the anxiety over back-to-school season and suggesting what we can do to help each other out. Plus, the yarn breaking the camel’s back and a basketball/Black Panther crossover.

Gnarly,

Shannon Melero

WHAT’S GOING ON

Back to scared: This morning, everything from my family group text to my Instagram feed was swimming with photos of kids heading back to school. Even my two-year-old, who recently got moved up to the big kids’ group at her daycare, got in on the fun, holding her moving-up certificate with a big, toothy grin.

But for many of us, the day now has a darkly predictable anxiety to it as well. After all, parents, teachers, and students have, in the last five years alone, survived more than 1,000 gun violence events in K-12 schools in America. As if it isn’t bad enough to wonder will there be a gun in my child’s school today?, parents and teachers are facing additional threats: cuts to the education department, the elimination of DEI programs, Title IX challenges, the specter of AI in the classroom, and the incursion of ICE agents, who have detained families traveling to and from school. All that doesn’t even touch on the basic fears we’ve now normalized, like bullying or sexual harassment.

Not to age myself here, but back in my day 👵🏼, active shooter drills were not a monthly occurrence. Now, as a parent, I receive emails about them regularly from my toddler’s daycare center. I will never forgive this country for being so nonchalant about gun violence that caregivers must now learn to protect literal infants from an active shooter.

So aside from deep breaths to help us quell our fears, what can we do?

Support a teacher: Most of us know at least one teacher, so make a difference by simply asking them what they need. Help with supplies? A shoulder to cry on? Cash for therapy? If you’re feeling super generous, check out Funds for Teachers.

Be loud about gun safety: Every. Single. Day. Talk about the anti-violence measures we need so much that your friends get tired of hearing from you. Then make new friends and repeat.

Report icy conditions: There are a number of ways to quickly let people know if ICE is lurking by a school. There’s an app to report any sightings while you’re out and about, and remember that it is still illegal for ICE agents to enter a school without a warrant, so if you are a school employee, know that you are not obligated to open the door until a warrant is provided.

Be honest with your kids: We can’t anticipate every danger our children will face, but we can be open about what they can expect. Have a conversation with your kids about their rights and equip them with the knowledge to stand up for themselves and each other, even if adults in power won’t.

Join the PTA: This will be my least popular bit of advice, but if Moms for Liberty can sway elections, then the least the rest of us can do is weigh in on what’s happening in the school library.

What’s at the top of your mind for this back-to-school season? Drop us an email at [email protected], and we might answer it in our next newsletter!

AND:

A new freedom flotilla, Sumud, departed for Gaza last night from Barcelona in an effort to break Israel’s naval blockade and bring at least a small amount of aid to those in need. The Sumud is the largest flotilla headed to Gaza to date, comprising over 50 boats carrying volunteers from around the world, including Greta Thunberg, who was arrested while on her first flotilla mission this summer.

ACTIVISTS DEPARTING A PORT IN BARCELONA MONDAY EVENING, FOR MANY IT IS THEIR SECOND TRIP (VIA GETTY IMAGES)

The Trump tariffs, which seem to be changing every day, have hit obscenely close to home for your favorite newsletter-writing knitter. Yarn manufacturers have been announcing online that they can no longer ship to individual U.S. buyers because of steep tariffs. That includes my personal favorite, Knitting for Olive. The craft community is outraged, but as Kate Lindsay explains in Slate, this is more than just a sad yarn. The shortage represents a 100-year decline in American manufacturing, colliding with the administration’s rushed attempts to recreate a “Made in America” boom. So I guess I’ll see some of you on the yarn black market this month?
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