Never Stop Learning! This Teacher's Going Back To School To Get Her Coroner’s License

EL PASO, TX—Mora Thomas, a 62-year-old teacher, has been working at the same school for over thirty years, but she’s not going to let her age stop her from upgrading her classroom skills! Thomas, who teaches Second Grade, explained that she’s more than willing to adapt to the changing landscape of American public schools.

“When I first began teaching it was useful for teachers to have a working knowledge of basic first aid, in case any of the kids got bumps or bruises during recess," she said with the wisdom of someone who has many decades of experience working with young children. "But a band-aid isn’t going to suture the cavity wound caused by an assault rifle. Not even the Paw Patrol band-aids I have can do that.

Once she realized that times were changing for educators, Thomas talked to her younger colleagues to find out what new subjects she could learn about that would help her be better at her job.

“Well, the teachers in the town over said that they felt completely helpless during a recent mass shooting at their school that decimated all their kids and a few of them, and that got me thinking," explained Thomas as she studied infant dental records for practice. "Why not learn how to identify bodies and determine causes of death, so I have something to do when the mass shooting happens here? You know, they always say that when people feel helpless they should look for the helpers, and I’ll already be right there in the classroom!”

Once she knew she wanted to become a school coroner, she had a brief crisis of faith after several trusted state officials encouraged teachers across the state to become armed.

“Now I know Senator Cruz always means well, but with my arthritis, I don’t think I’d be very steady with an AR-15,” she said with a hint of sadness as she practiced tying toe tags. “But then I thought about what my colleagues said about how long it can take to remove children’s dead bodies from classrooms and identify them, and I figured that the next best thing to being armed would be to volunteer to be part of the clean-up crew."