Living in an age of school shootings
The horrific new “normal” in our schools? This is the stuff of nightmares.
Living in a school shooting era: There is a stark difference between what this means to educators and what it means to members of our community who never step foot inside a school.
Yesterday, I posted the following to the Empowerment Through Education Facebook page.
“Today I participated in a dry run for a “lock-down drill” at a high school. The official lock down drill happens tomorrow, complete with fire department and police officer participation. In this drill, students are directed to run into classrooms, lock doors, shut of lights and cell phones and sit silently. Why? Because our schools – and our students – now exist in a reality where a SCHOOL SHOOTER is a real threat. I’m still processing this. I’ll have more to say in an upcoming blog. — In the meantime, I’m curious, have any of you experienced these drills, especially in the days since the Newtown shooting?”
I hadn’t even had the opportunity to process what this meant to me before several of my own friends and colleagues wrote to me personally and responded with their own concerns for their children and the new reality we live in. One comment, however well-meaning, really illustrated to me (and I’m sharing here to illustrate to you) the massive lack of understanding our society has for how schools operate on a daily basis. In addition to my work and my firm belief that we must get members of our community more deeply and effectively engaged in our schools, I am beginning to feel that all members of our society *should* do the same. I’m not a fan of the word should but it fits my personal feelings in light of the new reality we have no choice but to respond to as educators post-Newtown.
A well-meaning friend (to whom I’m grateful because it stirred this discussion) questioned whether and why the school I mentioned yesterday had or would be installing steel-reinforced doors, like the kind installed on airplanes within one year after 9/11. In addition to the disparity between a for-profit airline industry and the woefully underfunded and massive system of education, I took issue with this for many reasons. This was my response:
“Of course no one would object [to steel reinforced doors to protect our children] but do you have any idea how a school budget operates? When choices are made about which special ed teacher to cut to part time and how to reduce the per pupil cost school-wide so the school doesn’t have to take on 125 additional students next academic year with the same number of faculty? Most schools are located in buildings which have desperately needed upgrades for decades. Many still aren’t up to ADA standards. Many are known sick buildings. The school I was in yesterday is located in a temporary space used and designed for offices until a space can be found, funded and built. People don’t seem to understand that educating our children happens regardless of resources, politics, funding, space and obstacles. When a school wants to keep its children safe it doesn’t spend time yelling for steel reinforced doors, it does what it can TODAY to protect children NOW. And it also does what it can to continue to BEG for what would be wonderful to have in a perfect world but there is no perfect world for schools. The majority of them operate in triage mode on a daily basis. Hence my statement that ALL people should spend copious time inside a school before prescribing any recommendations. And comparing the airline industry to the education system is kind of like comparing apples to elephants.”
I don’t know what the answer is. Right now, I really don’t.
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My first experience of a school lock down was on September 11, 2001. My principal at the time initiated it because of our location and proximity to the 128 highway. Shortly after, we had drills and codes for different situations. The safety police officer was (and still is) a frequent visitor of our school and looks at our day to day operations and how we can keep kids and staff safe. We have a committee made up of teachers, parents, and community members to help our school make decisions of what is best for the school. My own two children attended a daycare located in one of my districts elementary schools and at 3 1/2 and 6 months, they had their first lock down drill. When I first heard of the shootings that happened in CT last month, I remember hearing about how the teachers hid their students and locked doors, made barriers, wouldn’t open doors for police officers until they found the key, told students comforting words…the news seemed to make it as if these teachers just came up with novel ideas, but really these are just the things I knew my fellow colleagues and I would also do because we have practiced it and discussed it heavily. Is it fair that this is an expectation for our students to know what to do if they are in a bathroom for a lockdown drill? No. Will it save their life if it ever does happen? I sure hope so. Did I ever think in my wildest dreams that being a teacher I would have to have an emergency folder for a lockdown including children’s names, addresses and guardian’s contact information? No. I don’t think people who are not in education understand what teachers go through behind the sceens to keep our students safe – not just from people with guns, but Internet safety, tying shoelaces, and keeping control in the classroom so students can learn. My classroom has 4 rules and the first one is to be safe. If we are not safe, we can not focus on learning. The second is to be respectful. Again, if you are not being respected, you can’t focus on learning. Our third is to be a learner, and the fourth is to be a bucket filler and fill other’s buckets so they feel good about themselves. I always stress to my elementary students that we can’t do the other 3 rules if we can’t be safe.
Thank you for this response, and thank you for doing all you do to educate, protect and help raise so many children!
[…] ALSO: Read my blog from a year and a half ago, Living In An Age Of School Shootings. […]
How relevant this is I am not quite sure but when I look at the films, books, electronic games, media coverage and most recently the web that this world has had full availability to over the last 20 or so years to all and sundry it makes one understand why schools, streets, countries and in fact the whole world is in such a violent mess. There are some very unscrupulous persons who deliberately allow the above types of media to be available to all with the token gesture of over 18s only, over 12’s only PG etc. This makes absolutely no difference whatsoever. In my house I put parental controls on all that is needed and I educate my children sensibly about the evils of this world we live in hoping that they will take on board even 50% of what I say. Still, Nothing is going to stop them going around to Joes house on a sleepover and they all play kill em up games and watch films full of car chasing and guns, blood, guts and prison. My boys looks at the paper, what do they see, death, death and more death followed by bad things being done to children, rape, robbery etc. I answer their questions as well and as truthfully as I can because I believe that it is very dangerous to lie about the reality of life and I don’t want them growing up thinking that there are not many people who kill each other and that they are just being silly! I want the best world for my own and all children but what have we/they created for our children – a death trap and one can only hope that ones children live a long and happy future – even though we are all painfully aware that there are many children who don’t make it through junior/secondary school! I really don’t know how we can educate the world (not our children) that what they are doing, putting out there for the innocents is wrong. I do not believe there will never be a way to resolve this/these many issues and I am also not so naïve that I think that we will create a utopia in ten years but there must be better than what we have now, better for our children and there children. Right now we need the government bodies and the string pullers to ban outright all the hellish things that are available to our children and allow them a decade or so to clear their heads of violent images that are not necessary in the first place. Can they do it? maybe! will they do it? not if it involves profit! Maybe our future generations will sort this out for there children. I will stop now because this particular subject eats me up and I am powerless bar protecting (without overprotecting) my own children.