Anytime an issue is brought up multiple times by different people in very different situations, I take it as a sign from God that I should pay attention. I feel I need to warn some of you; this topic is dark and very unpleasant to think about, especially if you have young children. It is also very important.
In 2011 I wrote an article called “Terrorism: Beslan Style Attack At Our Schools”. In it I explain:
“On September 1, 2004, Chechen Islamic terrorists stormed a school taking over 1,100 people hostage for three days. The terrorists were brutal, killing men and boys old enough to resist their attempts. Hostages were forced to stay in a sweltering hot auditorium with little to no food or water. Russian forces eventually stormed the school. In the end there were over 385 dead, including 31 dead terrorists. Wikipedia has a very detailed write up called Beslan school hostage crisis.”
I have read articles that say there were documents found in Afghanistan that point to Beslan being practice for a similar attack in America. Whether a Beslan-style attack or the types of school shootings we have experienced far too many times, the threat of school shootings is very real. It is my opinion that the plans many schools have in place are ineffective and dangerous.
What is the Plan at Your Childs School?
Many times your child might know the school plan, as they might do practice drills. If they don’t know, you can ask the school administration. Let them know you have a child who attends their school and you want to know what their action plan is for a school shooting. They may give some resistance. If so, reassure them that you just want to know their plan to keep your child safe. If they won’t tell you what the plan is, go over their head.
When schools make any policy, they tend to be very black and white, ie. “zero tolerance”. I believe there are at least two problems with enacting these types of plans. First; they do not leave room for teacher discretion. For instance, they enact a zero tolerance for guns on school grounds and then suspend children for playing with an army man that was holding a gun, making a gun shape out of their pop tart, or using their finger as a gun (These are all real events). The second problem is that a static plan does not account for a dynamic offender. The best example I can think of is the lockdown, which I will cover in more detail below.
Lock Down
There are different ways of initiating a lockdown. In general, an announcement is made or shots are heard. The teacher then closes the door and gets the children out of sight of any doors or windows. I have heard of some plans that state that the teacher will also slip a colored piece of paper under the door. The paper could mean various things, depending on it’s color what’s written on it. To an active shooter, those papers are a sign that someone is or was recently in that classroom. Some schools have a police officer on campus. Either they or school administration will call for backup or call 911 respectively. The police have their own response plans that have changed greatly as school shootings have become more frequent.
A static lockdown plan puts all staff and students hiding in a classroom, waiting for the police, even if the shooter is on the other end of the school and an easy escape could be made. I wonder if the same people who have devised lockdowns at our schools are the same people who say “we don’t need to own guns because it is the job of the police to keep us safe”.
A.L.I.C.E.
Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate. From School Security.org
“The debate grows as a number of current and former self-defense trainers, individuals with military background, and some School Resource Officers and others in law enforcement advocate for this approach. This is often referred to as ALICE Training, where ALICE stands for Alert-Lockdown-Inform-Counter-Evacuate. ALICE and other similar programs offer little-to-nothing new with alerts and lockdowns, and schools are already being trained to have evacuation plans, and the idea of “inform” questionably assumes that someone in the school will be able to visually monitor all of the suspects while simultaneously “informing” or communicating their whereabouts to everyone in the building.
The controversial issues rise over the Counter component to the approach which advocates training children to try to “distract” and “confuse” armed suspects by throwing items and attacking the armed intruder. Many educators, law enforcement officers, parents and school safety specialists do not support this proposed approach for “training” students in preK-12 school settings.”
The article goes on to say:
“Trump says that advocates of such training are quick to claim that opponents of the training are forcing children to become “sitting ducks” waiting to be slaughtered. While this emotional appeal obviously strikes the chord of anxious, concerned parents, it fails to recognize many critical implementation considerations ranging from child learning and development factors, to implementation issues such as whether school districts could even possibly provide the quality and quantity of training necessary. Those experienced in school safety who have worked with schools know that with today’s academic demands, the vast majority of schools are struggling to provide the comprehensive and ongoing training needed for the adult crisis team members and staff we entrust with the care of our children. “
Ken Trump is a School Safety Expert with 25 years in school safety experience. Mr. Trump lists various reasons why this type of training for children is ineffective and a poor idea; from not having the budget or an adequate amount of training, to possibly drawing unneeded attention to themselves.
My Take:
Mr. Trump points out that “it is unrealistic to expect 25 students and a teacher to react simultaneously with split-second accuracy and timing when a person with a gun unexpectedly walks into a room.” I agree with him. I also think that lock down drills are the equivalent to car a mechanic only using a pliers as his only tool in any situation. Sure, it might be the perfect tool for some jobs, but there are going to be many jobs where it won’t work very well and others where it’s a complete failure.
This isn’t a pleasant topic, but I think it’s one all parents should talk to their kids about. You might be afraid you’ll instill some fear, but you may be surprised to find out that their school already does lockdown or other types of drills. Even if you do install a bit of fear, that fear can be used to keep them safe later. According to Trudee, instead of fear, she sees children feeling empowered by the information and ability to play an active role in keeping themselves safe.
Trudee and I started talking to our kids about this when they hit middle school. The schools they’ve attended use lockdowns and have one part time officer. Mr. Trump also makes the point that some teachers have used great courage and stepped in harm’s way to keep their students safe. I commend those heroes and praise God for them. However, I am not willing to bank our children’s safety on the decisions someone may or may not make.
A one-size-fits-all plan just doesn’t work. I believe us parents need to make educated decisions based upon our thoughts on the school plans, our beliefs and our children’s abilities. After all, we know our children best.
We told our kids to use their brains; that if they thought the directions being given by the teacher made sense, to follow them, but if the teachers’ directions sounded foolish or made them feel like they were in more danger, they could make their own decision. For instance, if they heard shooting and it sounded far enough away, to get out of the school and meet us at a certain cross street a few blocks away.
If you don’t like the plan your child’s school has and you think your child has the ability to make critical decisions, you may want to come up with an alternative plan. Introduce it to them as an option they can use. Find a place they can easily get to off of school grounds that provides cover and concealment. Walk them through different routes through the school they can take to avoid the sounds of gunfire or other trouble.
Police training has changed drastically since Columbine. Once they arrive, they will immediately enter the school to engage the shooter(s). What your child does in those few minutes until the police arrive are what you need to consider. Here is a video that shows how adults should act in an active shooter situation. Run. Hide. Fight. It might be a good idea to watch it before talking to your kids. You might even want to have them watch it, using your discretion, of course.
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