Poll: How Should School Threats Be Handled? (Choose ONE)

[Matthews1127]

You do NOT have to be a US citizen to participate!

 

[rainydaze]

First instinct was close school, but that comes with some other issues. If that becomes the standard response, kids could start taking advantage of that to get school shut down for a day. If a threat is real, shutting down may serve to delay the violent act if authorities are unable to identify the threat, whereas if security is increased while school remains open, maybe there's the possibility of catching the person, along with enough evidence of their intent, to put them away. And then of course there is issue of fear, of giving in to it and teaching our kids to stop living at any sign of it, of letting the bad guys win just by the suggestion of the possibility of them being out there.

 

[missy]

Timely question.

Long story and I am not going into details for privacy reasons but a good friend of ours son was actually arrested and suspended from school for a very innocuous reason but due to the climate we are in everyone is being overly cautious. Now my friends are considering hiring an attorney and suing the school and the police. I cannot share details but I will say that both my dh and I feel the school and the police overreacted to what was absolutely no threat at all. And now this might affect our friend's kid from getting into a good school in the future and has adversely affected him emotionally. In ways one cannot begin to imagine if one has not gone through a situation like this. We live in a hyper reactive climate and innocent kids are the victims.

IDK the answers and I do not pretend to but definitely SMH over our friend's relatively recent incident.

I will say common sense is not too common these days it seems and perhaps if we can just think before we react and take the proper security measures (because yes even one life lost is too many) we would all be better off for it.

Arming teachers is NOT the answer.

We lose eight children and teenagers to gun violence every day. If a mysterious virus suddenly started killing eight of our children every day, America would mobilize teams of doctors and public health officials. We would move heaven and earth until we found a way to protect our children. But not with gun violence.”
― Elizabeth Warren

 

[Ally T]

I work at a school here in the UK. It’s a very small Primary (Elementary) School in the countryside, surrounded by fields & nothing ever really happens around these parts. However, all schools in the UK are having to undergo ‘Lockdown Training’ over the next few years, of which my school has already participated. This is for staff only, but we then roll out “Whistle Drill” to the school, so that the pupils understand this is a very different event to the Fire Drill. Rather than make for the exits, they make for the safe areas inside.

Whilst guns are very rare in the UK & used for more underworld crime, we do have increasing instances of knife crime. All schools here (other posters may wish to correct me) have locked entrances. If the Reception area is left unlocked during the school day, such as in High Schools, the doors beyond that foyer are locked. No access can be gained into a school without swiping your ID card, entering a PIN code or being buzzed through by a member of staff inside. The High School I worked at previously had swipe card access, my current Prinary has a PIN. Beyond this, certainly in Primary Schools, the perimeter grounds are all security fenced & gated, the gates of which are locked when school starts & not opened again until school is finished.

Lockdown training with very small children is no easy feat, as generally it’s quite had to keep them quiet & still, but we are prepared. We have blackout blinds ready to be pulled over all windows, all classrooms have an external fire door which are obviously only able to be opened from the outside, & each internal classroom door has a lock at the top, to be locked in an lockdown event by the member of staff inside. Each classroom has an area big enough for all of those children to harbor, away from windows & out of sight. All members of staff carry a whistle on their lanyard, and whistles are not permitted for any other activity - we use horns & bells. Any member of staff can start a Whistle Alarm should it be deemed necessary, and without question, the rest of the staff will follow suit & leap into protective action. We have a code to signify the event has ended & until that code is generated, NO member of staff must unlock ANY door.

As a school we are prepared for a lockdown event, but I find it horrible & alarming that our society has come to this. So with regards to the poll, the second option of following protocol & security measures, that as staff WE ARE TRAINED FOR, should be enough. Parents are not often aware that we have these kind of bases covered here in the UK as events are so incredibly rare, but when they do happen, we will remain calm & in control as much as possible. Guns are ABSOLUTELY not required & have NO place in educational facilities around children, anywhere.

 

[farrahlyn]

i couldnt choose one because it depends. i will say that arming teachers is not the answer and could be horribly dangerous for the person armed and could really complicate things.

Closing school or increasing security... either could be the answer, totally depends on the scenario IMO. DH responds to bomb threats quite often in his line of work. Recently he responded to a bomb threat at an elementary school. yes, an ELEMENTARY school! The children were evacuated, parents were contacted and the children were picked up and brought home. there were very young students and they were EXTREMELY upset, he said many were crying and were extremely fearful.

Just one example... there are so many that i think would not warrant a school closure and i really think it should be at the discretion of the principal/school board.

And then of course there is issue of fear, of giving in to it and teaching our kids to stop living at any sign of it, of letting the bad guys win just by the suggestion of the possibility of them being out there

wholeheartedly agree with this!

 

[ksinger]

Timely question.

Long story and I am not going into details for privacy reasons but a good friend of ours son was actually arrested and suspended from school for a very innocuous reason but due to the climate we are in everyone is being overly cautious. Now my friends are considering hiring an attorney and suing the school and the police. I cannot share details but I will say that both my dh and I feel the school and the police overreacted to what was absolutely no threat at all. And now this might affect our friend's kid from getting into a good school in the future and has adversely affected him emotionally. In ways one cannot begin to imagine if one has not gone through a situation like this. We live in a hyper reactive climate and innocent kids are the victims.

IDK the answers and I do not pretend to but definitely SMH over our friend's relatively recent incident.

I will say common sense is not too common these days it seems and perhaps if we can just think before we react and take the proper security measures (because yes even one life lost is too many) we would all be better off for it.

Arming teachers is NOT the answer.

The options are blunt instruments and don't take into account the immediacy/type of the threat. Is it a bomb threat? Empty the school and close it for the day. Or overall threat perception level? Encircle the school with barbed wire and have armed guards at checkpoints and metal detectors. (said TIC)

Arming teachers, as always, remains just mind-numblingly stupid, so that one is out.

Missy, I read your post to my husband, and I'm afraid that after decades in public education, he has a very different view of these issues, as you might expect. Parents are usually quite OK with stiff standards yet typically apply a different yardstick when it's their kid who gets caught by them. It's a VERY common trope.

The real test is, if you did not know this kids parents and the kid and he was sitting next to your kid, would you be OK with an administrator just assuming that something that met their stated standard (whatever that is) for reporting, and that was enough for suspension and to get the police involved, was not a threat? If you found out later that administrators and teachers were making those decisions on a case by case and throwing some out that met the standard because "he's a good kid", for kids you did not know, would you be OK with that?

 

[missy]

The options are blunt instruments and don't take into account the immediacy/type of the threat. Is it a bomb threat? Empty the school and close it for the day. Or overall threat perception level? Encircle the school with barbed wire and have armed guards at checkpoints and metal detectors. (said TIC)

Arming teachers, as always, remains just mind-numblingly stupid, so that one is out.

Missy, I read your post to my husband, and I'm afraid that after decades in public education, he has a very different view of these issues, as you might expect. Parents are usually quite OK with stiff standards yet typically apply a different yardstick when it's their kid who gets caught by them. It's a VERY common trope.

The real test is, if you did not know this kids parents and the kid and he was sitting next to your kid, would you be OK with an administrator just assuming that something that met their stated standard (whatever that is) for reporting, and that was enough for suspension and to get the police involved, was not a threat? If you found out later that administrators and teachers were making those decisions on a case by case and throwing some out that met the standard because "he's a good kid", for kids you did not know, would you be OK with that?

No Karen, I would not be OK with that. We should all be held to the same standard regarding this. A threat is a threat. However this child made no such threat. Since I cannot go into details about this I probably shouldn't have even brought it up but since the question was posed I shared what I felt comfortable sharing. Suffice it to say what he did on any level could not/should not be construed as a threat to the safety of anyone. That is where the common sense (that is so uncommon these days) seems to be lacking. If the family decides to move forward and sue the school/ the police of course no one can know the outcome but I would not be surprised if they won that suit. This boy is now traumatized by this whole state of affairs.

 

[TooPatient]

I think this is not a one size fits all solution type of question. What the right answer is would depend on so many different things including age of the kids, type of threat, location (among other things here is the school 5 minutes from equipped police help or 40), and too many other factors to attempt to list.

I think each school needs to be prepared with multiple levels of prevention, shelter in place, evacuate, etc plans in place and practiced. I think an added thing to consider is that there needs to be an awareness that anything visible, practiced, or made public is going to be known and allow motivated people to get around different safety measures. Some behind the scenes plans should also be in place to close some of those gaps.

 

[TooPatient]

No Karen, I would not be OK with that. We should all be held to the same standard regarding this. A threat is a threat. However this child made no such threat. Since I cannot go into details about this I probably shouldn't have even brought it up but since the question was posed I shared what I felt comfortable sharing. Suffice it to say what he did on any level could not/should not be construed as a threat to the safety of anyone. That is where the common sense (that is so uncommon these days) seems to be lacking. If the family decides to move forward and sue the school/ the police of course no one can know the outcome but I would not be surprised if they won that suit. This boy is now traumatized by this whole state of affairs.

I'm sorry he (and they) are going through this. That is such a difficult situation to be in. I feel for the school and police who had to deal with things in this scary time we live in. I also feel for the boy who is impacted forever because of someone said something to someone who said.... I don't know the details, but can guess a few possibilities.

 

[missy]

I'm sorry he (and they) are going through this. That is such a difficult situation to be in. I feel for the school and police who had to deal with things in this scary time we live in. I also feel for the boy who is impacted forever because of someone said something to someone who said.... I don't know the details, but can guess a few possibilities.

I am sad because it seems we are all (or many of us) living in a constant state of fear and hyper vigilance. That is the paradox of fear. Often it has no basis in reality but is given strength in our minds.

As Gandhi said “The enemy is fear. We think it is hate; but, it is fear."

 

[cmd2014]

I think it depends on the threat. If there is reason to believe that there is an imminent threat such as a bomb threat or a credible threat of a mass shooting, then closing the school probably makes sense. If it is less definitive than that, then following school security protocols and increasing security probably makes sense. Arming teachers would never be on my list of things to consider.

 

[TooPatient]

I am sad because it seems we are all (or many of us) living in a constant state of fear and hyper vigilance. That is the paradox of fear. Often it has no basis in reality but is given strength in our minds.

As Gandhi said “The enemy is fear. We think it is hate; but, it is fear."

I went to a multi day music festival the year after the shooting at the Las Vegas festival. A co-worker said she wasn't sure she would be going to any more concerts and especially not festivals. Wasn't I afraid? I told her that I had the thought that it could happen but i would not let that take my joy out of attending and I will not let fear run my life. She looked shocked. Fear is what leads to hate, intolerance, and over reactions. That doesn't mean we should pretend it isn't happening or not take precautions but it does mean that we each have to make the choice every day to not let fear make our decisions.

 

[lyra]

Follow protocol, which IMO might include closing school. Depends on the threat obviously. More security staff inside schools would be nice, but I doubt that is even plausible at this point due to budget constraints everywhere.

 

[Matthews1127]

Bump

 

[lissyflo]

When option 3 (arm teachers) is even remotely considered, then we have totally lost control of society. By definition, teachers are teaching CHILDREN. Surely some form of gun control laws would be more sensible than sending a teacher into a classroom full of children, with bullets and a machine to fire them from?!

I fully understand that I’m speaking as a non-US citizen and that our gun culture is different, but good lord, is that really anyone’s best option?

I know it’s an emotive issue and don’t mean to offend anyone, but doesn’t the starkness of that even being an option shock anyone into wanting to tackle the root of the problem and not the symptom?

 

[missy]

When option 3 (arm teachers) is even remotely considered, then we have totally lost control of society. By definition, teachers are teaching CHILDREN. Surely some form of gun control laws would be more sensible than sending a teacher into a classroom full of children, with bullets and a machine to fire them from?!

I fully understand that I’m speaking as a non-US citizen and that our gun culture is different, but good lord, is that really anyone’s best option?

I know it’s an emotive issue and don’t mean to offend anyone, but doesn’t the starkness of that even being an option shock anyone into wanting to tackle the root of the problem and not the symptom?

Yes. Completely agree.

 

[Calliecake]

@lissyflo , I’m a US citizen and agree with your post. It shocks many of us.

I have a grandniece who is in preschool. The first time I picked her up at school, I was happy as I was driving to the school thinking of the fun things I had planned for us to do that day.

I was saddened by the things that went thru my head as I pulled into the parking lot. It bothered me that in the back of her school is a densely wooded area which would be easy for someone to hide in. I was bothered that the doors were unlocked 10 minutes before her schedule pick up time and felt everyone entering the building should have entered a code to get in the building. Her classroom was locked and the there was a shade pulled down from the inside. It made me happy that no one could see inside her classroom and that the door was locked.

It’s a completely different world from when her parents were little kids. Not one of these things would have entered my mind 25 years ago when niece was her daughters age.

I don’t pretend to know all the answers but I do know arming our teachers is not the solution.