Making School Safety a Priority
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- Опубликовано: 18 июн 2024
- With recent school shootings fresh on everyone's minds, we dive into the crucial topic of school safety and how we can take action. We discuss where the responsibility for preventing school shootings lies and suggest practical ideas for additional precautions schools can implement to keep students and staff safe. Tune in to this important conversation!
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As a gen z high school teacher, any time there’s a loud noise my instant thought is that it might be a gun shot. It’s how I felt as a student too, but it’s such a more scary feeling knowing I need to keep my students safe. I shouldn’t have to be worried about my lesson being interrupted by someone trying to hurt my students and myself.
Thank you for what you do.
Are you saying you are apart of the Gen z community? I’m asking because I kinda got a lil confused at the very 1st line because aren’t ALL high school kids Gen Z i would hope NO millennials nor any other generations are in any high school classrooms. Or are you saying you are of the Gen Z generation and is a high school teacher? I’m sorry this is off topic and I’m sorry for that. And Thank You for being that 1st line of defense for children when they are at school it’s sad that all this is actually going on decades ago when the 1st school shooting happened something should have been put in place all over the US to where it would not have been a 2nd or atleast a 5th but it most definitely shouldn’t have made it to OVER 500 school shootings and that’s just since the Columbine school shooting. I feel like school, church, even your home should be the safest place for a child and it’s no way parents should have to buy our kids book bags that double as a bullet proof vest that comes with fake blood so a child can play dead in the case of a school shooting and having to teach a child to actually USE everything. I remember just having to do fire drills and drills for bad weather we didn’t have these drills for active shooters growing up so now watching my 6 year old go through this is heartbreaking.
You need to look for a better job while you can! Don’t let people vilify you and still expect you to take a damn bullet for their damn brats because they wouldn’t do the same for other peoples’ kids. get out soon! Upskill, look at LinkedIn and leave
@@royalgilpin4922 it doesn’t matter if it’s a rural school or not kid. The issue is that it’s happening!
@@tgrice601 I am apart of the gen z community
as someone currently in school to become a teacher, the first thing they said during orientation for my major was: "your job is going to be as dangerous as a first responder's" I will never forget that.
I’m in school for it too and they just pretend it doesn’t exist
wishing you much success on your journey
I teach in this district. I work 5 minutes from the school teaching second graders and how our district is handling it is horrific. They blatantly ignored her concerns. Along with parent concerns. Dr. Parker has done little to nothing to support us. I so appreciate you bringing this to light.
What frustrates the hell out of me is the lack of accountability being put on the families of these kids by the public court of opinion. It's just all directed at the school district, admin, and teachers. I have a kid for 1hr a day. I'm not fixing their home life; mental problems, etc. My job is to teach.
In high school I did a child studies class where there was a real preschool. Under the direction of the prek director, we planned and taught our own lessons. We had the kids playing in the courtyard when the lock down code came on. We had to take all the kids in a corner, turn out the lights and keep quiet. 30 minutes later we were still in lock down when the principal came on the loudspeaker and asked everyone to search their rooms for anything suspicious. Turns out there was a bomb threat! Scariest almost 2 hours of my life. That was my intro to school shootings
That's a lot to take on as a high schooler!
As a mom to 2 young children (1yo and 4yo) and a high school teacher, I can't imagine abandoning my students to make sure I'm safe, but at the same time I need to keep myself safe so my kids don't lose their mommy.
School safety is something that teachers take so seriously because if we don't, the worst will happen.
100%! There is so much weighing on the shoulders of teachers!
My mom teaches 5th grade. I tell her every day - remind her - mom, we need you. If in a situation, please remember, your own children need you. It scares me how teachers in these situations are supposed to protect children.
Praying for the wellness of this poor woman. We live in a scary world. I don't know who has the right answer for solving this. Appreciate you sharing that the gun was obtained legally.
Lauran made me cry when she said "You have to put on a brave face and make sure that that kid goes home to there parent that night" That absolutely crushed me and I thank God for all of my teachers because I'm a teenager Im not a parent but I know that if there was a shooter in my school and it was my teachers life or mine that they could protect me at all costs. I teach Sunday school so I have my students for about 2 1/2 hours on a Sunday and even though I only have them for a short period of time once a week if it came down to it I would give my life for theirs no hesitation.
That’s how I feel. I’m 39 years old. I’ve lived my life. Take me over my kids.
❤❤❤❤❤
if there is ever a shooter at my school i would not be thinking about getting home i'm in middle school my siblings are in elementary all i would be thinking about is my siblings
@@Sophiabushway me too
Bless you sweetie. I'm so sorry you even have to think about that kind of decision
What teachers in the US have to put up with is both very sad and utterly terrifying.
#Agreed Mark Colburn.
I am in central calif. and abut 5 6 years ago I was working in a Jr. high and the kids would cuss you out and threaten you and the admin or the principal would not do a thing about it.
@@nonaloeffler308
Well, where I graduated out of as a student in the Beford County School System here in Shelbyville, Tennessee where I am from the admin or the principal will do something about it and that is why it angers me and confuses me when I hear about places where they let stuff happen or the only time when they take any kind of action is when somebody gets hurt or something gets destroyed or even flipped over or thrown out of place. You did not want to be referred to the admin for disciplinary action because that's what would happen.
A big part of safety in schools is enforcement/reinforcement of the rules, specifically safety rules.
I'm glad some one finally made a video about this. As a student some days I am terrified that that might be my last day alive. If my parents drop me off I make sure to say goodbye and I love you just in case. For every class I go to I have a plan for how I would get out and where me and classmates could hide in each class. Every loud noise I jump and I am prepared to do something or hide. It has gotten worse since there was a shooting in my district. I am afraid going to school and I am glad to hear a teachers point of view about it.
Thank you for sharing this... it's such a sobering comment and we are so sorry that you have to do that every day.
I’m so sorry! As a student as well, it’s terrifying.
We can pay superintendents half a million dollars, but require teachers to take a 1% pay cut and not hire more counselors 😡
the saddest story i heard in my life about gun violence was the story of a little girl.
She had her first lockdown drill in no more than kindergarten or first grade.
She came home crying one afternoon. Her parents tried to console her asking what was wrong.
All she could say was "i hate my shoes, i hate my shoes, i dont want these anymore"
The parents were confused by her tears and genuine distress. "Whats wrong with your shoes?"
The girl begins to explain "they light up... They will show where i am, where we are hiding, where my friends are. They glow and make noise! But we need to hide"
A little girl, feeling understandable and genuine fear her childhood staple of light up shoes would lead danger to herself and her friends...
My dad, who is 70, asked a question the other day. He said when he was young they carried rifles in their truck. High schoolers would pull up to school with gun racks in their trucks back window with rifles and the thought to go and gun down the school never crossed their minds. What has changed? I feel like that is a great question. Also it breaks my heart that a 6 year old did this. That age should be plating in sandboxed. I would love to know more about this little kid. I'm glad the teacher is improving.
We have lost the value of human life... There is no telling what exactly is to blame; violent music lyrics, violent video games, & social media all play a part in the development of children's lives and these things weren't allowed when gun racks were. As the granddaughter of a Weapons Specialist for the Navy I was taught from an early age that guns kill. We were allowed to have water guns because it was a pool toy, BB guns WERE NOT TOYS, they were teaching tools to improve our aim before we were allowed to go to the gun range and shoot hand guns. As the oldest of 3 girls raised in a high crime area I was taught were the shot gun was, how and were my sister's should hide behind me should I ever have to protect them during a home invasion. My father taught me; 1st yell I have a gun, then shoot the ceiling above the door because he didn't want me to have to live with the guilt of taking someone's life... I was 10 years old for this lesson. Children & teens aren't raised with that blunt realization.
I to am close to your dads age and we lived in town and we never from October until after Christmas thought anything about the rifle racks being full especially Thursdays Friday or Monday. Our class had 1,000 students as a graduating class as did the 3 years preceeding
Thank heavens for the quick thinking teacher and wishing her a full recovery soon.
That terrible mainstreaming law was passed. That put very deeply disturbed children in our public schools. They are 504 kids, so very little discipline can be carried out towards them. Those kids desperately need to be in residential treatment facilities, because they have such severe mental health problems.
Thank you for making this video. It absolutely breaks my heart that Gabe says he's always grown up with school shootings. 51 school shootings in the US in 2022 alone, resulting in injuries or death! America has got to figure out how to protect our school communities, and how to prevent these tragedies in the first place! God bless that first grade teacher, who still managed to protect her other students, in spite of being egregiously wounded!
Another big problem with school security is the mismanagement of funds and a false sense of security to the public. This year, all high schools in my city have metal detectors and bag searches at the front. However, the bag searches are not thorough and sometimes the metal detectors will go off, but the security will still let them through.
And for those who say that its a "deterrence," everyone in the school has figured out that they don't really do anything.
I taught at a school with open classrooms, literally no doors, and virtually impossible to lock down. I’ll never forget the day we got word that an armed person had just left the campus next door, trying to figure out where to stand to be between a shooter and my 8th graders. I kept thinking, my children are grown, my life is expendable but not one of these kids is. That was nearly 20 years ago and it still gets to me sometimes.
We also had a fire in the building once. After years of nobody taking drill’s seriously, evacuating the building was a nightmare.
Sandy Hook happened the DAY I graduated with my degree in Education. It was a strange feeling to be so excited one minute to start my career, then learn what had taken place. 😢
Happened on my birthday December 14 😢
I grew up in the 60's and we had duck and cover drills for bomb attacks. It is so much more personal now, we need more mental health support for students, families and teachers. Legislator support! ♡
From 1968-1969 there were 10 school shootings this has always been a problem in America dating back to the late 1700s. It’s just that with the internet and social media we know about everything the moment it happens. Back then the news didn’t really cover it as much. It’s crazy there’s been at least one school shooting literally every year since 1965 with the amount almost doubling every decade since the 1920s and we still haven’t done anything
@@chillopi7618 What do you propose we do?
@@oldmindyoungbody3068it’s pretty obvious the only things we can do is pass gun control laws and fund mental health better
@chillopi7618 - I agree with the mental health funding, but what if I told you that passing gun control isn't the only option?
@@oldmindyoungbody3068 so u don’t think we should do background checks on people? U don’t think people who had to go to the mental health hospital in the last year due to schizophrenia shouldnt buy guns? U don’t even support teachers being armed? Yea I know it’s not the only one, I just gave two. Pretty telling u just agreed with one of them and argued that the other 1 of 2 isn’t the only one. You know mental health funding isn’t the only one, right? Of course it’s not the only one, but it’s one of the most substantial
I attend the “teacher’s college” (it was originally specifically a college just for educators) in my state and most of my friends are future educators. I’m terrified that i’m going to have to bury one of my friends because of school shootings.
Graduated high school in 2018. A LOT of the mental health intervention while I was HS was through the disciplinary department. Disciplinary!! We had one social worker for a 800+ student population between a middle and high school. The SW kept me alive and got me through the worst days of high school. It's heartbreaking to think it's only getting worse
Columbine was during my first teaching experience. Thank goodness it was a small school and my principal was willing to help me talk to the kids. It's all so sad that we can't fix this issues.
I was not at all surprised that the shooter was 6 years old. Our most violent students are in 4k-2nd grade. In elementary school, there aren't any options for students who are violent. They can walk the halls with an administrator for a while, tearing up other students' work and attacking other classes and teachers along the way, and then they come back to class. Even with a rare suspension, we've had parents drop them off and drive away. They refuse to keep the students home, and there is nothing the school can do. The stress, fear, and trauma felt across the building because of a violent and unstable student is cumulative and will affect staff and students for years to come.
For students like this, and really for our whole society, I advocate for DBT to be taught in schools, mandatory class prek-12. Dialectical Behavioral Therapy. If we start while they are young, and do our best to educate parents about it too in hopes of bringing it into the home, I truly truly believe we would see RADICAL change in our whole country.
I taught 1st grade at an inner city school for a year. If a kid was suspended & the parents dropped them off anyway, the principal called the police & reported an abandoned child! Not many admins around like her any more.
I’m a college student who looking into teaching. I’m a student who’s been in real lockdowns, ALICE training and stop the bleed. You guys talking about solutions and talking about it from a teacher point of view gives me more insight on what teachers truly sign up for.
I'm a resident substitute and had to do my first ADD drill this year when it was done I started silently crying because I was watching kindergarteners go through the process was awful.
💔💔💔
@@TeachersOffDutyPodcast unfortunately bad things happen in USA schools but if you want to feel safe, why not move to other countries to teach,Australia,New Zealand,Wales,England,Scotland,Ireland,Northern Ireland,Gibraltar,Falklands, Germany,France,Spain,Finless,Norway,Denmark,Italy,Sweden,Iceland,Singapore,Japan,South Korea,Estonia,Latvia,Lithuania, Poland, Canada, Greenland, Tonga,Fiji,Switzerland,Luxembourg,Andorra, Czechia, Austria,Slovenia,Slovakia,Romania,North Macedonia,Bosnia & Herzegovina,Monaco,Malta,Moldova,Netherlands,Belgium,Isle of Man,Hungry,Georgia,Cyprus,Christmas Island, all those countries are looking for teachers & most are on better pay than USA & you do actually have hoildays & stric laws on guns. So you would be safe.
I am in my final semester of receiving my Bachelors degree in teaching, and THIS is our reality. He’s right, I’ve never known anything outside of school shootings being a part of education. THIS should never be or concern, but THIS just proves how our country is failing us. How many more children have to be buried in order for change to actually happen?! This breaks my heart indefinitely.
2007 someone brought a butter knife to my high school . We had a lock down because they thought it was a “real knife”. That week we got metal detectors
Our district just invested in Safe Defend - it’s a 1 touch alert system to all of our first responders in the case of an active shooter. I’m proud that my urban district servicing 5600 students is making safety a top priority and investing in the safety of our staff and students. It’s sad we had to do it - but, at least they are making it a priority.
The way it feels like school shootings are getting closer and closer to my area, like it's honing in on it, is concerning. Especially since a lot of schools in my state are receiving fake/prank threats of shootings, or other types of harm.
*HS senior.
I was born and raised in Newport News ( R.O Nelson, Dozier Middle,and Denbigh High). And I am completely baffled by all of the red flags that were glossed over! Our city was supposed to be known for having the best school around! It's so sad that schools aren't even safe from the inside anymore!
Ugh! I’m in university for elementary education right now. This was rough to watch. When she said “i have to make sure that child gets home to their parents that night” cried so much.
My school gave out bright orange fleet farm 5 gallon buckets to every classroom. Each was filled with a drawstring backpack, which had clipboards with class rosters in case we needed to be identified. It also had a roll of toilet paper. The bucket was for us to go to the bathroom in, just in case we were stuck for a long time.
💔💔💔
The prosecutor interviewed the kid and seemed like a normal 6 year old. I hope he gets the help he needs
Thanks for talking about this:
1. School counselors are just like teachers, they are asked to do so much more than just their jobs. The only reason this is is because schools still do not understand the need for mental health. My best friend is a social worker and he sees 40 people every week, and just see the work that he does is crazy!
2. at the start of the year, I tell my parents and students my active shooter drill protocol. We will barricade the doors and windows, grab any object that we can to protect ourselves, but if we have the chance to escape we will. I also let my kids know if you hear a gunshot behind you don’t look back keep running, even if you don’t hear my voice anymore.
3. Kids do need a second chance when they do something wrong or even bring a weapon, but that second chance has to be somewhere else. 100% get them the help they need, but start that new journey at a new school where your reputation does not speak first for you.
Sorry for the long comment but things need to be said.
“Even if you don’t hear my voice anymore” that’s so sad 🥺
@@alexisstrother it sucks to say but rather they hear it now instead of at the time
@@MrMarohlsclassroom I know & you’re completely right. I agree wholeheartedly with your entire comment! It’s just… *so damn incredibly sad* that you or any educator has to worry about this, much less these poor children!
@@MrMarohlsclassroom i get to hold an active shooter drill tomorrow & I know my voice will crack going over this. I’d like to add the part about “if you hear a shot behind you keep running, even if you don’t hear my voice”
@@Bea-a-deer its a hard thing to say but kids got to know. Wish you the best!
My son's teacher does that with suckers. Whenever they have a safety drill she would give them a sucker to have them to be quiet
Gabe and I are the same age. Each time I hear a story about a shooting, I go into my classroom the next day, and look to make sure that I have either an escape plan or a place to hide. I’m filled with anxiety each and every day, and really believe it’s not a matter of if, but when I’ll have to put that plan in place.
They said on the radio that he had a plan in place where one of his parents would attend school with him everyday. This was the first day the parents missed attending with him. It’s heartbreaking that a child at his age needed a plan that required a parent attend with him.
I remember when my old high school got a new lock down system and it got pressed on accident during a glass change. And a freshman (who just changed schools and this was her first day at the school) had a panic attack next to me and all I could do was hold her and pray for whatever reason it wasn’t real. The school didn’t even say anything once they announced it was an accident. We where in lock down for 30 mins.
I was born in 90 and I've never known a world without it.
When I was in 5th grade (this might have been like 2010 or 2011) we had a lockdown. There was an ARMED parent in the school. We had a sub, she downright refused to lock the door, cut the lights off, close blinds, or even shut the door. It took an officer walking around the halls to make her do it. Even after she complained about having to even do it and kept on talking loudly. She wouldn't even let us move away from the door and hide. I never saw her after that and i seriously hope she didn't sub anymore after that. We were terrified. And don't even get me started on the counselors we had in middle school. I remember I was in the guidance office for math tutoring and I over heard them talking about my cousin and stuff hes told them. I said 'they're talking about my cousin'. All the tutor/counselor had to say to me was sorry you heard that. Um be sorry you're talking about a child like that... Like what?
And to clarify by them 'talking' about him they were saying he'd never amount to anything, he was stupid, etc.
I worked as a front office secretary in a middle school. I had a parent come in and threaten to call her husband to have him bring his gun to the school. It was right before students came back and she was withdrawing. Teachers were in trainings and the resource officer was too. It took 15 to get a hold of an admin and I’ve never been so scared. I reached out to the security department at central and they did NOTHING! I had to leave because how can you pay so little, offer no additional protection and basically leave it to me to protect myself smh. The anxiety I dealt with got so bad that I ended up in the hospital with a heart monitor. I REALLY feel for teachers and school staff.
One of the biggest issues I personally feel is when I was in school they would have the teacher place a card under the door saying we are in lockdown everyone in this room is ok, we have minor issues, or we need emergency help. I feel like that would have given away where the students and staff were during those situations to the shooter or whoever was not supposed to be there. Another was the fact that some cases I believe the shooter has said or they found out they knew how to get around it because they had been taught as a kid how the system worked for lockdowns and such. I believe their needs to be a more efficient way to protect the students and it should change every couple of years to protect everyone in those schools and prevent past students from knowing how the school will handle it.
I’m a prek teacher at a Jewish school. We have a police officer sitting in the main hallway everyday for extra security along with key badges, multiple locked doors, badges, etc. We have also done stop the bleed and lockdown trainings for infants through 5 and it’s so scary that we’re doing this for children that can’t even understand the words we’re saying beyond shhh. We shouldn’t have to do this is schools but we do because it’s real.
I work in childcare and it's just as scary, I've had multiple kids pretend to shoot me when they were upset, even had one kid bring in a super soaker type toy and act like they were gunning down the entire class and really scaring the other kiddos. What did mom do when I let her know? Shrug it off as "well dad has guns and is in the military" then get angry at ME for confiscating the toy. We have a serious problem and I wish I knew how to fix it, it's just heartbreaking.
I remember I did my internship for my masters degree in social work at the school. It was nearly 10 years ago but I remember walking into the first day of my internship at 22 and having the conversation with the ex military teacher I was paired with. I remember he looked at me and told me you are an adult in this room I will die protecting you and the kids. But, you have to decide if you are going to die protecting these kids and the moment you choose to protect or run. And I have carried that conversation every time I take one of my therapy kids in public.
It's such a heavy load that we are carrying all the time. Thank you for doing what you do!
As a 20 year old para, I always go patterns with my kids. We do like head shoulders knees and toes. And we play the “silent game” and they all do their own patterns. I wish we didn’t have to but this is our reality. So awful 😔
I work in one of the nearby districts in this region of Virginia. The entire area was aghast at this. The failure to prevent this (as there were warning signs earlier) is the first thing that people here pointed out, rightfully so. Allegedly, there have been at least some new measures put in place to improve school safety there, but many are still saying that there’s gaps and/or shortfalls in addressing the overall matter. Safety in schools right now is increasingly precarious because of the increasingly cracking system (if it is not broken already) and other external influences. I cannot say it enough, for my kids and my coworkers, we need help in schools. WE NEED HELP!!! The current system is increasingly untenable.
So terrifying! I was in elementary school in the late 80’s and could not imagine this happening. Columbine is the first one I can remember. But seriously 6 years old is insane. Love to all my amazing teachers!
This topic is the most valuable show you have made. I've been a retired for 6 years but I substitute. I work in a crowded low income area. I can't remember how many lock downs I've lived through. The worst one was was an evening winter program. The school, including the cafeteria, was packed with families. I was long term substituting for a first grade class. We were locked down for over two hours and we never had the program. It was impossible keeping all the parents and kids quiet and still. The school does not have evening programs anymore.
I’m an educator at the school in St. Louis where a shooting happened last October. We lost a student and a teacher. We’ve been devastated and have just now recovered enough (at least our physical building that is) to be able to teach our students in person, almost 11 weeks later. This is a huge problem that enacts so much long term trauma in so many people’s lives.
I am 19 and when I was in highschool my art teacher used our class to make lockdown window covers to make it harder for someone to look inside. We did this every day for the entire year because teachers were in panic mode. We also had portable classrooms which were basically paper so we had to make the decision about if it was worth it or not to make a run for it or wait for a random bullet to tear through the walls since there was nothing to stop it. We had a real lockdown that lasted for 5 hours. We made a barricade with desks, I put a heavy stapler in my lunchbox like we practiced and waited to fight. 3 hours in the police barraged in. They gave us a bucket to pee in since they had a lot more classes to check. Thankfully no one got hurt but I still have PTSD from that experience and have certain triggers. This happened a couple weeks after Parkland. I have never known a world without school shootings which I believe is part of why Gen Z is not as afraid of death. We have had to deal with the realization of our mortality since preschool and every couple months being told about a new shooting by terrified teachers our entire lives.
I am so sorry you had to go through this! My high school band program made safety buckets for each classroom and made over 200 for the middle and elementary school to. My neice goes to the elementary school in my district and it terrifies me that there could be a day that someone goes into her school to hurt people.
I had a student that I felt awful for being afraid of but absolutely feared he would hurt me. He would have these violent outbursts that were just not anything I was prepared to handle and untimely still had to be the one to bring him down from them- teachers would take turns with the rest of my class. The principal tried but the kid didn’t really respond well to him. I was ashamed of my fears and felt like I was the problem for thinking badly about this child whom I also loved dearly. I recognize there was a lot of gaslighting happening there.
The second I heard about the 1st grader that shot his teacher, it just played out in my head with *that* student.
That child is doing a lot better this year, and which I hope is a lasting improvement. Things got worse when we passed the anniversary of a parent’s death, which is in the winter. I’ve subbed and seen this child. I did everything I could. I reached out and didn’t have a lot of resources. I truly hope there is a caring adult that is able to get through to the parent and get them the therapy they need.
I had not thought about having my “fight or flight switch” now being even more highly sensitized these past YEARS of my career. Thank you for the 💡 moment.
My high school is a three year high school and we had 500-630 students to one counselor for each grade and that is a lot of kids to look after and care for especially with dealing with safety
I live in the next town over from where the teacher was shot. Our schools are getting metal detectors now
I never thought I would have a mental battle of deciding do I want to send my kid to school or homeschooling. I want my child to grow around children to learn how to problem solve and communicate, but I want my kids to be safe. My husband says we can't keep them under a rock we teach them how to be safe and we say something if we don't feel the school is safe. I had to say something to his school when I saw a door propped open and even though it was only a minute I said it takes 1 second for someone to get in and the principal retrained the teachers and sent out a email to parents explaining safety and that our school is safe. Please do your part to keep our school safe. It's not just the school parents have to do their part. We have guns in our home. My husband works in a high crime area so he has a carry permit but the second he come home it is places in a safe. Our kids never see where the guns are because they are always locked and I tell my kids because I can't control the world if you see a gun you don't touch it and you tell a adult. No touch is the rule. Please lock your guns in a code safe. No key or magnet drawer because if the kid sees how you open it they will get in it.
Last term I was student teaching in a first grade class so this story became really personal. I only saw those kids for 3 hours and two days out of my week, but I saw myself having thoughts and reactions that were cognizant of what’s safest for the students. We had a lockdown drill and the students said they were scared, but I felt like the teacher, the other TA, and I were more scared because we knew what we would need to do if this situation was truly happening.
Sending love to the teacher and her community ❤
I love you all. I work with college students and I feel a lot of the same things!
My first job was working in a residence hall at a university where I was a student. I was a paraprofessional position it was the early 90s. I worked in a complex and was walking from my building to the main desk and followed a trail of bullets from my bldg to another entrance to the complex. I notified the policing authority who came and told me I was overreacting. My director was none too pleased but agreed they'd rather have this conversation with me than if something happened and I hadn't done anything.
Some folks don't get it.
Fortunately where I work now, gets it, and when I brought this as a hypothetical it would warrant a lock down and investigation to determine safety.
Love this conversation!
One of the things I've had to open my eyes to regarding SRO's, especially as a white teacher in Chicago Public Schools, is that not all kids feel safe around them. I completely get what Gabe was saying about them needing to be trained, but you have to remember the racial aspect of having an SRO in the school. The SRO position was created because of Columbine. Honestly, I'm not sure if it's helping. I know it's not all police officers, but there have also been so many stories of children being mishandled by the police. I think we need a different solution. For example, in the Chicago schools, we have security teams that are trained but not armed. This is such an awful situation all around.
And Gabe, I know exactly where you are coming from! I graduated from Washington HS in Sioux Falls in 2009. The SRO's in SuFu are amazing! They're celebrated bc they do such a great job. My husband and I are both teachers. We moved to Chicago so I could get my Master's and it was such a big culture shock for both of us. The systems are so different. Unfortunately, the community here has spoken and many of them don't feel comfortable with SRO's near their kids.
They should stop arresting black kids and focus on tge white kids more than.
I get that the community doesn't feel comfortable with police officers around their children but, wouldn't having a police officer in a positive role that is around their children all the time help bridge the discomfort? Just curious
I graduated from high school nearly 50 years ago- and if there were an armed police officer in my school, that would make me extremely uneasy. What if that officer was firing at somebody else, missed, and hit me?
@@nancyirwin3150 The SRO's have to physically restrain all the out of control, violent kids, so it wouldn't be a positive role.
I'm a 17 year old student, I have heard about all the school shootings that have happened in my life time and before, I'm graduating this year, and my school district have been so close to a school shootings or bomb threats, I remember 7th grade we were on code red for 40 minutes because of a bomb threat, and then in 8th there was a bomb in the high school. We are a small school district in Western Pennsylvania, and I'm always on edge. I always think through what I'd be doing in that situation, and I never thought I'd be a part of any of this. We as students need to protect ourselves and each other including our teacher. There was a lightning strike outside of my school and it sounded like a gunshot, I was in the cafeteria, and my first thought was that I should run, but I couldn't because that would've set off everyone. In that ten minutes, I thought about how many people I needed to fight for and how many people would be devastated if I was hurt. My fiance is in basic training for the air force right now, and I wouldn't have been able to call him and tell him I loved him for the last time, and my parents would have felt so guilty that they sent me to public school this year when my brothers are both home schooled as of this moment. When it takes ten minutes to think about all of that, it opens your eyes to the world we live in. I feel so awful for all the teachers that are victimized first because they don't deserve any of that. They are heroes and I will always treat them as such.
My son goes to a neurodivergent school (autism). I sent him to school a few months ago like everyday, and by 11:00 there was a knock on my door and it was my son and his teacher. They had to be evacuated along with the district for an active shooter threat, so they brought our kids home on the van. I was terrified to send him back.
Love y'all!! I know y'all don't have children but you are right on with parenting advice!! I have 4 grown children. I would have loved to have teachers like y'all involved in my children's education and life🥰
I’m 19 and their were times I was terrified to go to school and we had around 10 police officers at the school for weeks because of safety concerns. We got to the point as a class that we just accepted it was a problem that we may face any day. No wonder we were all so depressed
First off, I love yall and your channel. My son is 3 and we have decided to homeschool our son due to the gun violence in schools. It makes me sad that he won't be able to go to school like everyone else and get to meet amazing and wonderful teachers like yall but I'm a kid of the 90s and all I know is school shootings. If there were better security procedures, safety things going on, we would enroll him. I hope yall are always safe and never have to face tragedy. I love yalls channel and I am grateful for what yall do to shape the future of our country and the world. Thank you for what you do. Praying for your safety and better pay for you super heros.
No place is safe anymore. Go to Walmart, a mall, a movie theater, drive down the street- no place is safe.
I might have commented this once before, but I was a middle schooler when sandy hook occurred. I also live in Connecticut. Before it happened, my elementary school was an open campus setup. They've since connected all the buildings into one for safety reasons. I'm 22 now and the way I've watched the world change around me is stark and depressing. It breaks my heart into many many pieces to know now that students are the ones we have to be looking at now, wondering if they're going to be a victim or the perpetrator
As a school counselor thank you. Among all of our hats we wear we have to be trained in crises… especially the unthinkable. My words lack on this topic because this is sadly a regular thing I seek training and discuss when it should never have to be. I keep faith for a better world in education for everyone (staff, students, etc.) and continue to advocate.
Thanks for speaking up on this topic ❤
The closest thing I ever got to experiencing this sort of thing was when I was in the 7th grade, and there was a bomb threat. Now that I'm older, (freshman) I realized how strong those teachers had to be, especially for my best friend at the time and I, because we had to borrow there phones to talk to our parents to calm down. Eventually we had to walk to the closest high school until out parents could come and get us. That still affects me to this day, and that was almost 2 years ago.
I'm 25, and have been a teacher assistant and loved it. I recently wanted to get back into it and go to school, then this happened not even 15 minutes way from my home. It's too close to home.
I live in Colorado; and graduated in '11. I remember the days where we wouldn't just have a lock down drill, but the local police department would come in and train with us in the school. So we had to sit with the lights off, and the alarms blaring until the cops came along and unlocked the door and said we passed.
Last year I was walking off the bus with my class because we had just come back from a field trip. The teachers had suddenly rushed us inside because we heard a loud sound not far from the school. My school immediately went into lockdown and we had to sit at the side of the classroom. It turned out to be some guys setting off illegal fireworks close to the school/neighborhood. We were all terrified. My brother had an actual school shooting at his high school not even a week before this. If that was real omg…
I got my masters in elementary education. I taught for 3 years. It was my childhood dream to be a teacher but it is also my biggest fear to die. I didn’t want to put my life at a greater risk of death so I had to leave teaching because I know nothing will change. Absolutely nothing will change. There will always be school shootings and nothing we do or say will change that and it’s heart breaking. I literally can’t be a teacher in America because I don’t want to die.
My heart breaks for the para…💔
the situation is not only scary for the children but is also scary for the teachers. And a teacher’s reaction should be to protect the children but a secondary reaction might be tears and there should be no judgment in that. It’s an emotional response that cannot be stopped in a high stress situation, similar to fight, flight, freeze.
As someone who has lived in Virginia for her entire life…I’ve seen and heard some stuff but this shooting traumatized so many and this is such a hard time for everyone involved. I just am praying that this world hopefully gets its act together because this should not be happening.
When sandy hook happened i was in kindergarten and i didn’t know anything about it until 2021 when a school shooting happened in my state. My mom was telling me how emotional she and the other parents were because our ages were so similar to those kids.
As a mom I just want to say thank you! Thank you for being willing to protect our children! I'm sickened that this is something that you are being asked to do.... Thank you ❤️
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I've been out of school teaching for quite a few years and this most recent shooting got to me too. I think all past and present teachers felt it. I think you all hit the right point - there's no way we can possible prepare for every possible scenario, and this case is a tragically perfect example of that.
I at ab an age where school shooting weren't a thing when I was a kid, but they were becoming common when I was in training and was in service (I moved on to other work before it became so common). You're totally right that the experience of being in schools is completely different now. Night & Day. Those in government making the decision are my age or older, and if they haven't been teachers they haven't gotten this sense of difference, so they're totally out of touch with what is really needed.
She had an adrenaline rush and was saving her students….chills.
This is my first year teaching but I have worked in education for the last 8 years in some form. I have had several conversations with my kids about the possibility and everytime I tell them how much I love them but how I would fight for the kids. My kids always say we know mom we know. Wish we didn't have to think about it.
I'm so grateful that schools in my country (we are in EU) are safe...
I think the whole "I'll protect these students with my life" mentality comes from the fact that the kids are looking to you to see what to do and how to handle the situation. You are the authority figure, so you feel responsible for their safety as well.
I worked at one of our two elementary schools until January of this year. Both buildings are like 80 years old. After Parkland, I made a whole plan on how to get my kids out in multiple ways and packed a Go Bag that included Sharpies so I could write identifying information directly on the kids if the worst happened. And because it’s a small rural town, no one else feels like this is a real issue. My 9 year old doesn’t even know what lock down means. I have so many conflicting feelings.
My whole family works in schools or has worked in schools. Everyday before my mom goes to work I say the same thing: “I love you, be safe.” It’s small, but I say it every time because I never know if today is going to be the day that we get a shooting at one of our schools. I get anxious every time and I just need to know that I did all I could do to help :(
I really appreciate how well you covered this topic. I was student teaching at a private school when I experienced lockdown. I found out after the event that I was 1out of 5 adults in the building who actually knew anything about gun safety and not all of us were teachers. It was never covered what we should do in the event of a lockdown in our teacher's manual or orientation. Thankfully the person was apprehended before anyone was shot.
As someone who is a paraeducator right now studying for my special education and elementary education certificates this issue needs to be talked about. This episode was a little triggering for myself, I was in the hallway this past November 8th 2022, when a student shot another student at Ingraham High School. I was with a student in a wheelchair, another coworker and her student. We were in a part of the school that there was nowhere to go except outside. My thoughts were to get my two students and those that were in the hallway ahead of us out of the building and to a safe place. We ended up going to the pool that borders my campus as our other half of the class was already there. It was my thought to put myself in front of my students as the gunman was coming out of the school. The fear that goes through ones mind if anyone of us is going to make it home to our families. I have been actively pushing my state to have more funding for mental health counselors. I thought, I would ever have to watch a student bleed out because of gun violence. My thought was it happens in other places in the country it won't happen here and it did. It was found out that the gunman was being bullied by the group he was targeting but that he also had mental health issues. We should have more supports for those students and staff... Thank you for taking the time to yet again address the issue.
Speaking on Lauren talking about learning to apply a tourniquet, there was a kid in my fifth grade class that got his finger shut in a door and the tip got sliced right off. Now he did not need a tourniquet, because it was only a finger, but there might come a time where teachers could be in that situation, and they do need to be prepared. My favorite quote and something that I use all the time in regard to teacher trainings is “we shouldn’t have to, but we do”.
I will never ever forget how unsafe we felt in our class with even just a soft lock down surrounded by only glass walls with a automated system saying; this is a shelter in place students return to you classes, teacher follow procedures. Over and over and over and we knew that if they got in the school or had a gun they can see us there was no real place to hide they could break the glass, they would know where we were
My papa was a teacher. He had a saying he told my mom “the violence will always be there, the weapons will change. But, until you do something about the violence; banning everything will do nothing.”
As a kid watching this that's under 15 I really am happy that teachers will protect students in bad times and that schools do need to be better at protect teachers and students alike just putting that out there.
I am around Lauren's age, about to turn 29. I think I've been aware of school shootings since I was maybe in late elementary school. I think I read a book or listened to a song about a school shooting based on columbine, and other students used to bully me and other students would be nice to me, in their words, just so I wouldn't shoot them when I finally lost my cool.
Then after Sandy Hook happened is when I started to hear more about them in the news. I think maybe I graduated just in time because I don't remember ever being afraid for myself or the people around me at school. It always seemed like a thing that would never happen where I was. I live in Michigan and now I hear about it all the time. It makes me so scared for any kids or teachers I know. Thank you guys for having this important conversation. I know it feels like there will never be a solution, but the chances go up that there will be with every discussion about it. Thank you.
So as a elementary school student we were told that if we were in the bathroom or in the hallway and a lockdown occurred we were supposed to run into a stall, lock it, and stand on the toilet. I understand that elementary students don’t have the mental capacity to know to run out of the school and go to a business or church, but there needs to be a change there simply because a bathroom stall will not do anything for you. I would also like to note that I did not fully comprehend and think through what I was going to do in that situation until 6th grade when my art teacher did the whole run down, explained everything, said exactly what would happen and what she would do to stop any harm. I find this incredible, and I am extremely grateful for her because she is the only teacher I have ever had that did this. My core teachers now just brief over the subject on the first day of school, but they don’t go into it like she did.
I appreciate hearing about this and hearing the appreciation for mental health services and school counselors. I am a school counselor at a Title I school. We are not mandated at every level, and some of us are stretched so thin. Wish we had the ability to have all the services we need in schools instead of putting a band aid on it a lot of times.
I’m not in Education, I did not know this happened until I watched this broadcast. Thanks for what you guys do.
I'm honestly a bit surprised there's not a bigger military to teaching pipeline. We come with that PTSD and hypervigilance already pre installed. 😆 But for real, thanks for covering this topic. It can't be easy to discuss so openly, but it's needed. Y'all are being great leaders and advocates for your fellow teachers.
Interesting take actually.
Have a section of military specifically trained for schools in our country.
Why? That would be a military police officer or a combat sniper. You think that would belong in a school?
I know when I was in elementary school a kid was in the grade higher then I was. He turned and looked at me and says "I have a 🔪 in my bag" and I was so scared and I told my teacher and she goes "this is a serious issue if you are lying that will be a problem" I had to tell her I was being honest. And ever since then when we go into lockdowns I've been nervous because I don't know what was going to happen.
I worked as a volunteer in a school that had locked doors and a security camera on the entrance, with an intercom system. We also had a completely open playground, with no fence, no wall, no security. Every time we went out, we would scan the trees at the edge of the property and hope nobody was there.
Thank you so much for taking the time to talk about us School Counselors ❤!! I am a elementary school counselor and it’s so important that you guys put this out there.
i’m so glad i’m done with high school (sophomore in college now) but my best friend is getting her degree in education, and i truly worry for her. we have to keep our teachers safe.
For our school day for fire procedures. You have to wait until the announcements say that you can go outside to finish your fire procedure just so a intruder cannot pull the fire alarm and get the kids and that’s really sad that they have to do that
In my local area there was a stabbing that happened in a classroom that ended the lives of 2 students, and the only thing my school said about it was that we felt for the families of the students who had been effected. My school had never run a lock down drill and said they didn't find it necessary and they didn't want to scare the students. It took well over half of the student body walking out in protest for them to directly remark about the fear all of us have when we go to school every day, and for them to finally MAKE a lock down procedure. I have never been more disappointed by a group of admin then the day they told us they were finally going to be prepared for a worse case scenario.
28:24 just a few weeks ago my high schools lockdown alarm malfunctioned and the sad thing is that a lot of people didn’t take it seriously because they thought it was a drill and nobody takes it entirely seriously but for a bunch of people were super worried. The school also wouldn’t tell us what happened until the end of the next day
I feel like the school system let's down kits so much. They put so much pressure on these kids and wonder why they snap when they have no support. I went to a prevalent school that was well funded and I still only met my counselor once. I was a senior in hs and had no idea what a counselor was even for. I met them to discuss if I was on track to graduate or not. I mean really? IN MY SENIOR YEAR?!?! What was even the point at that point? I couldn't have done anything about it if I wasn't on track. Ur just asking to add more stress at that point.