Does anyone else have anxiety over this? I know that the odds are remote that it will happen. Especially as a sub who will rarely be in the same place any given day. But I live in a small town. Just like the small towns that have had shootings.
I don't know but today's shooting has stirred up some anxiety for me.
Last edited by Novicecrafter; 02-14-2018 at 07:32 PM..
Last year I was on an elementary campus the school held a shooter on campus drill. We sat in the middle of the room with curtains, pulled and lights off.
But that is it.
I would like some training for first aid in case of being next to a shooting victim . I have taken those classes years before, but it would be nice to be current.
I will send email to sub office to ask about that. Need to be ready.
I have been "caught" in several lock down drills where I have been unable to secure the door.
In none of the three districts where I sub are substitutes provided with room keys. In two of the three districts the doors are unlocked and left unlocked by the custodian. In the third district the doors are opened, locked and a thin magnetic blocker used.
I too worry about what to do to keep the students and myself safe especially when some students want to "go Rambo" on an armed intruder. In one case a middle school student charged at a police officer involved in the drill.
Districts need to develop a comprehensive approach to this and share it with subs. The logic that the fewer people who know the more secure the plan is flawed.
I sent in a school today where classroom doors were open and unlocked facing a road —anybody could walk into those classrooms, it is crazy, it is unsafe and whoever commented above saying you can’t secure the doors that is true. So many times I can’t get the doors to completely secure from the inside of the classroom. This is an unsafe and ridiculous situation.
This is been a concern for me since Sandy Hook/Newtown. For some reason, that event drove home the reality that I am truly entrusted with the lives of children. Frankly, it is still a difficult topic and the thought of losing a child on my watch is nearly unbearable. I accept the fact we live in a dangerous world--not just at school. The difference at school is the little lives that surround me and count on me. The question I felt I had to answer was "Would I give up my life to save them?"
While I sincerely hope the odds are remote, I'm very aware it could happen in my school. I don't consider myself paranoid, but whenever I start the day I review fire drill and lock down procedures for the classroom I am in... I have reported doors that won't lock and suspicious or potentially volatile situations. I hope I am a prepared mentally and emotionally.
After Sandy Hook, I also adopted the philosophy that it is far easier to build strong children than it is to fix broken adults. So while I understand defensive positions in the event of a crisis, my "offensive" strategy is to do everything I can to contribute to the kids' development so they don't become the person who creates these horrific events.
I would/could place my door wedge--the kind to keep a door open-- under my door so no one would be able to open it. (I happen to have one, maybe you could have one you bring with you when you sub...though ultimately that shouldn't be up to you to secure your door)
Even locking the door a shooter could shoot out my door window and open the door. I don't know if I would be calm enough to do this but it's something I keep in the back of my mind.
My district does a training day for subs solely covering violent intruder responses. We were shown how to use a rope or a belt to keep a door closed. In the drills they provide updates about the intruder's location. The students are taught not only to hide, but to flee the building if possible and to counter if confronted by throwing objects. Of course, a gun drastically stacks the odds against them. So sad that this is a reality that has to be considered. I hate that we have to expose these little innocents to such evil ideas.
I don't have anxiety, necessarily, but it IS a concern. I am VERY aware it can and does happen.
I, too, am in a room that isn't locked...often. Really doesn't matter, though, because like someone else said, a shooter would just need to shoot out the window.
We are trained to gather our kids in the corner of the room and wait...sitting ducks, basically. I know it's not what I'm supposed to do, but I've told every class I've ever been in (long term) that if we hear shots, we're out the windows. I will not sit and wait to be shot. I have children of my own that depend on me.
I do not understand why schools won't provide subs with keys. Ok, they might get lost, but in the long run that really isn't a big deal. I have never been without a key in my districts and I only lost one once (luckily some kid found it and a teacher turned it in). I really really do not get it.
All doors in my school are to be ALWAYS locked. That way, even if the door is open, it always is locked. When I use the sub key, I always make sure the door is locked after I open it. Also, I check the emergency binder to see where students should go in case of a lock down. One thing we were taught when I was teaching full time is to put the students out of sight of the door. Then, if someone would enter, start throwing things. A shooter isn't going to want to spend too much time in one place, and theoretically, if things are flying at him, he leave. I thought it was a good idea.
They are getting a smarter. This time the guy set the fire alarm off to get people out of their classrooms. Locks won't help much in that case. It is like they keep one upping eachother.
One of our teachers saw a video where they gave each teacher a piece of a fire hose. It slides over the metal arm at the top of the door when the door is shut, and it cannot be opened, even if they shoot out the window and unlock the door. Our principal is getting one for every classroom to keep by the door.
To find out who the union rep is in the buildings in which I Sub that do not provide a classroom key, and make that person aware that this is a safety concern. God forbid something does happen and you cannot lock the door to protect those students, who do you think will be held accountable? The prince? Another teacher? You.
In one district, it is mandatory that subs get classroom keys just for this reason.
I'm actually more concerned about my high-schooler being anxious than about myself. I can't imagine having had to deal with those fears when I was his age!
Sandy Hook hit me harder as an adult, because I work primarily with little ones.
was especially hard for me because several of the children killed were in an unlocked room with a long term substitute teacher--she was killed as well.
I've brought up the topic of needing keys with the school board and some effort was made to have keys available for subs, but not totally successfully.
...and not only as a sub, but as a mom who won't be there for my children when they start kindergarten next year. I was a senior in high school when the tragedy at Columbine happened. Since then, I grew into the education field with the growing shadow of terror looming over our school districts with every terrible tragedy that occurred thereafter. I remember the chills that shot down my spine as the PA announced "Mr. Rush is in the building!" during my first student teaching experience at a high school. I was not aware that it was a drill, but I was trained on what to do to keep my students safe if that announcement were to ever happen. Turned out to be my first ever "lockdown drill" that I had to do with students. It was unannounced. Since then, I have had to do many of them with students of every age level. Every time I am in the high school as a sub, I think about how I would protect my students. Cafeteria duty for me brings up some of the most anxiety. At our school, only one set of cafeteria doors is unlocked from the outside, limiting entrance. But then I am always thinking of how I will bar that door with a table if the threat is in the building but external to the cafeteria, or how I will, suddenly and uncharacteristically of my diminutive nature belt out the loudest duck and cover command that comes to mind. Yes....sad reality is it is always there in my mind...being on duty as a sub now means much more than it may have during a time when these tragedies weren't so many. My heart hurts, and I am truly terrified to let my children get on the bus for the first time next year and every time thereafter. And that is heartbreaking to admit, but it is the truth.
Last edited by mommysubs; 02-16-2018 at 07:09 PM..
I was in a K/1 classroom this week. FOUR DOORS led into this room. The only way I could lock them was to open the door and lock from the outside. Not to mention, this was the first room right outside the office-- the easiest target. It had a long window next to the door, easily shootable and someone could walk through. No other windows in this room.
All the elementary campuses here are closed campuses-- surrounded by a gate. Entry only in the office.
Every single one of us in that room was a sitting target. I have a hard time telling these children to hide in there-- especially since there's no where they could hide.
Most of our schools are surrounded by gates but there is nothing to stop someone from climbing over them if a person really wants to get in. In the past couple years more and more of our schools have installed full partitions entering into the office. A person has to be buzzed in from the entrance area in most cases. But that's not going to stop someone from climbing over any fences around the perimeter of the school.
I think requiring badges in schools--strictly enforced, clearly readable, and in plain view for every student, staff, and faculity member--would go a long way toward helping to prevent violent crimes, as well as the solicitation of drugs.
Last edited by 4048; 02-18-2018 at 08:28 PM..
Reason: last sentence redudant
I would go so far as to teach kids that, in a crazy situation like the one in Florida, if a shooter were to enter the room, the best way to survive would not be to run away, but (counter-intuitively) to run toward the shooter. Why? Because he or she couldn't hurt or kill everyone at once and that maybe the kids rushing might save their friends' lives if they attacked him/her and knocked the person down by their sheer numbers. I know some people might think that's more than can be expected of kids. I get it. But kids (and adults) under extraordinary circumstances can surprise us with their understanding of the meaning of courage and sacrifice.
The first scene is where the chief grasshopper tells the rest of the grasshoppers what would happen if the ants figured out that they outnumber the grasshoppers 100:1. The next scene is where the ants realize they can stand up against the grasshoppers and chase the bully grasshoppers away.
This is a fun way to introduce the idea and get the idea across. That would be followed by training that would include incrementally realistic drills in this order:
1. A familiar teacher acting as a shooter without a gun; then
2. a familiar teacher acting as as a shooter with a toy gun; then
3. an unfamiliar person with a toy gun; then
4. that unfamiliar person or a familiar person with a plastic but realistic-looking assault rifle or realistic-looking hand gun.
In every case, the children would learn to rush the shooter carrying chairs or desks (contingent on size of the child), and push the shooter over. There would be a couple of designated kids to run and call for adults to help.
The volunteer make-believe shooter will probably have to wear some kind of protective gear like for when police train dogs to attack.
I can see this might be traumatizing for some kids, but they'd get used to it like they do for fire drills over time. Whatever the training trauma, it will be a lot less traumatizing than if a shooter kills all their friends and teachers as a result of not training.
I think this would be a way for kids to feel that--even though they're little--they can have a sense of self-control, a sense that even a situation like that isn't hopeless if they keep their cool and act quickly.
What do you think about this training sequence for an active shooter?
Last edited by thecoast; 02-27-2018 at 08:27 PM..
Reason: redundancy
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02-14-2018, 07:14 PM
