Safety Drill Research Paper

During the past few years, the number of school shootings has increased markedly. In 2013, there were 19 school shootings that occurred, taking so many innocent lives. Some may remember the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting on December 14th, 2013. It was the second deadliest massacre shooting in United States history, behind the 2007 Virginia Tech Massacre. Adam Lanza shot twenty children, six staff, his mother, and himself that day. School shootings are tragic. Violence continues to increase with these shootings, as well as with violence within the schools among the students. The big question is, how do we protect ourselves from these horrible occurrences? How do teachers protect the innocent lives of their students? One common suggestion is for the teachers and administration to be armed. The premise is that if the school staff has possession of firearms this would discourage shooters, thereby making the schools much safer. However, it is my belief that teachers should not be able to have access to weapons. There should never be any type firearm on a school property, excluding trained security personnel, such as police officers and security guards.

Over the last thirty years, there have been many different methods to preparing for an active shooter in a school. These methods include lock down, code words, run/hide/flight, and Alert, Lock down, Inform, Counter, Evacuate. (A.L.I.C.E). Some of these methods have been more effective than others.

Over the past several years gun violence in schools has been led into many news stories. From the 1999 Columbine Shooting in Colorado to the Sandy Hook Massacre in Massachusetts, the death of students by armed intruders has ignited a debate among many Americans. At the root of this argument is the question: Should teachers and school staff be armed? Some argue schools would be safer if this occurs. The fact of the matter is; it would make schools a more dangerous place to be. Placing untrained individuals into a stressful school environment where their decisions have life or death consequences is a horrible idea.

Teaching at a typical small town school in rural America one day, shots ring out. Active shooter drills come to mind, but what do we do, where do we go, how many students are present? Panic sets in. Thoughts of hiding, running, calling out for help and screaming all flash across the forefront of the mind when a person can be seen walking down the hall with a large gun in hand. No one ever thinks it could happen in a town, school, or church like ours but when the act is committed everyone feels the betrayal. Although schools from elementary to universities have adopted drills for active shooters and have routes with plans drawn up we never know how we will truly react until the time comes. Armed guards stand at the ready at most entryway doors but they are only one person and can not be everywhere always. In a recent study of active shooters for the Federal Bureau of Investigations, J.Pete Blair and Katherine W. Schweit have said, “The second most common incident locations were in educational environments…and the study results established that …these incidents involved some of the highest casualty numbers” (20). Crime is always a threat to education and defending our students nationwide should be a priority. The trouble begins with the fact that the school shootings are becoming more regular. Allowing teachers to be armed gives administration, faculty and students a more successful chance at survival against an active shooter in our education systems.

Even though students can be freaked out, they should ask themselves if they would rather be freaked out and be alive at officers that are there to protect them or be dead because their school was shot up and the police couldn’t get there quick enough. Kevin Quinn president of the National Association of School Resource Officers worries that an armed teacher may actually put kids more at risk instead of protecting them. Having an armed teacher on campus also could complicate matters for a responding officer who doesn't know if the teacher is an employee or the shooter. Teachers are trained to protect their students so they would end up staying in their rooms protecting their students, and that is what officers at the school are for so teachers have no point to leave their

A school administrator roams the halls to make sure all doors are locked and all students are hidden from what might be a school shooter if this scenario was not a drill. "You're training the kids," Weicker said. Similar drills which, in some states, are attended by armed and masked SWAT teams are now practiced routinely in nearly three-quarters of schools, according to a recent survey of 445 administrators funded by the American Association of School Administrators. The Columbine High School Massacre was the worst high school shooting in U.S. history and prompted a national debate on gun control laws and school safety regulations. Now we can live in a society they is a lot safer due to this laws and regulations schools and states have made to

Today, my child practices “active shooter drills” in his elementary school. Police officers roam the halls, simulated gunfire is employed, and the children hide in the closet. Why not employ the methods of the cold war to protect our society, Mutually Assured Destruction, provide our educators and others licensed to carry the opportunity to defend the lives of our youth with deadly force. Stated simply and appropriately, “Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican who supports campus carry, said a gunman could already bring a firearm on to campus, and the law could prevent mass shootings because someone with a licensed concealed weapon could be ready to confront a gunman.” (Herskovitz – Reuters

A siren sounds from the intercom and the familiar voice of the secretary that you passed on the way into school everyday saying “student this is a code red.” All the students huddle in a corner classroom and duck down out of sight while our teacher scrambles for her keys to lock the door and turn off the lights quickly. These drills are used to prepare students incase of an intruder in the building. Students are taught these drills from Kindergarten to Senior year of high school. In kindergarten these drills are great because you’re still in the world of fairy tails where you're safe no matter where you go and an adult will protect you from anything. As you get older you began to realize these drills are actually practical and you're not safe anymore. How many stories have been told about mass shootings in schools?

Most of the staff and teachers are also trained in CPR. Studies have shown that the first few minutes of someone going into cardiac arrest are the most critical. There is no time to wait for the ambulance to arrive before life-saving action is taken. Many lives are saved by the intervention given in the time between when the person is in distress and the time the ambulance or medical personnel arrive on the scene. The same precaution should be taken to ensure that in the case of a school shooting, action can be taken in the critical minutes before the police arrive. While schools do prepare for specific situations such as having active shooter drills, this does nothing to incapacitate or disable the imminent threat, the shooter. There are many reasons why people are adamantly against arming staff in schools. One is they fear it will turn schools into a prison type of environment, and not a nurturing and learning one. The picture that cartoonist Pat Bagley paints with his satirical drawing “Totally Safes Schools” is a perfect example of this mentality. Bagley draws a school surrounded by high towers, barbed wire, “good guys with guns”, and a school bus with a .50 caliber long gun mounted on the top (503). When in fact, schools would look nothing like this if just a few staff members were armed. Are pupils’ senses so insulted by having fire extinguishers and defibrillators on the wall, that school now feels

Since the year 2000 there have been 45 active shooter incidents. Imagine your child is in school learning, then all of a sudden a shooter enters the school. You would hope that the kids and teachers know what to do. The only issue is that the lockdown the schools are mandated to use are actually more effective at scaring the kids during drills than protecting children during an actual active shooter situation. When lockdowns occur the children and teacher huddle together in a corner away from windows and doors, however this creates a problem when the shooter enters the room and it makes an easy target. Also, the amount of times my school and I practice these lockdowns creates a lackadaisical approach toward the drill, then when a drill becomes a real life situation the student body will be less inclined to take the lockdown seriously. Which brings me to the topic of reforming the lockdown procedure.

How do we allow a gunman to come into our children's school? How do they get through security? What security is there?" she yelled. "The gunman -- a crazy person -- just walks right into the school, knocks down the window of my child's door and starts shooting. Shooting her! And killing her!"

Classroom intercoms blare on without warning, “Shelter in place!” is yelled clearly throughout the school building. Doors ae locked and lights are turned off, your teacher rushes you and your classmates to a corner in complete silence. You as a student truly don’t know if you and your friends are safe in this moment. This is a school shooting.

After the Sandy Hook, there were countless ways for students to be safe at school. In Preparing for the Unthinkable: School Safety after Sandy Hook news article, Vicki Bauman said, “ Instead of gates, guns, and metal detectors, let’s invest in the things we know will make us safer: counselors, health care, teaching positive behavior, and making sure we have services to reach out to disconnected youth and pull them back on track.” Therefore, violence is not the answer to any question or issue. The community and school system should take a stand and get the necessities that the schools need to have a safe environment for the students and faculty and staff. The school can invest in law enforcement. The law enforcement will be able to conduct a consistent search through a metal detector. The law enforcement will help the students to avoid bringing prohibited weapons to school as well as, there to protect the school.

As we know that the guards are well trained and they are used to with such kind of problems. They are not even scared of shooting etc. They are always ready to help people. In case shooting takes place at school and even if the teachers are armed, they may get panic and scared and can use their in wrong way. In this case, the idea of soldiers is better as they know how to use their weapons and when to use them. They know better than anyone else. But we don’t have as many guards. Because of this reason, President Trump decided that instead of hiring guards, he would use that many to train the teachers to get armed, so that they can also react like soldiers if anything like shooting takes place at

Many people criticize the proposal of new locks and suggest that there are other methods that will accomplish the same goal, however none are quite as effective or immediate as installing new locks. Other defensive measures can be put into place, such as cameras, but these measures will not be as immediate or effective of a solution as better locks. Cameras may catch the perpetrator the morning after, when the robbery and break-in is discovered, but having solid doors and secure locks will prevent the crime from happening in the first place. If the criminal can not enter the school, the people inside can have a better peace of mind that they are protected along with their valuable equipment.