I just read a very difficult, yet profound book: Columbine by Dave Cullen. Columbine seriously affected me, as I was teaching at the time (in the Poconos) and I remember our principal coming to each of our doors saying "there's been a shooting in Colorado, some parents are picking up their kids" . Yes, parents picked up their kids in our small elementary school of K-3! Kids were absent the following school days. After that things really changed in schools! Doors were locked, Id's were checked, and schools now devised trauma bags, emergency plans, drills, and lock-down procedures. Now that I have children-they too are exposed to this and see it as a regular part of their day. As a teacher, I know these extremes have been beneficial to protecting our kids. For those of you in education, law enforcement, or are parents, this book is very interesting. Did you know that the previous protocol for a shooting is to secure the perimeter? (At Columbine, a teacher bled to death because help did not come for 3 hours-the shooters, Eric & Dylan, died shortly after the carnage began of self-inflicted gunshot wounds) Because of the Columbine investigations, SWAT teams and the FBI now recommend charging an active shooter- (this is what was done with the shooter at Virginia Tech).
No comments:
Post a Comment