In
the UK, school shootings are so rare (there was one in 1996) that in
one class I visited, kids played a math review game that involved
pretending to shoot each other when they got the right answer. (This
wouldn't really be OK in the US.) But the amount of security British
schools have in place, compared to American schools, would make you
think the US had never seen a school shooting.
This
is the general protocol for entering and traveling around a British
school:
1.
Find the one entrance to the school and buzz the video intercom.
2.
Walk to the reception desk to explain why you've come and which staff
member is expecting you. Keep in mind that the reception is in a
closed area—even if you want to get past, the locked doors would
stand in your way.
3.
Sign a visitor log on paper or on the computer (the computer will
also take your picture to keep a record of who's entered the school).
4.
Wait in the reception area for a staff member to greet you.
5.
Staff member uses magnetic fob to open doors past reception and show
you to the classroom.
6.
If you observe in multiple classrooms, a staff member may not escort
you to each one, but you will find that movement through the school
is impeded by the locked doors separating each corridor. The best
thing to do is wait for someone to come along with a fob to help get
you through.
7.
When you are ready to leave, you have to pass the reception desk
where you came in and sign out either on paper or on the computer.
In
summary, British schools make it much harder to enter and move
through the building. That seems like a better strategy than arming teachers.
I guess my comment didn't take the first time so I'm going to try again. I think it depends on the jurisdiction. For instance, even though my town is more than 20 minutes away from Sandy Hook, the first responders from here worked literally hand in hand with the first responders there, and in fact, even the dispatchers from here took over for some of the dispatchers there, because all the first responders were really walking wounded. Afterward, a lot of the municipalities got together and have worked out very effective plans both literally and figuratively for each of the schools in their given Town. I think there is a complacency overall in America because people think it will never happen to them. But planning is a huge part, as is rehearsing. I know in my jurisdiction, we are prepared, and even had several bomb scares a couple of weeks ago, and the response in town was phenomenal. Every school does fire drills and now they also do lockdown drills. It is doing that rehearsal that helps the brain to react appropriately in an emergency.
ReplyDeleteI guess my comment didn't take the first time so I'm going to try again. I think it depends on the jurisdiction. For instance, even though my town is more than 20 minutes away from Sandy Hook, the first responders from here worked literally hand in hand with the first responders there, and in fact, even the dispatchers from here took over for some of the dispatchers there, because all the first responders were really walking wounded. Afterward, a lot of the municipalities got together and have worked out very effective plans both literally and figuratively for each of the schools in their given Town. I think there is a complacency overall in America because people think it will never happen to them. But planning is a huge part, as is rehearsing. I know in my jurisdiction, we are prepared, and even had several bomb scares a couple of weeks ago, and the response in town was phenomenal. Every school does fire drills and now they also do lockdown drills. It is doing that rehearsal that helps the brain to react appropriately in an emergency.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I agree that it's important to be prepared for a scenario like that and to stage drills so everyone knows exactly what to do. But shouldn't it be just a little bit harder to get into a school in the first place?
ReplyDelete