Intense Training This Morning at School
By DW Davis
@DWDavis (25797)
United States
August 7, 2018 7:03pm CST
This morning at our school we underwent Emergency Response Training. We learned what we should do in an active shooter situation and we got to watch as the SWAT Team from the local law enforcement agency performed a mock take-down of an active shooter in the school. They worked through 3 different scenarios, each one more intense than the last.
Most of my colleagues were overwhelmed by the demonstration. Because my Army training, though many years ago, including how to clear enemy combatants out of a building, I knew what to expect. The team did an excellent job.
It is sad that in this day and age we have to practice for this type of eventuality. Since we do, I would much rather be informed and know what to expect the cops to do and what the cops expect me to do.
We will be having a lock down drill this year just like we have had fire drills and tornado drills in the past. This will be the first time we've practiced this at the school I'm at now. The school I came from was in a neighborhood where we didn't need to practice lock down drills because there were enough armed robberies and shootings in the neighborhood around the school we did enough of the real thing that practice wasn't necessary.
Have you ever been in a lock down situation? How did you handle it?
14 people like this
13 responses
@thislittlepennyearns (68211)
• Defuniak Springs, Florida
8 Aug 18
That's scary. The parents of students down here have been buying rubber door stop wedges to keep in backpacks, so they can run into a classroom and jam the door if needed.
2 people like this
@DWDavis (25797)
• United States
8 Aug 18
@thislittlepennyearns As far as I know, ours is the only school in our area with these rhino locks. They cost a couple hundred dollars per door. A determined assailant could eventually break it down after several minutes of very hard slamming into the door if he didn't knock himself out first. By then, though, either the police would be there to take him down there way or he'd come through the door and I'd take him down my way. He'd much rather surrender to the cops. In the infantry, we concentrate on eliminating threats, not on taking prisoners.
3 people like this
@thislittlepennyearns (68211)
• Defuniak Springs, Florida
8 Aug 18
@DWDavis It's been a long time since I've been in a school. So I don't know what's in the rooms here.
1 person likes this
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104615)
• United States
8 Aug 18
It is better to be safe than to be sorry
It's sad that these measures have to be taken, but I'm glad that you and your fellow teachers are being prepared for every eventuality.
2 people like this
@ScribbledAdNauseum (104615)
• United States
8 Aug 18
@DWDavis I think the public schools should do it even more than the private ones. Not that a shooting or threat can't happen anywhere, but private seems to be less... I can't think of the word I'd like to use.
2 people like this
@DWDavis (25797)
• United States
9 Aug 18
@ScribbledAdNauseum I'm not sure of the right word either, but I know just what you mean.
1 person likes this
@Shellyann36 (11383)
• United States
8 Aug 18
It is a shame that this has to take place in this day and age. Better safe than sorry. I am glad that they finally put a full-time officer at my kids' school last year. I have not been at the school during a lockdown but it has been locked down once while the kids were in school when a prisoner escaped one county over and was spotted in our county.
2 people like this
@Shellyann36 (11383)
• United States
9 Aug 18
@DWDavis Very much so but it is best to keep the training in place.
1 person likes this
@Poppylicious (11134)
• United Kingdom
8 Aug 18
We tend not to have instances here in the UK where we would need a lock down, whether terrorism related or a shooter. However, we did have to have a lock down drill for the first time ever in the last academic year. I'm not sure if this is for all educational establishments, or we did it 'just because', but we have such an open door policy at the college I work in that I'm not surprised we have to do the drill.
2 people like this
@JohnRoberts (109841)
• Los Angeles, California
8 Aug 18
I have never been in the kind of situation. Today's world is a far cry from my school days.
2 people like this
@LovingMyBabies (85923)
• Valdosta, Georgia
8 Aug 18
I have never been in that situation and I'm grateful I haven't but I have faith so I think I would be fine.
1 person likes this
@DWDavis (25797)
• United States
9 Aug 18
When I was growing up here in the south during desegregation we had demonstrations and threats and marches, but nothing that rose to this level. The most diturbing thing to me is that, with the exception of Sandy Hook, the shooters are students at the school they shoot up. Where have we as a society failed that we are creating such children?
1 person likes this
@RasmaSandra (97912)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
8 Aug 18
Never have been in such a situation but good that the training is available.
2 people like this
@Marilynda1225 (91013)
• United States
9 Aug 18
It's sad that this is the world we're living in and school should be a safe haven. But it's better to be prepared in case something happens.
My grandchildren have these drills in school too
1 person likes this
@DWDavis (25797)
• United States
9 Aug 18
@Marilynda1225 With the growing coarseness of society and the chasm between us and them ever increasing, I fear repair of the situation will be a long time coming.
1 person likes this
@DWDavis (25797)
• United States
9 Aug 18
The fact that with very few exceptions the shooter is a member of the school community is especially disturbing to me. Is this the inevitable outcome of having mega-schools a thousand or more students where all students become a statistic instead of a kid?
1 person likes this
@Marilynda1225 (91013)
• United States
9 Aug 18
@DWDavis I don't know what the solution is but it certainly is a scary world these children are growing up in. I pray daily for teachers and students everywhere.
1 person likes this
@Deepizzaguy (122070)
• Lake Charles, Louisiana
8 Aug 18
I have never been inside a school where a lock down has happened. Only fire drills.
2 people like this
@andriaperry (118793)
• Anniston, Alabama
8 Aug 18
No I never have been.School has already began here.
1 person likes this
@DWDavis (25797)
• United States
8 Aug 18
@andriaperry That's when our students get out. Our last day, barring days closed for snow or tropical storms is the Friday before Memorial Day.
@andriaperry (118793)
• Anniston, Alabama
8 Aug 18
@DWDavis Just before memorial day, around the 25-27th of May.
1 person likes this
