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than a student who feels safe in his or her home. active-shooter
school
drills may serve to heighten some
students
? fears and anxieties, but they also may help other
students
to feel empowered that there is a plan.? local mom chelsey r. mirrors dixon?s comments, ?when i look at it through my autistic son?s eyes, i feel it?s both. he already has extreme fear and anxiety about many things and being harmed at
school
is one. however, he has also made comments numerous times about how grateful he is to know how to handle a situation, like a shooting, should he be placed in that situation.? i happened to be in a prek classroom when the announcement came over the loudspeaker that the
school
was in active lockdown. the
teacher
sprang to action, directing her four year olds to go quickly under her desk and sit down, reminding them that she was going to turn off the lights. she didn?t have to lock the door because it is standard protocol to keep classroom doors locked at all times at her
school
already. she turned off the lights and the room was plunged into absolute darkness. several
students
were afraid of the dark and started to cry and ask for the lights to be turned back on. the
teacher
whispered to the children to be very quiet, like when they play hide and seek, but for some little ones, the fear of the darkness was too much. ?when talking to my
students
about our class emergency plan, and even when practicing, they don?t seem overly phased, not even my first graders,? shares
teacher
haley n. ?i tried to say we were practicing in case there was a stranger on campus once, and one of my first-graders very matter of factly announced to the class, ?yep, cause if there?s a stranger, he might have a gun and then he will shoot us and we all will die.? then, the rest of the class chimed in with, ?yeah, that?s right,? ?he might shoot everyone,? ?mrs. n. would kill him first,? and ?he would think we are at p.e. cause we hide so well!? it was just a regular morning conversation to them. it?s horrible that this is our children?s normal now.?
teacher
hanna b. reports split emotions in her fourth grade classroom. ?it is a good thing to practice, so that the kids know what to expect if something were to happen. but, it freaks some of them out since it feels real to them.? older
students
often have much more of a sense of understanding about active- shooter drills. scarlett t. shares, ?i think some
students
feel like we are sitting ducks. they think we should run.? at her
school
, the protocol is to lock the doors, cover the windows, and stay down. ?but, some
students
don?t seem to think about the drills as much.? high
school
teacher
and mom, layla d., shares, ?i think
students
? reactions to active shooter drills have changed drastically during my time as a
teacher
. when we first started performing these drills early in my career, the
students
took them much more seriously. some were even anxious and asked many questions about the proper way to behave in these scenarios. however, now the
students
have a more blasé attitude toward the drill.? lauren, layla?s teen daughter adds, ?i feel like they are a very necessary drill to have because of the increase in
school
shootings in the past few years. it may scare some
students
and some may not take the drills seriously, but i think it is a very important way to help prevent deaths if this situation were to actually occur.? is there
school
and
teacher
training? the
teacher
?s demeanor and level of training for such drills, as well as the age of the
students
, make a huge difference in how the drill is perceived. in the who
school
-based violence prevention handbook, the following are listed as criteria for developing a violence prevention curriculum: keep materials and information age-appropriate, use active participation to help
students
learn the material, use capable and motivated
teacher
s who have been well trained, review the curriculum often with feedback from
students
and
teacher
s, and work to ensure that the materials used are culturally relevant. some local
school
s use code phrases to indicate the start of an active-
school
shooter drill, while others announce, ?we are in active lockdown. please follow all lockdown procedures.? some
teacher
s are trained in the exact protocol, while others seem as in the dark as the
students
at times. local elementary
teacher
, lindsay h., shares, ?we never practiced active- shooter drills. our ?plan? was to run, if possible, or huddle up behind desks away from the windows.? how can parents help? many
teacher
s want parents to know that they are an important part of practicing for
school
emergencies and preparing their children emotionally for what might be practiced at
school
. local
teacher
timothy c. shares, ?parents should speak with their young children about it before they release their children into the care of others. as a
teacher
, if it is my job to protect your child with my own life, and they do not understand their own role is survival, then it is my job to educate them so that we all have a better chance of surviving. bad dreams are scary but not real, but drive-by and
school
shootings are real. please speak with your child first if you do not want him or her learning about it first at
school
.? talk to your child?s
school
about the drills that your child will practice, then talk to your child. start the conversation with open-ended questions such as, ?how did it make you feel to practice getting under the desks?? validate your child?s feelings and avoid the temptation to brush off his or her's fears and concerns. ask your child what questions he or she might have about the drills at
school
and answer the questions in an honest, age appropriate way. remind your child that he or she can come to you with additional questions or concerns at any time. if your child seems withdrawn, anxious, or fearful of
school
or
school
- related events; begins having
school
- related nightmares; or you notice changes in your child?s academic performance or friends he or she spends time with, consider reaching out to a local mental health professional. providing your child with information can help to alleviate his or her fears regarding these drills, and also give you, as a parent, some peace of mind, too. ? 5 0 b r p a r e n t s . c o m | a u g u s t 2 0 1 9
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