School Safety

     I never thought I would fear going to work as a public high school teacher.  Yet, there are days now when I consider taking a day off due to some event or tension that took place the day before at my school.  I cringe when my students jump just because someone knocked on the classroom door.  I struggle knowing they are so scared and feel so unsafe at school.  I fear the idea of what might be necessary to protect my students from one of their own.  During the 2018-2019 school year there was a school shooting in a neighboring county to the one I teach in.  Also during the same school year there was a threat at a school in the county I teach in.  When these events occurred I feared not being able to go home to my wife and children.
     I understand there are jobs where these fears, and many more exist.   I am grateful for our military personal, police, EMTs, firefighters and so many more.  However, I am a teacher.  While I believe teaching is an important aspect of our society, I did not believe that it would come with fears of protecting students or going home safe.  Obviously a main reason for these fears stem from school shootings continuing to happen, along with the increased frequency in which they are taking place.  The fears increase as teachers look for reassurance from their school systems that steps are being taken to keep our students and ourselves safe.  They are not.    The scary truth is there is no way to completely prevent a school shooting from taking place.  The pathetic truth is school systems are unprepared to take any steps which may at least decrease the likelihood of a school shooting taking place.  The public school system in which I teach is unfortunately a great example of this.  With the number of 2018 school shootings our superintendent, school board, and administrators have rushed to throw money at technologies and training.  The technologies do not work; and even worse, the technologies make it easier for a student (or anyone who bothers to look up the bell schedule) to breech our school.  The trainings are scary in how unprepared we are for any active shooter situation, for how few questions and concerns they even have answers for.  How is it possible our school systems are this unprepared?  Since Columbine in 1999, there have been more than 30 school shootings in the United States, with the number growing quickly in 2018.  How is it that after 20 years following Columbine we are still so behind and unprepared?  Theses are questions every school board in every school system should have to answer.  Quit waiting on someone else to find the solution.  Quit throwing money away on technologies that make it sound like you are doing something, but which you know has no impact on protecting our students and teachers.  Quit throwing money and time into trainings which demonstrate how little you know about protecting our students and teachers.
    The technologies.  The greatest problem with the new technologies is that any student planning a school shooting can take their time finding a way around it before they act.  Another problem with technologies is that any sound really good when the school board tells parents what is being put in place, but in reality make it easier to access the school at the precise time when the most students are vulnerable.  For instance, my school system has put I.D. scanners on all doors to our three main buildings. Sounds really good.  The superintendent, school board, and administrators can pat themselves on the back for appeasing the parents.  However, what they have actually done is put us all in more danger.  Because we use three buildings for classrooms students are exposed between classes.  Even worse, to account for the students moving back and forth between buildings the I.D. scanners shut off between classes.  What does this mean?  It means every student knows that every access point to the school is completely unlocked when everyone of our students are changing classes and loaded into the hallways.  Hey, but on the bright side the superintendent, school board, and administrators look good to the parents because thy spent money and forgot to explain the severe drawbacks.
     The training we received from our superintendent, school board, and administrators was frightening and sad in how few answers they have.  We received this training in the aftermath of the devastating shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida.   If this tragedy had been the first major school shooting in the United States it would be understandable how few answers we were given.  Unfortunately there are almost 20 years of examples and research, and that is if we only go back to Columbine.  I cannot and will not discuss the projected response to an active shooter.  However, the worst part of the training were the answers given to individual teacher questions.  For instance; for a classroom with more than one window we were told to quickly put up dark construction paper.  For a classroom with more than one door we were told to jam the doorknob.  We were not given any suggestions on how best to jam the doorknob.  When asked what to do for doors without a doorknob the answer was they would get back to us.  They have still not gotten back to us.  The simple fact is that with 20 years of examples and research available they have no answers for how best to protect our students and ourselves.  But again the superintendent, school board, and administrators look good as they tell the community about the wonderful training they have provided their teachers.  They just forget to mention is that the training was under researched, unprepared, and ineffective training.
     One suggestion discussed nationwide during all of these horrible events is the use of metal detectors at schools.  All other access to the school would be shut off. One entry with security, instead of security randomly roaming a three story school in hopes of seeing an issue coming.  The school systems balk at this suggestion as some parents say it would be like sending their children to jail.  I agree it would take some getting used to.  I agree the thought of it being necessary is disgusting.  However, it is at least an example of something that would at least reduce the possibility of a school shooting.  I do not enjoy the idea of feeling as if I am driving to teach at a prison.  However, I like that idea better than the idea of our community suffering through a school shooting.  There are other options.  I hope some will prove as effective so maybe metal detectors are not necessary.  However, anything which can actually decrease the likelihood of a school shooting is better than what we have received to this point.  In the mean time we teach, we learn, and we pray, because one thing we know is we cannot count on what our school system is providing.