Active Shooter Drill in Schools

[mojo84]

I just went back and realized the entire article didn't open the first time I read it. It does not appear they did this with the entire student body present and they used volunteer students. I think the makeup is overkill but to each his own.

I am glad to see the police agencies preparing.

[Cedar Park Dad]

OK thats a relief-didn't see that. Note that the other school had indeed done that though.

Take a look at the city that did it. Cary, IL, suburb of Chicago. 'nuff said.

A good point.

EDIT: I also initially thought this was the entire student body.

[n5wd]

...
I know that school do lots of things without parent permission. They've had lockdown drills without our knowledge. This is just another form of that.

Well, if you're upset at your kid's schools doing a lockdown drill, you're probably going to be apoplectic when you find out they did a mass-evacuation drill sometime this school year. Schools in Texas are mandated to do all kinds of drills each school year including TWO types of lockdowns (internal threats where all of the inside doors are locked and no one gains entrance to a classroom, and external threats, where all the outside doors to the campus are locked, and no one gets in from the outside). Oh, a fire drill each month, and a severe weather emergency drill as well.

[texanjoker]

Excellent training with volunteers. Just like for CHL, one should train as close as practical to the real thing. Kudos for such a realistic training venue. Those that don't like it don't need to volunteer.

[mojo84]

Excellent training with volunteers. Just like for CHL, one should train as close as practical to the real thing. Kudos for such a realistic training venue. Those that don't like it don't need to volunteer.

As far as I can tell, those that didn't like it thought they used the entire student body whether they volunteered or not.

If that would have been the case, I would have considered more of an anti gun scare tactic than a valid training drill.

[mojo84]

...
I know that school do lots of things without parent permission. They've had lockdown drills without our knowledge. This is just another form of that.

Well, if you're upset at your kid's schools doing a lockdown drill, you're probably going to be apoplectic when you find out they did a mass-evacuation drill sometime this school year. Schools in Texas are mandated to do all kinds of drills each school year including TWO types of lockdowns (internal threats where all of the inside doors are locked and no one gains entrance to a classroom, and external threats, where all the outside doors to the campus are locked, and no one gets in from the outside). Oh, a fire drill each month, and a severe weather emergency drill as well.

This went way beyond a "lockdown drill". That is why it was done with volunteers.

[jmra]

What exactly is a drill like this supposed to teach the participants? Seems to me many young minds full of mush would come out of this feeling like they needed "protection" whenever they were at school. I feel that way now (as I'm sure most people on this forum do) and I haven't been through such a drill.
What's the plan at your kids school? I bet it ain't good.

[Keith B]

What exactly is a drill like this supposed to teach the participants? Seems to me many young minds full of mush would come out of this feeling like they needed "protection" whenever they were at school. I feel that way now (as I'm sure most people on this forum do) and I haven't been through such a drill.
What's the plan at your kids school? I bet it ain't good.

It will let those kids know they need to do whatever they can to protect themselves. It also will teach them that the cops can't do it all, so if it comes to legalizing teachers carrying in school (in Missouri), then these soon to be 18 year old's will be voters and have a voice in helping push the legislation to get extra security by arming those who can respond more rapidly.

[jmra]

What exactly is a drill like this supposed to teach the participants? Seems to me many young minds full of mush would come out of this feeling like they needed "protection" whenever they were at school. I feel that way now (as I'm sure most people on this forum do) and I haven't been through such a drill.
What's the plan at your kids school? I bet it ain't good.

It will let those kids know they need to do whatever they can to protect themselves. It also will teach them that the cops can't do it all, so if it comes to legalizing teachers carrying in school (in Missouri), then these soon to be 18 year old's will be voters and have a voice in helping push the legislation to get extra security by arming those who can respond more rapidly.

I think that could be the end result, but do you actually believe that is the intent behind this "training"?

[mojo84]

It's not to train the kids. It's to train the administrators and first responders.

[jmra]

It's not to train the kids. It's to train the administrators and first responders.

This I understand, but I would replace the kids and the staff (teachers) with a second team of first responders.

[mojo84]

I understand. When our guys did it, there were very few teachers, some administrators and the only kids were from the local explorer post my son is in.

[jmra]

I understand. When our guys did it, there were very few teachers, some administrators and the only kids were from the local explorer post my son is in.

That sounds like a much better plan.

[CHLLady]

I think it's a fantastic idea, as long as everyone participating knew it was a drill in adavance. I believe this is good for the students to hear what gun shots sound like in a school environment, so that they KNOW what they're hearing if it does happen. Too many times people freeze and try and rationalize what they thought they heard, some say firecrackers, a desk dropping, etc. People come up with weird ideas. If this can get them to react faster instead of freezing, then why not? In this training, they can use it in other situations such as movie theater or the mall. They are not going to be traumatized, they've seen worse in scary movies or on The Walking Dead, or in their video games.

I believe in teaching my kids about school safety and what to do in case... We've discussed this often. Kids need this training. Not all parents teach or expose their kids to gun safety & shooting, as most of us have taught our own. Our kids know what gun shots sound like. It's always better to be prepared.

[jmra]

I think it's a fantastic idea, as long as everyone participating knew it was a drill in adavance. I believe this is good for the students to hear what gun shots sound like in a school environment, so that they KNOW what they're hearing if it does happen. Too many times people freeze and try and rationalize what they thought they heard, some say firecrackers, a desk dropping, etc. People come up with weird ideas. If this can get them to react faster instead of freezing, then why not? In this training, they can use it in other situations such as movie theater or the mall. They are not going to be traumatized, they've seen worse in scary movies or on The Walking Dead, or in their video games.

I believe in teaching my kids about school safety and what to do in case... We've discussed this often. Kids need this training. Not all parents teach or expose their kids to gun safety & shooting, as most of us have taught our own. Our kids know what gun shots sound like. It's always better to be prepared.

I totally disagree. First of all the "guns" used in the video sound nothing like real guns. Secondly, getting a school full of kids, 750 in my case, to take any kind of drill seriously is next to impossible. Thirdly, there is absolutely no way you are going to get 10% of the parents to consent to allowing their kids to participate in this type of drill which negates any possibility of the general school population benefiting from the drill. Lastly, like I stated previously, some teenagers would take from this experience that their only chance of surviving an actual experience would be to carry "protection".
There is absolutely nothing to be gained in having children participate in a drill where they all die. In fact the drill is likely to make them panic more in a real event. Involving children on any large scale is just a bad idea.