Image from: Campus Safety Magazine https://www.campussafetymagazine.com/webcast/how-to-prevent-and-respond-to-targeted-school-violence/

The first ever lockdown drill I can remember was when I was in first grade. My teacher was trying to quiet us down as we students were more confused rather than scared of the situation happening. Throughout the years of elementary through high school, I soon learned the real reason behind the drills, seeing endless news stories of school shootings, protests, the “thoughts and prayers” given, and empty promises by lawmakers to make change, just for the cycle to repeat again.

While reading through the article from Pew Research, I was surprised to learn how popular the support for metal detectors in schools was, with 79% of teens being in favor of them (Graff, 2018). I understand that the metal detectors do keep the students, but would this impact their mental health? It almost seems like a prison environment with having students go through metal detectors just for them to get an education. This also reminded me of one scene from the documentary that showed an administrator showing how switching schools over to uniforms can be effective in preventing school violence because it gives students less of a chance to hide weapons in baggier pants (Moore, 2002). These two policies are similar because they both directly impact the student, whether it be through a uniform or requiring students to go through metal detectors.  Although I have not had direct experiences with either of these while in school, I have heard of installing metal detectors in schools before, it just makes me question why it falls more on the schools to protect their students, meanwhile actual legislation that could be put in place fails to get passed after every school shooting that happens in this country. Yes the schools themselves should always have the student’s safety in their best interest, but it is upsetting to see the same thing occur over and over again.

I was not surprised to hear that from a survey given by the CDC, 9% of high school students have not gone to school for at least one day in fear of their safety being threatened at school (CDC, 2021). I vividly remember one day in high school when our school got a threat from a student on social media saying that he was going to come to school with a gun and shoot up the school. On that day, there were not many people at school because of how afraid everyone was of that threat becoming true, as well as an increased police presence that day, with officers in and outside the school on the chance that something would happen. Luckily, nothing happened and the student was taken in for disciplinary action by the school. This student was bullied by many others at school, which is also an attribute believed to be why the two Columbine shooters did what they did (Curwin, 2013). The topic of bullying and relating it to school violence has always had a correlation, in which if a student is more heavily bullied and exiled by their peers, the more likely they are to commit a violent crime at school.

As a future educator, I want to do my best to make my students feel safe and welcome at school, despite all of the violence they see on the news, which makes them and Americans in general feel more unsafe and suspicious of others (Moore, 2002). If I notice a student being heavily picked on, I will guide them to the resources they need to help with any mental health issues, as well as report any behavior I find suspicious. Hopefully, by the time I become a teacher, I will not have to worry about the threats of shootings any longer, but for now, I do.

References:

Graf, N. (2018, April). A majority of U.S. teens fear a shooting could happen at their school, and most parents share their concern. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/04/18/a-majority-of-u-s-teens-fear-a-shooting-could-happen-at-their-school-and-most-parents-share-their-concern/Links to an external site.

Moore, M. (Producer & Director) (2002). Bowling for Columbine [Film]. United States: Dog Eat Dog Productions/ YouTube https://watchdocumentaries.com/bowling-for-columbine/

Preventing school violence. (2019). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/youthviolence/schoolviolence/fastfact.html?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fviolenceprevention%2Fyouthviolence%2Fschoolviolence%2Findex.html

Curwin, Richard. (2013, January). Crossing the Rubicon: Violence Comes to School. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/blog/crossing-rubicon-violence-in-schools-richard-curwin