People in the education world are all in a tizzy over this. Apparently in Fort Worth, Texas, school are teaching kids to fight back if a gunman comes into the room. They are being told to throw books, binders, anything they can find, at his head, and even rush at him if necessary.
In our school system, a gunman entering the school is considered a code blue. I won't go into what we actually do during a code blue because who knows what crrrrrazies read this page, but we definitely don't throw anything or even move at all. After reading this article, I'm wondering if that's the best choice.
This is not to say that I'm all for my children running at armed people. But, I mean, if you were going to invade a school, wouldn't you choose the one where the kids do what you say over the one where you going to get body slammed by 30 children each weight approximately 75 lbs. and a teacher weighing 130 lbs? It's a sticky choice. Part of the current implications of being a teacher (at least in my mind) is that you would risk your life to protect your kids. If it's between one of them or me taking a bullet, I'd throw myself in front of them to take it. But, unfortunately, that scenario seems a bit more likely now. Maybe teaching the kids to fight back would keep us from having to make that choice.
Any thoughts?
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7 comments:
taking a bullet for your students...
yet ANOTHER reason teachers should have 6-figure salaries.
Yikes... I can't believe we even have to discuss kids and teachers attacking gunmen... but i'm not sure I like the idea, although if my kid was in that situation (god forbid) i'd like to think that they would be able to act accordingly. still, that is such an overwhelming situation, maybe doing something is better than not. somehow, it just doesnt sit well with me. just my 2 cents...
Code blue drills would be AWESOME.
I say teaching them to projectile vom on a bad guy would be much more effective.That's what I'm planning to teach my students.
Doug is going to teach all of our chilren to be ninjas so we won't have to worry. ~Fat Anna
I was discussing this very question today with a fellow teacher, and she raised an interesting question--are they also teaching the kids how to choose who rushes the psychopath first (read: who takes the bullet for everyone else)?
I don't know--I don't want to sit in a corner and wait to get killed, but I've always figured that the smartest course of action if someone has a gun and you don't is to do whatever they say and try not to get shot. If trying not to get shot includes trying to take down the gunman when an opportunity presents itself, so be it, but I don't think teaching kids to charge down the barrel of a loaded gun is the wisest plan. Besides, how many of us, kid or teacher, would actually have the nerve to rush somebody pointing a gun at us?
I like the projectile vomiting idea, though.
Can't we just give every kid a gun so that they can just take out anyone who might be there to shoot up the school? Sure, every now and then a gun might go off in a backpack or some kid might get shot accidentally, but that's just weeding out the weak baby. It's natural selection.
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