Active Shooter Drills - Pre-K and K

[anna_jackson]

My two oldest boys are starting at a new school after summer break. I just learned from another parent that they will both be doing active shooter drills even at the ages of 4 and 5.

Has anyone had an experience with this where your kids felt like it was a non-event? I’m feeling very anxious and sad about this and don’t want to project my own feelings onto them and make this worse. (But then some other part of my brain chimes in and says BUT WHAT COULD BE WORSE THAN SAVAGE MURDER!?)

My only experience with lockdowns as a kid was when the occasional black bear would wander onto campus and we’d all hunker down in our classroom peering out the window, looking for said bear. It was very exciting.

If anyone can help a nervous dad find hope that this won’t be sheer terror every month, and maybe a little bit like a bear day, I’d appreciate it.

 

[kblankenship09]

@anna_jackson I am a public school kindergarten teacher, I have gone through these drills with 5/6 year olds. And to cut a long and complex discussion short, it’s not traumatizing. It’s honestly mostly boring, the language used is clear but non descriptive. When you tell kids that age that we’re practicing hiding in case someone wants to hurt us, they don’t grasp the reality of what that situation could be like. Some kids look intrigued, most kids shrug their shoulders and say ‘makes sense’, some are thinking about butterflies or how upset they are that their snack wasn’t the snack they wanted. Then when the time comes, and announcement is made, teachers move with intention and seriousness into our proper place, shut the lights lock the doors… and wait, for police officers to unlock the door and check in… and wait for the all clear. The hardest part is that they need to sit still and be quiet.

Im glad they happen, they are mostly to train adults (admin, faculty, and police) and seek out problems in the lockdown plan.

Happy to answer any question

 

[coakland]

@kblankenship09 Thanks for this.

My first soon-to-be kindergartener grew up too fast.

 

[grh]

@kblankenship09 I've seen videos of active shooter drills. It's horrifying that anyone can convince themselves that teaching kids is a realistic possibility that someone is coming to hurt them isn't traumatic.

 

[autiesko]

@grh My guy getting set on fire would be traumatic but fire drills in elementary school were always boring af and never scary.

 

[grh]

@autiesko Yeah... no part of fire drills involves teaching kids to sacrifice themselves to try and save their classmates.

 

[autiesko]

@grh There is no state sponsored official training that teaches a child to sacrifice themself to save their classmate. I’ll take pamphlets, videos, websites with .edu, etc.

Patiently waiting for some source material that shows this is procedure or approved practice.