School Safety thoughts

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  • Coach

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    3   0   0
    Apr 15, 2008
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    I plan to email a copy of this to every teacher at the high where I teach tomorrow. I am hoping to take the discussion to to the next level and find out where people stand. I am tired of nothing being accomplished in regards to school safety and the answer is within our grasp. I am grateful that the President is pushing for this as well.

    Some thoughts on School Safety

    The Problem:
    Schools are statistically very safe, but the most likely cause of death of students in US schools are gunshot wounds. This is a ridiculous statistic. It is unacceptable, and it has been true for far too long. It is time for some meaningful change to take place. Real change that will provide real safety for our schools. It can be done and it can be done in a very economical way, and no matter what it costs it should be accomplished.

    History is clear:
    The Police cannot protect the citizens of this nation, state or town, and they cannot protect our schools. Our safety and security is our individual responsibility. The school shooting in Parkland, Florida is a recent of example of the inability of the police to protect students. It is not a rare example in school shootings.

    Gun Control:
    Always a debate that heats up after every mass murder. People on both sides are unlikely to change their minds. The facts are rather clear but perhaps not widely known by most folks. It would be possible to debate guns, gun control, and the Second Amendment but it is a distraction from the real issue and the debate is largely academic. We have millions of guns in the United States and that Genie is not going to be put back in the bottle. If the Nazi’s could not sweep up all of the guns from the hands of the resistance in Poland and France during World War II. Is it even possible to do it here? Do you want to live under a regime with the power and the willingness to do that? We have to face facts that there are guns in the hands of people that should not have them.

    Tactical Pressure:
    What does stop mass murder? What does stop active shooters cold in their tracks? Tactical pressure is the solution. Good guys or gals putting bullets on the mass murderer. When that happens the innocent people stop dying, and they stop dying right then. If the tactical pressure does not kill the mass murderer they either surrender or take their own life, but either way the innocent people stop dying. As Parkland, Florida demonstrates if that tactical pressure is delayed more innocent people die. If the mass murder happens the tactical pressure needs to be initiated at the point of attack, and promptly.

    Arm the ready, willing, able teachers:
    The fastest and surest way of applying tactical pressure is to arm teachers. Teachers are an intelligent, responsible group of people with a natural inclination to protect their students. Give them the permission, and the power, and the tools to do what they do naturally. Not everyone is willing or perhaps able to be armed, and no teacher should be forced to carry a gun. One percent of teachers being armed would be an enormous deterrent for a potential active shooter. Teachers, administrators and other staff could be armed and the school would be much safer. Mass murderers are not looking for a fight. They are looking for a high body count in a Gun Free Zone. If teachers are not armed they cannot effectively fight back. Every school shooting story includes dead hero teachers and students. Let’s keep them alive and let them speak with their own voice.

    Training:
    Any willing teacher can be trained on how to safely and effectively carry a gun at school and to do so in a concealed manner. Such volunteers could be required to provide their own suitable gun, the school could provide twenty four hours of initial training. Volunteers should have to shoot a qualifying score at the beginning of the semester. Continuing training and education should be required every semester. These volunteers should be members of the school safety team and should meet regularly on the hour delay days. A suitable stipend should be granted for those who meet these requirements and help provide safety to the school that it does not currently have. It could be done far cheaper than a SRO in each building and would enhance our SRO presence. Stickers placed on every entrance to the building warning that some staff members on campus are armed would be a great deterrent.
     

    d.kaufman

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    Mar 9, 2013
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    I plan to email a copy of this to every teacher at the high where I teach tomorrow. I am hoping to take the discussion to to the next level and find out where people stand. I am tired of nothing being accomplished in regards to school safety and the answer is within our grasp. I am grateful that the President is pushing for this as well.

    Some thoughts on School Safety

    The Problem:
    Schools are statistically very safe, but the most likely cause of death of students in US schools are gunshot wounds. This is a ridiculous statistic. It is unacceptable, and it has been true for far too long. It is time for some meaningful change to take place. Real change that will provide real safety for our schools. It can be done and it can be done in a very economical way, and no matter what it costs it should be accomplished.

    History is clear:
    The Police cannot protect the citizens of this nation, state or town, and they cannot protect our schools. Our safety and security is our individual responsibility. The school shooting in Parkland, Florida is a recent of example of the inability of the police to protect students. It is not a rare example in school shootings.

    Gun Control:
    Always a debate that heats up after every mass murder. People on both sides are unlikely to change their minds. The facts are rather clear but perhaps not widely known by most folks. It would be possible to debate guns, gun control, and the Second Amendment but it is a distraction from the real issue and the debate is largely academic. We have millions of guns in the United States and that Genie is not going to be put back in the bottle. If the Nazi’s could not sweep up all of the guns from the hands of the resistance in Poland and France during World War II. Is it even possible to do it here? Do you want to live under a regime with the power and the willingness to do that? We have to face facts that there are guns in the hands of people that should not have them.

    Tactical Pressure:
    What does stop mass murder? What does stop active shooters cold in their tracks? Tactical pressure is the solution. Good guys or gals putting bullets on the mass murderer. When that happens the innocent people stop dying, and they stop dying right then. If the tactical pressure does not kill the mass murderer they either surrender or take their own life, but either way the innocent people stop dying. As Parkland, Florida demonstrates if that tactical pressure is delayed more innocent people die. If the mass murder happens the tactical pressure needs to be initiated at the point of attack, and promptly.

    Arm the ready, willing, able teachers:
    The fastest and surest way of applying tactical pressure is to arm teachers. Teachers are an intelligent, responsible group of people with a natural inclination to protect their students. Give them the permission, and the power, and the tools to do what they do naturally. Not everyone is willing or perhaps able to be armed, and no teacher should be forced to carry a gun. One percent of teachers being armed would be an enormous deterrent for a potential active shooter. Teachers, administrators and other staff could be armed and the school would be much safer. Mass murderers are not looking for a fight. They are looking for a high body count in a Gun Free Zone. If teachers are not armed they cannot effectively fight back. Every school shooting story includes dead hero teachers and students. Let’s keep them alive and let them speak with their own voice.

    Training:
    Any willing teacher can be trained on how to safely and effectively carry a gun at school and to do so in a concealed manner. Such volunteers could be required to provide their own suitable gun, the school could provide twenty four hours of initial training. Volunteers should have to shoot a qualifying score at the beginning of the semester. Continuing training and education should be required every semester. These volunteers should be members of the school safety team and should meet regularly on the hour delay days. A suitable stipend should be granted for those who meet these requirements and help provide safety to the school that it does not currently have. It could be done far cheaper than a SRO in each building and would enhance our SRO presence. Stickers placed on every entrance to the building warning that some staff members on campus are armed would be a great deterrent.

    :+1: It is my hope that this goes well. It seems you have put forth more effort into this than most all politicians combined!
     

    Sylvain

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    Nov 30, 2010
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    Normandy
    images


    images


    Some schools had signs for a while and no mass shootings there.
     

    ashby koss

    Shooter
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    18   0   0
    Jan 24, 2013
    1,168
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    Connersville
    I'm all for arming and conceal carry BUT a solution that would be bipartisan would be choked down easier.

    I think that all rooms should have an emergency / fire exit that is locked (no exterior handle). YES this will cost tons of money, but so will the increased teacher pay, security measures (only aimed at security) and other non-fully functional things.

    So what does this do...

    1)During an actual fire escape theres more than 1 exit, (rather than funneling everyone thorugh a singular hall..)

    2)in an active shooter situation it mitigates a large percentage of the "fish in a barrel"
     

    G192127

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    15   0   0
    Feb 19, 2018
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    Shelbyville
    Before you send that off you might want to have an English/Composition teacher give it a once over...
    I personally disagree with your statement"The police cannot protect..." Give them some credit. They thwart or head off credible real threats every day.
    So, to say "The police cannot protect..." simply isn't true.
     

    Vigilant

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    Jul 12, 2008
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    Stickers placed on every entrance to the building warning that some staff members on campus are armed would be a great deterrent.
    While I agree with everything you said, this part is the only one that Might gain traction! Just like the fake cameras and phony alarm company stickers some folks use, this is likely the only suggestion you made that any would consider.
     

    chipbennett

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    Oct 18, 2014
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    Coach, I agree with your conclusions and your recommendations, 100%. And I support your efforts to educate other teachers/administrators/etc.

    That said, I think we need to be careful with this:

    The Problem:
    Schools are statistically very safe, but the most likely cause of death of students in US schools are gunshot wounds. This is a ridiculous statistic. It is unacceptable, and it has been true for far too long. It is time for some meaningful change to take place. Real change that will provide real safety for our schools. It can be done and it can be done in a very economical way, and no matter what it costs it should be accomplished.

    Gunshot wounds may be the most likely cause of death of students while inside of US schools, but in terms of overall deaths of students, that number is reduced to near statistical noise. In the grand scheme of preventing deaths of our students, dying while inside schools - from any cause - is so far down the Pareto tail that even implementing means to prevent 100% of such deaths would statistically result in no fewer deaths of students, overall.

    I agree fully that we need to eliminate the enticement and forced victimization of designating schools as Gun Free Zones, and I agree fully that we need to stop infringing upon the right of teachers to keep and bear arms. But at the same time, we need to argue these points within the proper context, in order to counter the inherent appeal to emotion of the "slaughtered students" narrative.
     

    KittySlayer

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    Jan 29, 2013
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    Northeast IN
    Schools are statistically very safe, but the most likely cause of death of students in US schools are gunshot wounds.

    With the urgent need to Do Something without properly thinking it out is going to end badly. The evil gun talisman is a huge distraction as everyone rushes to Do Something. So all the planning will go into locking down the buildings and restricting access to try and prevent the next lone shooter with an evil gun and relying on the misconception that a Gun Free Zone will be a Safe Zone for our kids.

    What happens when there is a fire and the firefighters cannot access the building and the kids cannot escape? What happens when the good guys with a gun cannot get into the locked down building/rooms?

    What happens when the evil people change their approach and shift to using a bomb or a chemical attack? Look how terrorist adopted to our planning and executed the 911 attack. The school pool has all the ingredients needed for mustard gas.

    What happens when we have all the kids lined up outside the building waiting to go through the single building entrance to be scanned by a wanna be TSA agent and someone decides to attack those kids waiting to enter the Gun Free Zone? Could be run over by a truck, bombed, chemical attack or simply shot at the entrance to the Gun Free Zone.

    What happens when the bad guy hijacks a school bus?

    So rather than rushing to Do Something, let's slow down a bit and instead Do Something Right.




    This evil person did not need an Assault Rifle to endanger school kids.

    Row Row Row Your Boat...

    dirty-harry-1971-720p-brrip-x264-yify09-45-39.jpg


    And the good guys with a gun cannot be everywhere.

    You’ve gotta ask yourself one question: ‘do I feel lucky?’ Well, do ya, punk?”

    dirty-harry-wallpapers_26485_1024x768.png





    Sounds like the Broward County Sheriff
    Callahan’s boss tells him, “You know, it’s disgusting that a police officer should know how to use a weapon like that.”
     
    Rating - 100%
    1   0   0
    Aug 23, 2009
    1,822
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    Brainardland
    Before you send that off you might want to have an English/Composition teacher give it a once over...
    I personally disagree with your statement"The police cannot protect..." Give them some credit. They thwart or head off credible real threats every day.
    So, to say "The police cannot protect..." simply isn't true.

    I'm a retired cop and I'm afraid it IS true.

    The ability of a police officer to protect any citizen at any time from a personal violent crime is based almost entirely on luck. In these school shootings there is a nearly 100% likelihood that any law enforcement agency will be powerless to stop them.
     
    Rating - 100%
    1   0   0
    Aug 23, 2009
    1,822
    113
    Brainardland
    I plan to email a copy of this to every teacher at the high where I teach tomorrow. I am hoping to take the discussion to to the next level and find out where people stand. I am tired of nothing being accomplished in regards to school safety and the answer is within our grasp. I am grateful that the President is pushing for this as well.

    Some thoughts on School Safety

    The Problem:
    Schools are statistically very safe, but the most likely cause of death of students in US schools are gunshot wounds. This is a ridiculous statistic. It is unacceptable, and it has been true for far too long. It is time for some meaningful change to take place. Real change that will provide real safety for our schools. It can be done and it can be done in a very economical way, and no matter what it costs it should be accomplished.

    History is clear:
    The Police cannot protect the citizens of this nation, state or town, and they cannot protect our schools. Our safety and security is our individual responsibility. The school shooting in Parkland, Florida is a recent of example of the inability of the police to protect students. It is not a rare example in school shootings.

    Gun Control:
    Always a debate that heats up after every mass murder. People on both sides are unlikely to change their minds. The facts are rather clear but perhaps not widely known by most folks. It would be possible to debate guns, gun control, and the Second Amendment but it is a distraction from the real issue and the debate is largely academic. We have millions of guns in the United States and that Genie is not going to be put back in the bottle. If the Nazi’s could not sweep up all of the guns from the hands of the resistance in Poland and France during World War II. Is it even possible to do it here? Do you want to live under a regime with the power and the willingness to do that? We have to face facts that there are guns in the hands of people that should not have them.

    Tactical Pressure:
    What does stop mass murder? What does stop active shooters cold in their tracks? Tactical pressure is the solution. Good guys or gals putting bullets on the mass murderer. When that happens the innocent people stop dying, and they stop dying right then. If the tactical pressure does not kill the mass murderer they either surrender or take their own life, but either way the innocent people stop dying. As Parkland, Florida demonstrates if that tactical pressure is delayed more innocent people die. If the mass murder happens the tactical pressure needs to be initiated at the point of attack, and promptly.

    Arm the ready, willing, able teachers:
    The fastest and surest way of applying tactical pressure is to arm teachers. Teachers are an intelligent, responsible group of people with a natural inclination to protect their students. Give them the permission, and the power, and the tools to do what they do naturally. Not everyone is willing or perhaps able to be armed, and no teacher should be forced to carry a gun. One percent of teachers being armed would be an enormous deterrent for a potential active shooter. Teachers, administrators and other staff could be armed and the school would be much safer. Mass murderers are not looking for a fight. They are looking for a high body count in a Gun Free Zone. If teachers are not armed they cannot effectively fight back. Every school shooting story includes dead hero teachers and students. Let’s keep them alive and let them speak with their own voice.

    Training:
    Any willing teacher can be trained on how to safely and effectively carry a gun at school and to do so in a concealed manner. Such volunteers could be required to provide their own suitable gun, the school could provide twenty four hours of initial training. Volunteers should have to shoot a qualifying score at the beginning of the semester. Continuing training and education should be required every semester. These volunteers should be members of the school safety team and should meet regularly on the hour delay days. A suitable stipend should be granted for those who meet these requirements and help provide safety to the school that it does not currently have. It could be done far cheaper than a SRO in each building and would enhance our SRO presence. Stickers placed on every entrance to the building warning that some staff members on campus are armed would be a great deterrent.

    Coach, this is a good start.

    I do question whether there are a sufficient number of volunteers among your peers. I strongly recommend that you also float the idea of utilizing community volunteers from among retired law enforcement and military.

    Many parents are going to have an irrational but understandable aversion to the idea of their child's teacher being armed. I have to believe that the idea of having actual professionals filling this role would be far more palatable. An ideal situation would be a combination of both.

    I would be happy to volunteer to accompany you to speak about this anywhere that you think it would do any good.
     

    jkdbjj

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    Jan 11, 2015
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    rural
    Any like-minded school board members? If so, I would get with them first and develop a strategy with best chance of success when the issue is brought before the decision makers in the corporation...and those decision makers are not teachers.

    Indiana law has set the table for you. Now you need a school board to get on board with providing real protection to the students, teachers and staff. With being a teacher as long as you have been, I assume you are on a first name basis with all school board members, school board counsel, the superintendent, etc. This will help you greatly. Approach those you know to be like-minded first, and then figure a way to win over the majority. Also, instead of saying what you say about LE, why not take the approach of how do "we" help them help and protect our children?

    Also, a great piece of advice a mentor gave me years ago: Seldom send a letter and never throw one away.
     

    Topshot

    Marksman
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    6   0   0
    Oct 16, 2015
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    Terre Haute
    Just a few minor points to consider...
    Schools are statistically very safe, but the most likely cause of death of students in US schools are gunshot wounds.
    I agree with others on maybe rewording that. At least add "while" after students.

    If the Nazi’s could not sweep up all of the guns from the hands of the resistance in Poland and France during World War II. Is it even possible to do it here?
    The former is not a proper sentence. I'd remove the "If" and then join the second sentence along the lines of "..., and it's not possible to do here."

    Good guys or gals putting bullets on the mass murderer.
    Agree, but struck me wrong the first time reading it (as if I'm a member of your audience). Engaging the threat seems too tactically worded. Maybe engaging the murderer.
     

    Coach

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    3   0   0
    Apr 15, 2008
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    Coach, this is a good start.

    I do question whether there are a sufficient number of volunteers among your peers. I strongly recommend that you also float the idea of utilizing community volunteers from among retired law enforcement and military.

    Many parents are going to have an irrational but understandable aversion to the idea of their child's teacher being armed. I have to believe that the idea of having actual professionals filling this role would be far more palatable. An ideal situation would be a combination of both.

    I would be happy to volunteer to accompany you to speak about this anywhere that you think it would do any good.

    I am hoping an open/community forum will take place. I would welcome your assistance.
     

    cedartop

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    Apr 25, 2010
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    North of Notre Dame.
    Before you send that off you might want to have an English/Composition teacher give it a once over...
    I personally disagree with your statement"The police cannot protect..." Give them some credit. They thwart or head off credible real threats every day.
    So, to say "The police cannot protect..." simply isn't true.

    Yes it is true. As a matter of fact, they are not even required to provide protection. (someone will chime in with the court ruling on that.) Police respond to incident's most of the time by its very nature this means they are not there to prevent anything from happening. This is not criticizing Law Enforcement, its just what it is.

    .
     

    alabasterjar

    Sharpshooter
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    3   0   0
    Apr 13, 2013
    613
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    Steuben County
    I like your idea very much. The only thing I will say is this...

    It is probably semantics, but I hate the phrase "arming teachers". To me this suggests that the school system will look for "X" number of volunteers to go through their program to allow them to carry. It carries ideas of statism and I don't think it is the best way to let sheepdogs sheepdog. I know who my bosses are, and I know their feelings about firearms. If they were obligated to allow me to go through a program that allowed me to carry, I believe it is entirely reasonable that they would scrutinize my every move. Indiana is an "at will" State, when it comes to employment (which i am ok with). This means that my supervisor(s) could effectively neuter this type of program by finding ways to identify me as a poorly performing employee and terminate me.

    I would prefer the conversation to be about removing barriers/providing legal ways to allow school staff (not just teachers) to legally carry. I have seen articles about a couple Sheriffs (1 in Florida, 1 in Ohio, I believe) that have developed programs that put school staff through rigorous training and background checks and ultimately designated successful participants as special deputies. This sidesteps school administration (which seem to typically lean to the liberal side of the spectrum - and, yes, even when "Republicans"are on those boards), who I think would 'administrate' attempts to actually arm teachers/staff, into nothingness.
     

    chemteach

    Marksman
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    0   0   0
    Oct 11, 2013
    168
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    Two images keep playing in my head. The first is an armored car with two armed guards protecting 3 bags of money. The second is a large glass door with a Gun Free Zone sticker protecting 400 elementary students. I retired from teaching last year and could probably still lead my classes blindfolded down 3 flights of stairs and get them outside in case of a fire. We did 1 fire drill/month. I had 2 fire extinguishers in my chem lab. All hallways and lecture areas had smoke detectors and sprinkler systems. Labs did not have smoke detectors, but did have sprinklers. All great stuff, but can someone tell me the last time anyone was killed in a school fire? We need to harden our schools against active killers. It will cost but how much is it worth?
     

    gopher

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    5   0   0
    Feb 13, 2013
    528
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    Zionsville, IN
    Well, how about an "out of the box" solution: put police stations at schools.

    School-based police stations would only be for staffing, no processing of arrestees (those would go to a central location and/or the jail). A 24/7 police presence on school property is likely to be a pretty strong deterrent (how many police stations do you hear about being attacked?). It might also improve police-community relations as kids, parents teachers and school administrators would all be exposed to the police on a daily basis.

    This would be expensive as it would involve construction so might be more of a long-term rather than short-term solution.
     
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