It’s disheartening that children today have to prepare for scenarios like “evacuating the building” at school. Gun violence poses a significant risk to educational institutions across America, and it seems that each new report of a shooting makes us less shocked than the last. While we know that lockdown drills are necessary, the reality of our children participating in them remains deeply unsettling.
Yesterday, my son’s principal sent out a message to parents: “This afternoon we conducted our fifth and final lockdown drill of the school year. The focus was on the ‘run’ aspect of our Lockdown with Options protocol (run, hide, or fight). When the drill was activated, students were instructed to leave the building immediately, and they could be seen fleeing with their hands raised as instructed.”
My son, just a first grader, and his classmates spent part of their day practicing how to escape their school—a place meant for learning—in case a gunman enters. A friend shared that at their school, students are given lollipops to keep them quiet while they hide in classrooms. Lollipops.
The principal’s message continued, detailing how teachers gathered students at designated safe spots around the school or down the street. They discussed the safest paths to evacuation sites. We’ve previously received notifications about transitioning to the “Lockdown with Options” strategy, endorsed by safety experts to foster a more proactive approach than merely hiding in a classroom or barricading doors. However, reading those words and envisioning my seven-year-old—who still clings to his baby blanket and believes in Santa—running from his school with his hands in the air is simply unacceptable.
I don’t blame the school for trying to keep students safe, but it’s alarming that parents routinely receive updates like these alongside information about bake sales and reading events, forcing us to accept this as the new normal.
In 2018 alone, over four million children participated in lockdown drills, and the psychological effects of such practices are more severe than we can fathom. Many children have cried, experienced incontinence, or even written goodbye notes to their families detailing what should happen to their toys if they die. Teachers in some areas wonder if they’ll need to arm themselves or endure their own traumatic experiences during these drills, similar to those who were shot with plastic pellets as part of their preparation.
Since the Columbine tragedy, there have been 68 school shootings, and the time between these incidents is shrinking—currently averaging just 77 days. Consequently, nearly 92% of schools conduct some form of lockdown drill. But the effectiveness of these measures is questionable. A recent review of school safety practices from 2000 to 2018 concluded that “none of the currently employed school firearm violence prevention methods have empirical evidence to show they actually diminish firearm violence in schools,” often creating a false sense of security. Researchers advise school officials not to buckle under political pressure to implement ineffective solutions that could waste valuable resources.
While I don’t claim to have all the solutions, addressing the underlying gun issues in our country—without suggesting that we take guns from responsible owners—seems like a more logical starting point than relying on ineffective measures that jeopardize our kids’ well-being. This should never be considered “normal.”
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In summary, the reality of lockdown drills in schools highlights a disturbing trend where children are being trained to respond to the threat of gun violence. It is crucial that we shift our focus to addressing the root causes of this issue rather than merely implementing drills that may not provide effective protection.