Active Shooter Drills in Schools: are they actually helpful?

Active Shooter Drills in Schools: Are They Actually Helpful?

Active shooter drills, students and faculty simulate how they are to respond in an active shooting situation. While this may seem helpful, like a fire drill, they can actually cause more harm than good as it is important to find the balance between preparing and traumatizing. Many schools have been going through these drills unannounced, as you would with a fire drill, however believing that an active shooter is in the school is far more stressful and terrifying than believing the fire alarm was set off because of a fire, these drills can traumatize students and cause unneeded stress and fear for students. Many organizations including the National Education Association suggest that if the drills are going to be performed it is important to prepare the students for the drill, explain to them what is happening and when it is going to happen.  

There is very little evidence supporting the idea that these drills are actively helpful when the situations do occur, but there is evidence supporting the idea that these drills do cause mental harm to the students who go through them. These drills are often life-like and graphic so while the children are not in legitimate harm they can still become traumatized from the event. The fact that they have to practice for these events can also increase the amount of anxiety a student has because they are more likely to worry about or think about the idea that the event could occur. 

There are several factors that should be taken into account when a school is deciding whether or not to perform one of these drills: 

• Drills should not include simulations of an actual shooting 
• Parents should be notified beforehand 
• Children and faculty should be told it is a drill before it starts and at the beginning 
• Drills should be developmentally and age appropriate 
• Mental health professionals should be included in the forming of these drills 

While keeping our schools safe and prepared is important we should also focus on the current wellbeing of our students, we do not want to jeopardize the wellness of our students because we are worried about something that may happen in the future. Being prepared is important but so is maintaining the comfort and security in the schools today.  

References:

Prothero, A. (2020, February 11). Active Shooter Drills in Schools: Harmful or Helpful? The Debate Rages On. Retrieved February 24, 2020, from https://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/rulesforengagement/2020/02/active_shooter_drills_schools_harmful_helpful.html 

Prejudice, Bias, and School Violence

Prejudice is described as an unjustified or incorrect attribute towards an individual or group of individuals belonging to a specific social group. Bias is described as the inclination for or against a specific group of people. Prejudices and Biases can be seen in most instances of everyday life, including schools. Many social groups face prejudices every day of their lives. One group that faces constant bias and prejudice is women. Often times in popular culture women are portrayed as ditsy individuals who do not think past surface level. They are often seen as stay at home mothers, assistants, or other professionals that may be looked down upon, it hasn/t been until recently that women have been portrayed as more realistic, well-rounded characters. More often than not they are seen as sex objects or secondary characters. This portrayal of women in media can also lead to body issues for average women as they may not meet the beauty standards seen in the industry. Within the bias of women as a whole, there are layers breaking up the group into subgroups that either receive more or less prejudice depending on social factors. 

Of course, women are not the only social group that face prejudice as part of their daily lives. 

School Violence

Another problem that students and educators face today is the issue of school violence. From gun violence to physical bullying studies show that a majority of students deal with some sort of anxiety due to the subject, over 55% to be exact. Students aren't the only ones who have these fears, educators, and parents share this fear as well. With gun violence rising it is not easy to put the thought out of your mind. As someone who both still attends school and wants to become a teacher the fear of school violence crosses my mind more than occasionally. It is something I have unfortunately tried to prepare myself for. On top of the fatal attacks that are shown on the news, there are hundreds of thousands of nonfatal attacks among students. Students and educators alike need to be educated on school violence, how to prevent it, what to do during it, and what to do after it, and as someone who wants to teach young children, the thought of educating them on these facts is absolutely heartbreaking. For a long time school violence was portrayed as unimportant or inconsequential in film and television, but that should no longer be the case. It is a serious topic that needs to be addressed. 

Are they connected?

In short, possibly, violence both in and out of schools can be linked to severe bias or prejudice, so severe that the individual's ideas cloud their judgment and lead them to believe that the only way to "rectify the situation" is violence. With that being said bias and prejudice are not the only causes of school violence. 

Both topics need to be discussed in and out of school, they affect the students and educators in many ways so it is important to be aware of them. 

References:
Graf, N. (2018). A majority of U.S. teens fear a shooting could happen at their school, and most parents share their concerns. Pew Research Journal.

Leins, C. (2019, August). These States Require Schools to Teach LGBT History. Retrieved from https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/articles/2019-08-14/states-that-require-schools-to-teach-lgbt-history

Understanding School Violence. (2016). Understanding School Violence.

Vara-Orta, F. (2019, July 19). Swastikas. The N-word. 'Go Back to Mexico.' What Hate Looks Like in Schools. Retrieved from https://www.edweek.org/ew/projects/hate-in-schools.html