Commentary: ‘Run, Hide, Fight’ drills OK, but focus on prevention
The day of the mass shooting in San Bernardino, Calif., my son’s high school was placed on a short lockdown. He was remarkably nonchalant when I picked him up. “It was just a Level One,” he said, brushing off my concerns. “Everything’s fine now.”
It wasn’t, in fact; the horror was still unfolding and would come even closer to home that afternoon, when law enforcement found a veritable arsenal in the assailants’ townhouse. But I recognized my son’s need to normalize what had happened.
I listened attentively as he explained the difference in lockdown levels: A Level One is when an active shooter is in the town or city; a Level Two is when the shooter is in the neighborhood; and a Level Three is when the shooter is actually on campus.
During a Level One, my son explained, teachers lock their classroom doors and lower the blinds. Some continue with the day’s lesson plans. Others choose to take the more extreme measures required during a Level Two or Three. They turn off the lights and instruct the kids to turn off their cellphones. They ask everyone to gather silently in the corner of the room farthest from the door and windows.
Once they’re given the all-clear signal, teachers may take additional time away from instruction to discuss what just happened, knowing that it’s hard for kids to snap right back to Latin or biology when they’ve just been contemplating a shooter on the loose.
I may be 33 years’ my son’s senior, but in many ways he’s more worldly. When I was in high school in the 1980s, the terms “active shooter,” “lockdown” and “shelter in place” weren’t buzzwords. “Active shooter” entered the lexicon not long after the Columbine massacre in 1999. “Lockdown” has been around longer, but until recently was most commonly used in prisons.
In the wake of the Sandy Hook attack, the U.S. Department of Education released guidelines for school emergency plans. Specific requirements vary by state. California’s Education Code doesn’t mandate “active shooter” exercises but does Commentary: ‘Run, Hide, Fight’ drills OK, but focus on prevention | www.palmbeachpost.com: