When I was in elementary school in the early 1970's I remember participating in air raid drills. We heard a bell and hid under our desks. Another drill was to leave the classroom and congregate in the gym which was in the basement. I also remember fire drills. We would hear another type of bell and all file out onto the playground.
Yearly we practiced these drills and became familiar with what to do in case of an emergency. Fortunately our school never had a fire or was attacked by air.
Fast forward now to my children's school day. They do not have air raid drills, but for the past 4 years they have been participating in lock down drills. Maybe your kids have come home and have shared with you their experiences with lock down drills, if not ask them if they have drills. If your child has not participated in a lock down drill, I would be very concerned. In our district lock down drills have become as routine as fire drills and kids are familiar with their responsibility of participation.
Why do schools do lock down or fire drills? Students need to have familiarization with what to do in case of an emergency. ( I will get to lock down drills with the letter L later in the month!)
It is imperative for parents to have the same familiarization that their kids have with the safety procedures at the schools where their children attend. If you are not aware of the procedures your school has in place, I suggest making a phone call to the principal to request a copy of the safety procedures.
Hmm..I was in elementary school in the 60's (in Philadelphai) and we never had anything but fire drills.
ReplyDeleteMy nephews have told me abut the lockdown drills....makes me sad.
Maybe I was the last generation of kid who actually got to be a kid...
LC
My kids see it as a safety measure, and not as a negative experience. Then again they have grown up with this being the norm.
DeleteAha! So, your blog is named for the U2 song. I'd been wondering. I get the song stuck in my head whenever I visit.
ReplyDeleteYes, Yes it is ! I am an avid U2 fan & this is a song that I LOVE !
DeleteI work in schools and have never heard about lock down drills. I'm very curious and am definitely going to ask about them.
ReplyDeleteJaime at Awakenings and Reflections
Jaime, I am surprised that your school has not done them, especially after the Connecticut shootings. You should defiantly ask!
DeleteWe don't have lock down drills here in Australia, only fire & safety drills. Love U2 as well.
ReplyDeleteOur district has been doing lock down drills for about 4 years now. It was a gradual process. I hope you come back to my blog for the letter "L" when I discuss them in more detail.
DeleteI think my son's school probably has those, but he has special needs, is only in kindergarten, and doesn't give me a lot of extraneous (or basic) information about his day!
ReplyDeleteSo very happy to find another U2 fan. They are just the best. Did you go to any of the 360 tour?
Visiting from A to Z. Thank you for stopping by my blog earlier!
SiouxsiesMusings
Yes, I went to many shows during the 360 tour, both US legs! So far I have been to I think close to 80 U2 concerts since 1992. I saw them in Dublin Ireland in 2005, and that was a HUGE highlight of my concert going experience. I would say that the shows that was the most emotional for me were in Oct of 2011 at Madison Square Garden in New York City after the 911 attacks. At the last show U2 brought on Police and Fire fighters. One man took the mike and talked about loosing his brother. It was an incredible experience to be there.
DeleteWe actually started doing lockdown drills just after Columbine, possibly because we're less than an hour from where that occurred. I worked in schools before I had kids, and we had to practice what would happen if there were danger within the school. It was unsettling, but a good thing to have a process in place for. We had to tape paper over the windows and hide in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteShannon at The Warrior Muse
Shannon, that is what we are doing now, and have been for the past 4 years. We had Craig Scott, who's sister Rachel Scott (the first person killed at Colombine) come and speak at our school twice. He is an amazing speaker and really connected with our kids. Columbine changed how we operate our schools and keep kids safe. I agree, it was first unsettling for kids and staff, but now since we have been doing it, it has become common place. Now that Newtown has happened people see the significance even more so .
DeleteOhhh, you're blog is named after a song. I thought it might be to do with the brand lulu lemon! At school we used to have lockdown, fire and train spill drills. The train spill drills were very long. We all figured out we'd be dead anyway due to the ventilation system in the school being impossible to close off.
ReplyDeleteYes, LEMON by U2.
DeleteThat is interesting about the train spill drills. We have a nuclear power plant in our town, and we have had mock evacuations at the schools, but nothing dramatic.
oops. Typing error. I meant your. Ugh, I hate that mistake.
ReplyDeleteNo worries! Happens!
DeleteIsn't it sad they have to have lock down drills now? I lived in the midwest for a couple years and we had tornado drills as well.
ReplyDeleteYes, it is sad, but necessary.
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