I don't either. Granted, it doesn't affect my kid because of his classroom and based on what he said, there's no division by gender in his room*, but the other parents I was with when we discovered this have kids in the 5th grade and all are in classrooms like that. I think the plan is simply - just out of sight, but why do the girls get to go into the office?
Which, honestly, I feel like offices and closets and empty rooms are sort of pointless with someone bent on getting to shoot people - surely after all these stories, they know where to look?
*He did however say that "so and so has X spot and I think it's the safest spot. I wish I had that spot." Which felt like a punch in the gut, and made me want to homeschool him forever.
Well today I learned that at Jackson's school, their "stranger in the building" aka active shooter plan in classrooms that have offices is to put all the girls in the office and line the boys up outside it (basically the main goal is "out of sight").
I would love to know what fuckwit thought the above was a good plan; separating the kids by gender and setting the boys up as some sort of human shield if someone gets through the door.
I don't generally worry about school shootings, which is possibly naive, but the chances compared to a lot of things are really really low, and the set up of the schools my kids go to would make it very difficult for someone to get to the kids in their classrooms. You have to go through a lot of areas to even get to the classrooms because of how they are set up - of course the risk is more in the library and cafeteria then, and if you ask me, there's virtually no plan that works with those, which is sort of a frightening thought. But to get into the school at all, you have to go through two sets of locked doors. Then there are doors to the classroom areas that could be shut/locked quickly, which does include the library. The main vulnerability is the cafeteria and it has windows to the outside, so...yeah.
But I am very bothered by the message this sends to the kids who do have offices in their classrooms. There has got to be a better option.
Anyway, maybe Ben Carson has been planning with my child's school. TEACH 'EM TO BE HEROES!!!! FUCK YEAH.
To which I say, fuck that. They shouldn't need to be heroes; at the very least, we should be able to make sure that it's not necessary to send the message to 8/9/10/11 year old boys that they should be heroes. GMAFB.
*He did however say that "so and so has X spot and I think it's the safest spot. I wish I had that spot."
No. NO!
It made me cry, but I did tell him I think the risk of this happening is very low. I don't know what else to do; he's super anxious about things so I don't want him to worry.
I also didn't realize he understood this concern - we managed to shield him during k-2, but now he's at the intermediate school and I recognize the kids are older and the way they learn about these things is different and that's appropriate.
But...he's still my baby, so it's hard for me. I understand he's old enough to know more now, but my heart doesn't.
It made me cry, but I did tell him I think the risk of this happening is very low. I don't know what else to do; he's super anxious about things so I don't want him to worry.
I also didn't realize he understood this concern - we managed to shield him during k-2, but now he's at the intermediate school and I recognize the kids are older and the way they learn about these things is different and that's appropriate.
But...he's still my baby, so it's hard for me. I understand he's old enough to know more now, but my heart doesn't.
No, I don't want this to be appropriate! He is a child! He should not have to covet another child's safe spot.
I don't even know what to say. That just broke my heart.
And what is going to happen with the whole "boys line up outside" thing? The parents aren't going to just let that go, are they?
It made me cry, but I did tell him I think the risk of this happening is very low. I don't know what else to do; he's super anxious about things so I don't want him to worry.
I also didn't realize he understood this concern - we managed to shield him during k-2, but now he's at the intermediate school and I recognize the kids are older and the way they learn about these things is different and that's appropriate.
But...he's still my baby, so it's hard for me. I understand he's old enough to know more now, but my heart doesn't.
No, I don't want this to be appropriate! He is a child! He should not have to covet another child's safe spot.
I don't even know what to say. That just broke my heart.
And what is going to happen with the whole "boys line up outside" thing? The parents aren't going to just let that go, are they?
How do you let it go? I want my son in a safe spot just as much as I want my daughter in one.
And in other GOP asshole candidate news.... Jindal: Oregon Gunman's Father Is A 'Failure' Who 'Owes Us All An Apology'
I'm more shocked that he didn't find a way to blame the kid's mom instead. Sadly, I'm accustomed to men blaming women for everything wrong since the dawn of time.
It made me cry, but I did tell him I think the risk of this happening is very low. I don't know what else to do; he's super anxious about things so I don't want him to worry.
I also didn't realize he understood this concern - we managed to shield him during k-2, but now he's at the intermediate school and I recognize the kids are older and the way they learn about these things is different and that's appropriate.
But...he's still my baby, so it's hard for me. I understand he's old enough to know more now, but my heart doesn't.
No, I don't want this to be appropriate! He is a child! He should not have to covet another child's safe spot.
I don't even know what to say. That just broke my heart.
And what is going to happen with the whole "boys line up outside" thing? The parents aren't going to just let that go, are they?
No, I'm sure they won't, and if they do, I won't, even though it doesn't affect my kid at the moment because it's fucked up and asinine.
Also, like I told MH - I want to know which fuckwit came up with this idea so they can go on my list of morons and people to watch for fuckery.
I guess my main struggle with all this is that I understand that the schools need to do these drills, even if I don't like it. And I understand that at his age, what they say is different and more real than what they say to kids in k-2 since he is at a school of grades 3-5. But I hate that he understands that it's real and is truly concerned and wants the safer spot. That he recognizes there's a better spot and wants that one.
I am just trying to remind him (and myself) that his classroom is so far from the entrance - it's seriously down a set of stairs and through several hallways and around corners - it's the absolute last classroom you get to in the school; furthest from the entrance.
I don't either. Granted, it doesn't affect my kid because of his classroom and based on what he said, there's no division by gender in his room*, but the other parents I was with when we discovered this have kids in the 5th grade and all are in classrooms like that. I think the plan is simply - just out of sight, but why do the girls get to go into the office?
Which, honestly, I feel like offices and closets and empty rooms are sort of pointless with someone bent on getting to shoot people - surely after all these stories, they know where to look?
*He did however say that "so and so has X spot and I think it's the safest spot. I wish I had that spot." Which felt like a punch in the gut, and made me want to homeschool him forever.
Your last line just breaks my heart. How awful to hear something like that from your baby. (wilted)
And in other GOP asshole candidate news.... Jindal: Oregon Gunman's Father Is A 'Failure' Who 'Owes Us All An Apology'
I'm more shocked that he didn't find a way to blame the kid's mom instead. Sadly, I'm accustomed to men blaming women for everything wrong since the dawn of time.
And in other GOP asshole candidate news.... Jindal: Oregon Gunman's Father Is A 'Failure' Who 'Owes Us All An Apology'
I'm more shocked that he didn't find a way to blame the kid's mom instead. Sadly, I'm accustomed to men blaming women for everything wrong since the dawn of time.
But... but... but... she raised him with guns and took him to the range. She was only teaching him to defend himself and respect guns like any patriotic American.
I bet anything that she and her friends consider her a "good guy with a gun" and a responsible gun owner whose rights will be infringed upon if ANY gun control is enacted.
Well today I learned that at Jackson's school, their "stranger in the building" aka active shooter plan in classrooms that have offices is to put all the girls in the office and line the boys up outside it (basically the main goal is "out of sight").
I would love to know what fuckwit thought the above was a good plan; separating the kids by gender and setting the boys up as some sort of human shield if someone gets through the door.
Jackson's actual classroom set up is different than the ones with an office but I don't know how many have officers. I'm pretty sure his classroom is an exception to the usual set up.
Well obviously someone is going to be enjoying the wrath of eclaires.
I'm raging on your behalf. Let me know if you need help hiding the bodies after you're through with them.
I think that the vast majority of people who think they would be heroes in this situation wouldn't react the way they think they would in the actual reality of the situation.
Totally this. I've thankfully never been in a situation like an active shooter, but I was mugged once and when I had a gun put to my head, I totally froze. Like not terrified or any strong emotional response, my brain just got all useless.
I am constantly amazed that Carson is so dumb and detached from reality for being so smart.
eclaires So each kid is assigned a spot? And how does he know which spot is the best? I'm sideeyeing the hell out of them deciding where each kid should hide considering someone else in the school thought it was a good idea for boys to stand outside. Like who gave that other child "the safest spot"
I'm upset about all of this here with Jackson and this shooter business. Do not like.
eclaires So each kid is assigned a spot? And how does he know which spot is the best? I'm sideeyeing the hell out of them deciding where each kid should hide considering someone else in the school thought it was a good idea for boys to stand outside. Like who gave that other child "the safest spot"
I'm upset about all of this here with Jackson and this shooter business. Do not like.
I think in his classroom it is based on where they sit - so like the kid that is at the closest spot to where they go to stay out of sight (which honestly is their WHOLE classroom from their door, because they share a door with another classroom and you enter at the beginning of the other classroom but there is a short hallway that covers the length of the other classroom and then you get to theirs). When I say his classroom is furthest from the main entrance and the most difficult to find/get to, I am not kidding, lol. I was so confused when I took him for meet the teacher.
For his room, I'm not so bothered by the assigned spots. The kid who has the spot that he views as the safest is a little boy - I think it's because his desk is the closest to where they go so he goes to the furthest spot back to make room for everyone in that area as quickly as possible. It is at least, LOGICAL. And no one is in a closet/office where others are lined up outside it, ffs.
Really, though, I would be shocked if anyone got into his school and to where the classrooms are. I'm going to ask about the doors that swing shut and lock - basically from the only entrance, they can make it so only the office is accessible, and from what I understand there is only one entrance and exit from that area (so the office doesn't have a back exit that would give access to the classrooms).
IDK, the more I think about these school shootings and the more I talk to friends about them, I think these lockdown procedures are utterly pointless and just make the kids anxious and scared and don't make them safer. It's a joke. A friend was telling me about a lock that can be placed on the doors that should be able to keep the door from being opened, and while I hate to even think about that, it seems like an actual safety measure/option vs. these ridiculous lockdown procedures that anyone with a half a brain could defeat.
But seriously, at this point, I think we all know an ostensibly empty classroom is utterly meaningless. I don't think it's going to deter anyone from opening the door and making sure.
*He did however say that "so and so has X spot and I think it's the safest spot. I wish I had that spot." Which felt like a punch in the gut, and made me want to homeschool him forever.
This breaks my heart. Into a million little pieces. Oh god.
It is so hard for me to fathom doing drills in school to prep for a school shooting. It is nothing we thought about when I was growing up. The fact that kids now have to deal with this, that we would rather spend the money and resources preparing our children for a mass school shooting than try to regulate and pass laws to prevent them from happening in the first place makes me sick.
*He did however say that "so and so has X spot and I think it's the safest spot. I wish I had that spot." Which felt like a punch in the gut, and made me want to homeschool him forever.
This is horrifying. I have no other words. I just want to give that kid a big hug.
First I wondered what is wrong with his filter but then I wonder if maybe he is going after the crowd of angry white men who like Donald Trump. That kind of remark seems right up their alley.
No, I don't want this to be appropriate! He is a child! He should not have to covet another child's safe spot.
I don't even know what to say. That just broke my heart.
And what is going to happen with the whole "boys line up outside" thing? The parents aren't going to just let that go, are they?
No, I'm sure they won't, and if they do, I won't, even though it doesn't affect my kid at the moment because it's fucked up and asinine.
Also, like I told MH - I want to know which fuckwit came up with this idea so they can go on my list of morons and people to watch for fuckery.
I guess my main struggle with all this is that I understand that the schools need to do these drills, even if I don't like it. And I understand that at his age, what they say is different and more real than what they say to kids in k-2 since he is at a school of grades 3-5. But I hate that he understands that it's real and is truly concerned and wants the safer spot. That he recognizes there's a better spot and wants that one.
I am just trying to remind him (and myself) that his classroom is so far from the entrance - it's seriously down a set of stairs and through several hallways and around corners - it's the absolute last classroom you get to in the school; furthest from the entrance.
I get the need for drills too but I am really surprised that they are not being more careful about how they are explaining it. A 5th grader should not have so much awareness that someone's assigned hiding spot is better and thus less dangerous than his. I can see it leading kids to have nightmares and develop real phobias and such?
No, I'm sure they won't, and if they do, I won't, even though it doesn't affect my kid at the moment because it's fucked up and asinine.
Also, like I told MH - I want to know which fuckwit came up with this idea so they can go on my list of morons and people to watch for fuckery.
I guess my main struggle with all this is that I understand that the schools need to do these drills, even if I don't like it. And I understand that at his age, what they say is different and more real than what they say to kids in k-2 since he is at a school of grades 3-5. But I hate that he understands that it's real and is truly concerned and wants the safer spot. That he recognizes there's a better spot and wants that one.
I am just trying to remind him (and myself) that his classroom is so far from the entrance - it's seriously down a set of stairs and through several hallways and around corners - it's the absolute last classroom you get to in the school; furthest from the entrance.
I get the need for drills too but I am really surprised that they are not being more careful about how they are explaining it. A 5th grader should not have so much awareness that someone's assigned hiding spot is better and thus less dangerous than his. I can see it leading kids to have nightmares and develop real phobias and such?
Jackson is only in 3rd grade, and I think he is just aware that this other spot is the best spot. I don't think anyone said to him it was or anything. As far as I can tell, they were told it was the stranger in the building drill and they had to go to their spots and be out of sight of the door.
I think he's just smart enough to realize that the spot farthest back would be the best, and he understands what is going on, unfortunately. He connected the dots, which surprised me because I didn't think he knew much about this kind of thing. He also said that he was not worried about a stranger he was worried about someone having a gun and coming into his school and I know the school/his teacher did not say anything about that to the kids.
I get the need for drills too but I am really surprised that they are not being more careful about how they are explaining it. A 5th grader should not have so much awareness that someone's assigned hiding spot is better and thus less dangerous than his. I can see it leading kids to have nightmares and develop real phobias and such?
Jackson is only in 3rd grade, and I think he is just aware that this other spot is the best spot. I don't think anyone said to him it was or anything. As far as I can tell, they were told it was the stranger in the building drill and they had to go to their spots and be out of sight of the door.
I think he's just smart enough to realize that the spot farthest back would be the best, and he understands what is going on, unfortunately. He connected the dots, which surprised me because I didn't think he knew much about this kind of thing. He also said that he was not worried about a stranger he was worried about someone having a gun and coming into his school and I know the school/his teacher did not say anything about that to the kids.
Ugh </3 As stressful as it is, at least we know the odds of it happening are very close to zero? That's the thing about the drills. I understand why they do it but at the same time, you have to wonder if the anxiety they produce for all concerned ultimately causes more harm than good. Kind of like teaching school children to hide under their desks in the event of an atomic bomb blast...
First I wondered what is wrong with his filter but then I wonder if maybe he is going after the crowd of angry white men who like Donald Trump. That kind of remark seems right up their alley.
Then Fox’s Brian Kilmeade asked if, like Obama, Carson would would still travel to visit victims’ families despite some residents protests of grandstanding, to which Carson replied all too casually:
"Probably not. I mean, I would probably have so many things on my agenda that I would go to the next one."
I want to throw all of the things. THE NEXT ONE? The NEXT ONE? Seriously?! The next mass shooting at a college? I can't. I just can't.
Full text:
Earlier today, current non-Trump GOP frontrunner Ben Carson went on Fox and Friends to complain about President Obama’s “politicizing” of the Oregon shooting tragedy. And as with all of Ben Carson’s interviews—he probably would have been better off staying home.
The retired neurosurgeon started off innocuously enough, hitting his party’s beloved if deeply misguided “gun laws don’t stop guns” talking points: “If you can show me how [Hillary’s gun control plan] is going to stop these things, I’m willing to listen to it. Anything that they’ve proposed doesn’t stop any of this.
Then Fox’s Brian Kilmeade asked if, like Obama, Carson would would still travel to visit victims’ families despite some residents protests of grandstanding, to which Carson replied all too casually:
Probably not. I mean, I would probably have so many things on my agenda that I would go to the next one.
So Carson doesn’t have faith in any sort of regulation to stop the massacres that that have become all too routine in this country, nor does he apparently believe that anything can stop them ever.
At one point in the interview, Carson notes that “we need to be studying these individuals so we can figure out who is the dangerous person, so we can intervene.”
Well, Dr. Carson, with that sort of complacency in the face of tragedy, it would seem that one of those dangerous people is you.
You can watch the full Fox & Friends segment below.