Connecticut school district on lockdown after shooting report at a Newtown elemen #10

[jjenny]

So what are you saying? That we should confiscate the guns from our police officers because a few accidentally shoot themselves or others? Huh? :what:

No. What I am saying is that getting everyone armed is not a solution to gun violence<modsnip>

 

[FragileSugar]

Private Pain and Public Debate Take Toll on Newtown Parents

Each family is finding its own ways to cope and to honor the victims. Most have set up Facebook pages, Web sites or memorial funds honoring their children. But even that can be a source of dissonance — several of the pages have become magnets for extremists hawking the bizarre theory that the killings in Newtown were a hoax intended to advance the cause of gun control. Some family members have been taken aback at the vitriolic response to their engagement on gun issues.

...

A real nice article with comments from Daniel Barden's father and Ana Márquez-Greene's parents about how they are coping since December 14th.

 

[FragileSugar]

<modsnip>. I questioned the credibility of the statement that AL went to high school fist. It's not coming from a LE source.

Hey jjenny - I posted the link to the article originally. I thought the comment that "everyone knows" AL went to high school first was rather odd b/c I had not read about that anywhere. I thought maybe I had missed something. I tried searching for more info on the contractor and came up with no other articles. HTH

 

[mysterygirl]

No. What I am saying is that getting everyone armed is not a solution to gun violence. <modsnip>.

And new gun laws on the book.........without even enforcing the ones we have now is not a solution to gun violence either. <modsnip>.

 

[jjenny]

Hey jjenny - I posted the link to the article originally. I thought the comment that "everyone knows" AL went to high school first was rather odd b/c I had not read about that anywhere. I thought maybe I had missed something. I tried searching for more info on the contractor and came up with no other articles. HTH

I had not read about that anywhere either. Sounds like some local rumor to me.

 

[Xavier]

Here's a recent press clipping ...It looks like the victim's funerals that the Govenor witnessed and Mrs Pozner making the Govenor to view her son Noah's terrible wounds during his wake had an impact on motivating the CT Govenor to start making good things happen


HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) &#8212; The panel charged by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy to recommend possible changes to state laws and policies in the wake of the deadly elementary school shooting in Newtown is meeting for the first time.

The Sandy Hook Advisory Commission will convene Thursday at the Legislative Office Building.

Hamden Mayor Scott Jackson is heading the 16-member group, which includes mental health and public safety experts.

Commission members have until March 15 to submit their initial report to Malloy.
http://www.boston.com/news/educatio...-panel-meet/Q0xMhrbojCXjC6dyTtmScM/story.html

 

[flourish]

Hi everybody

I promised to check in after my school's lockdown drill practice Friday.

It was an adults-only practice by design. My co-teachers and I noted that there are some upper windows that can't be covered and that if someone were to stand on the cover to the breezeway they could look in the windows and see us in our "safe area." Access to the roof of the breezeway cover is somewhat limited, as in there is no ladder readily hanging off the side, but I'm sure someone could shimmy up there easy enough, and I've seen the maintenance guys walking up there, so it's apparently relatively safe to walk upon? So I suppose we're sitting ducks for snipers.

We also realized we didn't know whether to leave the door between our classroom and the one next door (like, an inner door) locked or unlocked. It's just a hook and eye at the top to keep the kids from going into the other room, but it's on the other side of the door from my classroom. Meaning if my kids and I are in our "safe area" and bad guy gets in, our only escape route is that door, which I won't know is locked or not, but will probably be locked. Do I think I can slam through the hook-and-eye-locked door fast enough to save us all? Nope. Do I think it would save us if I could slam through there quickly anyway? Not really, no. Would that just lead bad guy to more kids? Ack!

Anyway.

It's also been decided that while we're continuing to leave our front doors locked during non-transition times, the classroom doors, which we were keeping locked (for all of last week starting last week) now don't have to be kept locked because it's inconvenient and not everyone has keys and then you get into how many people do you actually want to have keys...

So long story short, the following has changed at my school since Newtown:

• Our front door is locked except at the beginning and end of classes (morning, noon, three-ish). If you want in that way, you gotta ring the bell, and the receptionist has to physically walk out of the office, look through the old, single-pane window to see who you are, then physically push the bar on the door and let you in.
• We had a lockdown drill. Supposedly there will be more to come.
• I know the lockdown "trigger phrase" that they will say on the intercom and that the real one is different than the drill one.
• It was difficult as a grown-up to be quiet when I was supposed to be, knowing it was a drill. I can't wait to try it with 19 preschoolers and only one other adult. :what: (Will this finally be what gets us smaller class sizes??)

And that's about it. We've always had a "one-entry-point" and sign-in policy, but the layout of the school makes it unrealistic to be able to monitor.


So, yeah. Not entirely helpful or informative. Although, I'm at a loss at what we could really do better to prepare for all the possible scenarios out there, so I guess I just do what I always do--try to keep my kids safe and teach them what they need to know about pretty much everything all the time. They are little guys after all--lots of fundamentals still.


FWIW :seeya:

 

[CHERIE.T]

So what are you saying? That we should confiscate the guns from our police officers because a few accidentally shoot themselves or others? Huh? :what:

Bourne,
Don't take it personally. Some folks won't take time to look for links.
Ill try to find th link later tonight.
:moo:

 

[Xavier]

JMO you have to have a certain mindset, to shoot to kill, i don't think (among the teachers i know or known) that many teachers would have that mindset. the teacher may sheild their pupils to defend them or try and talk the shooter down. But most teachers i know are pacifists, defenders of the underdog, very caring thats why they teach to share their compassion. To ask them to take up arms would be cruel.

I agree..Let's get serious practically every educator does not and probably will not have the mind-set to think "terror will strike " during the day to day of educating young people

But we can't give up on the value/current day needs of having someone in a school who's armed to help protect those in the schools

There will always be someone crazier than Adam Lanza shooting up places, whether it's a school, someone's home, a theatre, a courthouse, library

It's a fact of life, sad as that sounds

But we can't give up on the current popular idea of having security in schools, etc

There will always be crazy terrorists who hate Americans and what we stand for, so does anyone want to look a Marine or Armed Service person who's fought in combat recently and tell them their efforts to combat Al Quadea was a complete waste of time?

Look at how successfully the US captured/killed the Al Quaeda leadership

 

[human]

The lockdown thing. So many issues.

What do you tell your kids as to what they are doing?

I don't know if it was the teacher's idea or a school thing, but a kindergarten teacher tells the kids they are doing a safe place practice in case a deer gets into the school.

I suppose some kids will be terrified of deer. Who knows. But what can you possibly say to young children?

 

[human]

I agree..Let's get serious practically every educator does not and probably will not have the mind-set to think "terror will strike " during the day to day of educating young people

But we can't give up on the value/current day needs of having someone in a school who's armed to help protect those in the schools

There will always be someone crazier than Adam Lanza shooting up places, whether it's a school, someone's home, a theatre, a courthouse, library

It's a fact of life, sad as that sounds

But we can't give up on the current popular idea of having security in schools, etc

There will always be crazy terrorists who hate Americans and what we stand for, so does anyone want to look a Marine or Armed Service person who's fought in combat recently and tell them their efforts to combat Al Quadea was a complete waste of time?

Look at how successfully the US captured/killed the Al Quaeda leadership

I imagine that there are plenty of options, but suicide and other mental health issues have taken a toll on so many.

But it is a possibility

 

[Xavier]

By the time Lanza made it to a classroom, he had already slaughtered two administrators. Why do you think an occassional sub who is armed would have made a difference or would make a difference in another school shooting?

An armed person would still have to be at exactly the same entry point at the school at exactly the same time to make a difference and that is nearly an impossible feat.

An officer was on premises at Columbine and it made no difference.

JMO

BELLE- So your point is to do nothing at all?

C'mon, seriously, everyone, even the President is getting on board to make changes in how we plan our protection in public places in the event someone crazier than Adam Lanza does'nt do as much or any damage as he did at Sandy Hook

Look at our current War on Terror. America likely will never stop the Jihad/islamist terrorists, they recruit like breeding rabbits

So knowing this fact, would you like to tell a combat Marine that his/her efforts in IRAQ were in vain, a waste of time?

Their efforts have made huge impacts on American safety and peace of mind BECAUSE America NEVER GAVE UP or QUIT fighting this cause

 

[bourne]

No. What I am saying is that getting everyone armed is not a solution to gun violence<modsnip>

Why are you overgeneralizing again?

I said I wanted students to feel safe and protected in schools. One way of doing that is by having armed retired police officers at the schools. I never said I wanted EVERYONE armed.

If you think logically about it, you will see that society has already accepted the police as a legitimate body to enforce law and order on its people. In fact, the police have already been granted by the state the legal right to use reasonable force on those who violate our laws, and this reasonable force includes using weapons such as guns. So if society empowers our law enforcement officers to police our streets, it is not unreasonable to apply retired police officers to police our schools.

If it's the carrying of arms on the retired police officers' bodies within the school grounds that you are concerned about, then another method to deter potential criminals/shooters would be to park occupied police cars at schools. This way, the guns would be kept out of the schools while at the same time, the police officers would be stationed outside the schools and be ready to protect the school students and staff at moment's notice.

 

[flourish]

The lockdown thing. So many issues.

What do you tell your kids as to what they are doing?

I don't know if it was the teacher's idea or a school thing, but a kindergarten teacher tells the kids they are doing a safe place practice in case a deer gets into the school.

I suppose some kids will be terrified of deer. Who knows. But what can you possibly say to young children?

A lot of my students come from some rough backgrounds and/or see enough news, etc. that they would know or easily guess that there was a "bad guy." I would tell them it wasn't safe outside right now and that we needed to stay there quiet until it was safe, then I'd start telling a story or singing softly, making sure my face was animated enough to keep their attention (a necessary skill already, but one to remind yourself if consciously here, perhaps).

There would probably be more questions but I'd stay on the "non-specific unsafe situation" line, and be as calm and confidently assuring as I am whenever other scary things happen...if I do my job right, they don't know this is actually a much bigger "scary" than when one of them falls down and is "blooding" all over (their words).

May I never find out what it takes to keep them actually calm in something like an attack. A lot of them can become remarkably quiet and still when frightened--some from instinct, some from experience

Part of me wants to tell them to play dead like the little Newtown girl, but of course telling them when and why to play dead is traumatizing on its own so of course I wouldn't do that unless the danger was literally imminent.

 

[flourish]

Has there been any discussion about where the funding for armed guards would come from yet? Or even some general cost estimates? I can't get sparkle water colors for my classroom because they cost too much per bottle, so again I have to wonder if its going to be the Department of Education funding this or the Department of Homeland Security?

 

[FrayedKnot]

A lot of my students come from some rough backgrounds and/or see enough news, etc. that they would know or easily guess that there was a "bad guy." I would tell them it wasn't safe outside right now and that we needed to stay there quiet until it was safe, then I'd start telling a story or singing softly, making sure my face was animated enough to keep their attention (a necessary skill already, but one to remind yourself if consciously here, perhaps).

There would probably be more questions but I'd stay on the "non-specific unsafe situation" line, and be as calm and confidently assuring as I am whenever other scary things happen...if I do my job right, they don't know this is actually a much bigger "scary" than when one of them falls down and is "blooding" all over (their words).

May I never find out what it takes to keep them actually calm in something like an attack. A lot of them can become remarkably quiet and still when frightened--some from instinct, some from experience

Part of me wants to tell them to play dead like the little Newtown girl, but of course telling them when and why to play dead is traumatizing on its own so of course I wouldn't do that unless the danger was literally imminent.

I had to smile at "blooding". My kids say that, too.

It is so hard, especially with little ones, to have to do lockdown drills and quickly evacuating the playground when we hear shots and make them take it seriously without traumatizing them further.

It's such a fine line and I waver between sadness and anger that these little ones don't have the luxury (that should be a right) of a childhood.

We are too busy locking down and arming the schools for children to learn or play or feel safe.

Shame on us. . (Collectively speaking)

 

[flourish]

I had to smile at "blooding". My kids say that, too.

It is so hard, especially with little ones, to have to do lockdown drills and quickly evacuating the playground when we hear shots and make them take it seriously without traumatizing them further.

It's such a fine line and I waver between sadness and anger that these little ones don't have the luxury (that should be a right) of a childhood.

We are too busy locking down and arming the schools for children to learn or play or feel safe.

Shame on us. . (Collectively speaking)

I am feeling very thankful that although my school isn't in the best neighborhood, we don't have to lock down often at all...like not even once a year...mostly we just deal with summer vandalism and random drunk/stoned/crazy people that don't try to come in the school.

I did see that Playmobil has some awesome new play sets just for these occasions...like the Police Checkpoint set, seen here

Maybe they will come out with a school lock down set.
:what:

 

[human]

I can't post it on here, but I have a picture of Gandhi which says something about taking down the British Empire without any guns. Very powerful.

And of course today, MLK Jr. No matter what violence and hatred came his way, he responded to people to return hate with love. How he did it, I do not know.

Of course we need police etc because people have free will. But rather than focusing on our lower natures, how about we focus and direct energy to providing a better more loving world. We can and we need to.

 

[HMSHood]

Why do we still know so little about Adam Lanza? Because he lived in the cloud.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opini...b722ee-5f51-11e2-a389-ee565c81c565_story.html

Since Fragile X can be ruled out in Adam Lanza. I wonder what made his eyes bulge. I noticed it in every photo of him.

 

[jjenny]

Why do we still know so little about Adam Lanza? Because he lived in the cloud.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opini...b722ee-5f51-11e2-a389-ee565c81c565_story.html

Since Fragile X can be ruled out in Adam Lanza. I wonder what made his eyes bulge. I noticed it in every photo of him.

I think his eyes look like they do because he was extremely underweight. And fragile X could have been ruled out from the start-it results in mental retardation, and he was described as above average in intelligence.