From Fire Drill to Gun-Fire Drill

The education career field is ever changing with the times. As a child, I recall having various emergency type drills, where we would move under a desk or table, or line up in the hall, sitting with our heads between our knees, or file out of the building single file to a designated place out away from the building. Now, it is not just natural disasters that schools take precautions for, but gun fire! The 1999 Columbine, and the 2007 Virginia Tech shootings have prompted at least one school to take action in educating and preparing the students in new procedures. University of California Davis students are training for school shooting survival led by Lt. Matt Carmichael, who seeks to teach students how to react “when someone comes into our environment and tries to do harm to us.”

Carmichael's training includes playing to the students the 911 call made from a teacher hiding under a desk with her students during the Columbine shooting. He explains that it is now recommended by the police that people try to flee and escape if at all possible, rather than hide or barricade within. After the presentation, out onto the stage comes a man with a assault rifle who begins firing blanks into the startled crowd. There is some initial panic, but the presentation appears to have been successful, as the auditorium is cleared within seconds.

Some are not convinced that such a tactic is totally effective, such as the Executive Director of Campus Safety Magazine, Robin Hattersley Gray, who states:

 

“There is significant debate as to whether they are effective because even well-trained police officers who have been through months of training can make mistakes. So can you expect a college student to remember everything he or she has heard in a 30-minute training session?”

However, Carmichael believes that making the students aware of their surroundings and of the better option to evaluate escape routes and flee when possible, will indeed make an impression if such a scenario arises.

Jeff McCormack resides in Virginia Beach, VA. where he works as a web designer by day. In his off time he is a husband, father, mail order book store manager, and musician. Aside from being a freelance writer for this Education Jobsite blog, he also seeks to assist in career choices and information by contributing to other Nexxt blog sites.