Schools have lost a lot of the veneer of safety that they used to have. The mass shootings seem to have become more often, and parents are more worried about their children coming home from school, even as kids are more worried about being shot at school. There are some ways to protect yourself from being a victim at a school shooting, but it does require a little paranoia.
First off, there is some good news. School shootings may seem to be everywhere, but the likelihood that you will be involved in one is pretty small; the odds are less than one in a million. Although incidents involving weapons in general are greater, roughly in one in fourteen, and your student has a one in seven chance of being in a fist fight, so safety is not completely assured, there is little chance that any given child will be involved in a mass shooting, such as recently at Sandy Hook Elementary. The bottom line is that your child is extremely likely to survive any given school day.
The problem is that determining who will be the next shooter is still hard to do; although a number of factors are common to most shooters, those same factors are common to a number of students in any school setting. Simply stepping up anti-bully systems is not going to work as they would not have caught most shooters, were usually on the receiving end, and it is hard to determine which students are at the greatest risk of becoming a shooter.
However, there are some steps most kids can take to survive an attack. Once you hear shooting, hide if at all possible. Once you are hidden, stay hidden, do not make any noises, and do not call 911; odds are someone else is trying and your call makes it less likely that the call will get through due to jamming the lines. Lock the door if possible; most shooters are in a hurry and a locked door is not something they want to deal with. Do not take on the shooter; not only does he have a long-range attack but he also likely has someone to back him up and he can shoot through most doors. The odds are not in your favor. If you do decide to try anyway, stay away from doors and deal with the firearm first. This will not guarantee survival, but it should be enough to give you a fighting chance.
You should realize that your child is reasonably safe at school, and that he needs to go to school in order to get somewhere. If not, teach them to be a little paranoid; that paranoia will actually be a good thing in the long run, and make them more confident. Pray for the best, prepare for the worst, and your child should do okay.
Schools have lost a lot of the veneer of safety that they used to have. The mass shootings seem to have become more often, and parents are more worried about their children coming home from school, even as kids are more worried about being shot at school. There are some ways to protect yourself from being a victim at a school shooting, but it does require a little paranoia. First off, there is some good news. School shootings may seem to be everywhere, but the likelihood that you will be involved in one is pretty small; the odds are less than one in a million. Although incidents involving weapons in general are greater, roughly in one in fourteen, and your student has a one in seven chance of being in a fist fight, so safety is not completely assured, there is little chance that any given child will be involved in a mass shooting, such as recently at Sandy Hook Elementary. The bottom line is that your child is extremely likely to survive any given school day. The problem is that determining who will be the next shooter is still hard to do; although a number of factors are common to most shooters, those same factors are common to a number of students in any school setting. Simply stepping up anti-bully systems is not going to work as they would not have caught most shooters, were usually on the receiving end, and it is hard to determine which students are at the greatest risk of becoming a shooter. However, there are some steps most kids can take to survive an attack. Once you hear shooting, hide if at all possible. Once you are hidden, stay hidden, do not make any noises, and do not call 911; odds are someone else is trying and your call makes it less likely that the call will get through due to jamming the lines. Lock the door if possible; most shooters are in a hurry and a locked door is not something they want to deal with. Do not take on the shooter; not only does he have a long-range attack but he also likely has someone to back him up and he can shoot through most doors. The odds are not in your favor. If you do decide to try anyway, stay away from doors and deal with the firearm first. This will not guarantee survival, but it should be enough to give you a fighting chance. You should realize that your child is reasonably safe at school, and that he needs to go to school in order to get somewhere. If not, teach them to be a little paranoid; that paranoia will actually be a good thing in the long run, and make them more confident. Pray for the best, prepare for the worst, and your child should do okay.
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