In my thirteen years of teaching I have attended a lot of
professional development and training sessions.
I’ve been fortunate to attend sessions on writing, reading, math,
spelling, assessment, first aid, CPR and even proper ways to restrain
someone. I have not, however, attended a
training that was ever more beneficial than the safety training I attended
today.
There was not a lick of academics or a whiff of best
practice involved. What I learned today
was how to save lives. I had a safety
training today that taught us about school shootings. I learned about the emergency procedures
pre-Columbine and what has been learned since.
I learned about the Virginia Tech shootings and what has been learned
since. I learned about the Sandy Hook
shootings and what has been learned since.
I learned what to do. I learned
what not to do. I learned how to take
action. I learned what it was like to
have a gun in my face, and let me tell you, even knowing it was a fake one didn’t
make it feel any less threatening. I
learned ways to keep my students and myself as safe as possible in the event of
an emergency.
I was able to participate in actual drills to practice the
procedures and ideas we were taught. I
was able to practice my learning on the spot and in my own school building with
the people who taught us. I was able to
practice my learning with my co-workers, the people I would be surrounded with
in the event of an emergency.
I heard statistics and 911 calls and saw pictures that will
probably give me nightmares for a while, sometimes made the hair on the back of
my neck stand up and at times brought tears to my eyes. But, I learned about keeping my children safe…and
they are my children after all. I think
of the 18 little ones in my classroom as my children. I am responsible for those precious little
souls whose parents believe that I will do my best to teach them to read,
write, and play nicely with others. What
I learned today is how to also protect my babies, because their parents have
also trusted me with their safety and well-being and I don’t take that lightly,
I can’t take that lightly. As I was told
today, no one as Sandy Hook woke up that morning thinking “today is the day
tragedy will strike me,” but it did anyway. People at Columbine believed that a
school shooting would never happen in their town, but it did anyway.
I hope to the moon and back that I never once have to use
the training that I received today but if I ever do, I feel more prepared to handle
it and more confident that I would make good solid choices for the safety of my
students.
I don’t know who was responsible for arranging for the
professional development we had today but I can’t thank them enough. I am thankful for the instructors who have
dedicated their lives to teaching others in this way. As one detective pointed out, they don’t
teach this stuff in education classes, do they?
And even though the reading and writing trainings I have had have been
great learning experiences, they don’t even hold a candle to today’s learning. After all, it doesn’t matter if I have taught
my students to read or write if we aren’t here to do it.
Join in more slice of life fun by visiting the Two Writing Teachers blog today.
I'm glad that you learned so much....I think we all wonder how we would react. If we all collectively pray...maybe this crazy awful violence will stop. xo
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ReplyDeleteSorry-too many typos! I said: It's wonderful that you take this so positively, Robin. I still struggle thinking about what we are doing to the children when we have to practice lock-downs. You've made me feel better about it through your writing. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI struggle with this too Linda! I cringe when I see children covering their ears and being scared by fire drills, etc. but on the other hand I learned that only 1 child has died in a school fire in many years but over 300 have died in school violence just since Columbine. Even though it leaves me and the children unsettled, if it saves even one life...it's worth it. I believe that now.
DeleteWhat a sad state of affairs it is when we have to have training like this. I certainly do not understand people who attack schools. It's good that schools are recognizing the value of this training and preparing the teachers for something we hope will never happen.
ReplyDeleteExactly Elsie! I hate that we live in a time when we need to be thinking about this but it is our world now. I guess I also hope to never have a house fire but I'm sure glad my children know what to do if it ever happens. Our children are our most cherished treasures. If this is what we need to do to protect them, then do it we will!
DeleteYour description of your experience has pushed my thinking on this. I always wonder how to do the math on which is more likely to save my student's lives - fire and earthquake (and now safety!) drills - or the ability to read and write. I hope, of course, that the answer is becoming literate - but you have me thinking about how to weight that against whether they'll be there to do that at all without devoting time to work like this.
ReplyDeleteRobin, I read Betsy's post and now yours. What an amazing PD and that you all felt empowered by the experience. This is training that I hope we'll never need, but how much better to be prepared.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't leave it alone. Last night after we talked I knew I had to write about it too. It still is haunting me a bit but I appreciate the knowledge I walked away with after that session. Very empowering.
ReplyDeleteIt is so sad that we have to train for tragedy. But it is so important. When you think about how parents put their child's care and their trust in our hands, it is scary.
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