Blog 2: The critical attributes of our Violence in Schools topic

Critical Attributes
- School violence deals with mental health, weapon control and prevention plans.
- There are different views on how to prevent school violence. These views get into weapon control, mental health and screenings, security, teacher training and school plans.
- This is a hot topic because acts of school violence have been occurring across our nation too frequently. Also, a new gun laws are being proposed.

Informational Knowledge
- Prevention plans
-Lock down drills
-Department of Education establishes polices
-gun violence
-Second amendment

Procedural Knowledge
- Teacher training
-evacuations
-lock downs
- school codes

Concepts
We will break up our concept by teaching the different views on how school violence can be prevented.
We will teach about the variety of plans and regulations schools go through in order to deal with this situations. We will also break down step by step a schools lock down. Our group will also discuss how people have dealt with this in the past and what our nation is currently doing to work on this re occurring issue in our school systems.

Pam's Interview with 3rd Grade Teacher from the Memorial Elementary School in Burlington MA

Where do you stand on teachers being able to carry guns in school?

          Honestly, I’m opposed to it.  I once read that a teacher makes over 200 decisions an hour that can have hundreds of small effect on their students.  I don’t want carrying a gun to be one of those decisions that I need to make.  I forget where I put my coffee some mornings, so therefore I do not feel that I am responsible enough to have one.  That being said, there are some who I do feel who are qualified to carry them, but I feel that a teacher’s role should be to educate their students.  Protecting your students is also necessary, but not by carrying a gun. We have too many other things to be concerned about.

Do you think that it should be mandatory or a personal choice?

         Personal choice.  The day I am asked to carry a gun will be my last day as a teacher.  I strongly feel that carrying a weapon should not be one of my responsibilities as a classroom teacher.

If you were licensed would you carry a firearm with you in your school?

          No.

 Should students be aware of teachers carrying guns?  Should parents know?

        I think that parents and students have the right to know if their teacher is carrying a gun or if there is any weapon on school grounds.  When our DARE Officers come to the building for the first time, they always tell the students why they carry their gun and why they have it on them in the school – it is part of their uniform and their job as a police officer.  If my child was at a school where a teacher was carrying a gun, I would want to know immediately.

What safety measures does your school take for security?

       All doors are locked at all times, except for the two doors students come in for the morning.  At that time, both doors are manned with at least two staff members.  We have video monitors of all entrances, hallways, and stairwells.  We have a buzzer/monitor system that allows the office staff to buzz people in.  People coming into the building must show ID and sign in.  Every day a police officer does a walk through out building to make sure our school is secure and safe.  Our custodians do walk through 4X a day to make sure all outside doors are secure.  All classroom doors remain locked throughout the day in case there is a need to secure the classroom quickly. (Our school was built in 2011).  Right now there is talk to let the police have access to our video monitors at the police station so they can see in real time what is going on at the entrances/hallways of our schools.

 

 What do you think that schools could do to increase security? 

        I think that we should employ police officers (or like police officers) to patrol the school full time or more regularly.  I think we should have those locks on the classroom doors (sort of like a door stopper) that secures the door shut without needing a key.  Schools should practice drills and have concrete plans in place to keep students safe.  Another idea I have is that both of our school’s day custodians are veterans.  They both fought in battle and are trained to use a weapon.  I would feel 100% comfortable if our two custodians were armed.  They are men who I trust to defend our school and be first responders in an emergency.  Let’s employ these US trained military veterans and have them patrolling the school.  Let them work undercover as custodians or teacher’s assistants and be trained to be first responders.  Studies have shown that stopping an unlikely event at a school is cut down in time when there is a quick response from the police.  Put the police in the building, and you don’t have the travel time to get to the school.

 Do you have a zero tolerance policy in effect?  How strict is it?

      Yes – zero tolerance to Bullying, fighting, weapons, threats, etc.  It is extremely strict.

Do you have lock down and evacuation procedures in place at your school?  How often are these drills practiced?

     Yes – we have had lock down and evacuation procedures in place since the time I started there in August, 2001.  A week after September 11, 2001, we had our first lock down drill.  We practice the evacuation/fire drills at least 4X a year and our lock down drill at least 2X a year.

My thoughts:
I chose to interview this 3rd grade teacher because I wanted to get an idea of where she stands on school violence issues and teachers being able to carry fire arms.  I really like how safe her school is. She is at an advantage because the school is so new that they have such great security measures.  I only hope that it can become present in all schools.  It will take time and be very costly but when updating the school systems putting in video monitors is a great safety measure.  I also liked her idea of having custodians armed.  They know everything there is to know about the school and they are so important to the school community.  I don't think that custodians have to be veterans but they should be trained to be first responders.  I was also happy to hear that her school has a strict zero tolerance policy and that they practice lock down and evacuation plans frequently.
Where we differ is in our opinions on teachers carrying firearms.  I think that it should be allowed but with throughout backgrounds and it should be a personal choice.  Even though we differ on that we share a lot of the similar ideas on how security measures can be increased like having a police officer on duty.  I only hope that more schools get updated security measures like she has at the memorial elementary school in Burlington MA.

Stephanie's Interview

Interview with Officer Hatzipetros 
Nashua, N.H. PD

Do you think the issue of violence in schools is important? Why/why not?
Yes this is extremely important issue. Schools should be a safe place for children. For some kids, school is a safe haven and have extremely tough lives at home. They should be able to feel like school is the safest place in the world for them. Teachers and staff at schools are there to not only teach the children, but to protect them and make them feel safe. Some changes need to be made so that we do not keep seeing these acts of violence in schools across our country.

Do you have any ideas of changes that could be made to prevent school violence?
I think one major aspect of the violence that takes place in schools is mental health.  I think parents, teachers, school staff, coaches, friends, etc. need to pay extremely close attention to the mental health of the students. Some kids have issues that will get overlooked for their entire schooling. People who spend time with the students need to know what to look for to notice if students are having emotional or mental issues so they can get the student help before they snap and hurt themselves or others. I also think that metal detectors should be placed in schools.

Do you think that schools should have a police officer present each school day?
This would be very hard because of budgets. Each town/city could have numerous schools. It would take a lot to place  an officer in each school full time. I think maybe they could place resource officers in the schools  along with metal detectors and security cameras in schools and that could be efficient.

Do you think teachers should carry guns in school?
No I do not. It's not in a teachers job description to be trained to carry fire arms and I think it would be too risky to have guns in classrooms. 

Do you think teachers should be given training on how to take down a gun man?
I think this training would have to be voluntary. It should not be mandatory but if teachers would like to take on this training, it would have to be very extensive so they would know how to properly protect themselves and others. It would involve physical and mental training to learn how to do such a thing. I think it would be a good idea for a few staff members in a school to have the training but once again it would have to be voluntary. 

My Thoughts:
Mike is my brother-in-law who has been a police officer in Nashua for about 3 years and is a Marine Veteran. I chose to interview Mike because he deals with gun control issues and violence everyday at work.When Sandy Hook took place I remember Mike saying he couldn't even come close to imagine being the police officers who had to go into the school after the shooting at Sandy Hook. This was coming from a man who went to war and sees violence everyday so I figured I would see how he felt we could prevent school violence. One point that Mike made that really opened my eyes to a new side of the topic was mental health. When there is a school shooting or other school violence you hear about the gunman and people trying to look back at what could have triggered such an awful act. Teachers, parents, friends, etc. need to closely monitor the students in their lives. If someone is having troubles emotionally, mentally, socially, they need to be addressed before the child breaks down and like Mike said, hurts themselves or others. School councilors need to be in all schools, communicating with students and staff, making sure issues are taken care of. Parents need to also closely monitor their children. If they fear their child is going through hard times, seek help. I also agreed with Mike when he said that it would be very risky for teachers to have guns in classrooms.

Pam's Interview

Woburn Police Officer

Where do you stand on teachers being allowed to carry guns in school?

            Well, honestly I feel that they should be allowed to. It is a constitutional right to bare arms and based off of what’s happened recently if teachers and bus drivers are supposed to take their children in to account and protect them they should be allowed to have the means to protect them.  They shouldn’t be asked to protect students without given them the right to have something to protect them with. 

Do you think it should be mandatory or a personal choice?

            I think that it should be a personal choice. In order for them to carry they should have to go through the normal background checks. The same as everyone else but it should ultimately be up to the district who should be carrying.

            If I had a teacher who had a gun that would make me feel better if I were a student.

Should students be aware of teachers carrying guns in school?

            Students should not be aware of who has a gun in school but on an elementary level the parents should now. It is a concealed weapon but parents should know but students do not need to know because it could prompt a lot of stuff that you do not want to happen. If their classroom teachers carries they the parents should know.

What do you think schools could do to increase security?

           Having a police officer on duty works to an extent but a lot more can be done when our schools are updated.  The newer schools its next to impossible to get into school if you aren’t a parent or guardian but the older schools almost anyone can walk into the schools. The older schools need to be updated to have better security systems in place.

            Schools should have limited access to anyone, if your not a parent or guardian you don’t need to be there.  Everything and everyone should be logged and kept track of.

My thoughts:
I agree with many of the things that woburn police officer had to say.  I think that it is very important that we update our schools and make sure that everyone entering and exiting is logging in and it is monitored closely.  I also was happy to hear that he thought that it should be a personal choice to carry a firearm.  I think that many teachers may be scared to carry a firearm but if some that are more confident then I think its great.  I also agree that parents should know if students classroom teachers do carry a firearm especially on an elementary level.  I think that in high school and middle school students should not be aware of who is carrying.  If students know they might go looking and then that could prompt things that we do not want to happen.  I was happy to hear that we share some of the same opinions on schools safety policies.

SCHOOL SECURITY POLICIES 

      Currently in place there are "Zero Tolerance Policies" in most schools. This website School Security covers many of the current issues that schools are faced with.  I especially like the Zero Tolerance Policies section of this website.  I do believe that often times schools are more lenient with this policy depending on who the student is.  I think that it should be the same zero tolerance policy across the board regardless of who the student is that is doing something against school policy.  If we want to have the safest schools we must treat all the students equally even if that means punishing/removing a student that officials would like to give a second chance too.  There should be no second chances when it comes to school safety in my opinion.  Maintaining zero tolerance policies will allow students, parents and faculty to feel safer.

Emilys Interview

Joe Gala (15 years old freshman in High school)
Is this a problem you think is important?  Why/ Why not?
“I think it is because there is so much going on with it lately. Now people are putting it into consideration.”
Do you think others in our community this is an important problem? Why/ why not?
“Yah, they see it on the news so much.” (Sandy hook)”
What are advantages of this policy?
“I don’t think we should have metal detectors at school. I do think that teachers should learn self-defense. I think a metal detector is overkill.”
What would you do to solve this problem?
“Each teacher should learn self-defense.”
“Students should learn more evacuations.”
Do you as a student know your classrooms evacuation?
“Yes, but it’s not that good.”
Do you feel safe at school?
“Yes.”
What does your school do to make you safe?”
“Officer Silva is at the school with a gun. We have a buzzer at the door and dead locks.”
Do you see violence at your school?
“No.”
What would you do it you did?
“Depends.”
Gun violence, I would run.

WHAT DO I THINK THIS MEANS?

            When I picked my brother to do this interview with me I thought he would be a great candidate. He is currently at the High School. He was very open with me on this topic and really gave me a lot of information to go by for my future research.
            He answered all the questions and felt very strongly about my topic. He feels that this is a big issue that is going on. When I asked him more personal questions and questions relating to his own school he seemed to know a lot. He knew about his evacuation and what was being doing to secure the school. I was very surprised by this, but I was glad to hear he knew about his schools policy on safety.

What Branch of Government deals with Violence in Schools?

While searching the web I found out that the Executive Branch deals with the issues that occur in schools when dealing with Violence and the safety of students and teachers. The Department of Education or (ED) Establishes policy for the nation's schools, and administers and coordinates most federal education assistance. Then it goes into the different offices. This is when the Office of Safe and Drug- Free (OSDF) schools comes into play.