school shooting drill

[someotherguy]

Apparently there's a high school in Chicago that did a "code red drill", which basically means they locked up all the students in classrooms and fired few blanks in the hallways.
It sounds like parents were notified in advance, though some said they weren't (maybe email spam folder).

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2013/01/...s-in-hallways/ <-- this talks about notification
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2...ll-cary-police <-- this is the actual drill article

I would guess students were notified as well.

I found the drill a little funny in a sad+nervous way.
Is it really this common now that we need to teach kids (high school, so not actually little kids but 13/14 and up) to get used to a school shooting.
Why isn't fire alarm practiced with smoke in the halls? or some fire-smell.
What happens when there are real shots? will students assume it's another drill? Probably not, maybe I'm grabbing for something to find what's wrong with this drill, I kind of don't like it.

[Pendulous]

Maybe in a place like Chicago where it's a more common happening. But no, not everywhere.

[CastleintheMist]

I lived in white upper class snob suburbia when I was in school and we had "lock down" drills as well. Now we didn't have shots fired around us but it doesn't surprise me that a school in Chicago would be taking that kind of precaution.

[Franzy]

Is this similar to a lockdown drill? I would have though this would be taught already.

[Lolvanish]

My senior year we did around 4 of those drills through the year.

[Prokne]

I lived in white upper class snob suburbia when I was in school and we had "lock down" drills as well. Now we didn't have shots fired around us but it doesn't surprise me that a school in Chicago would be taking that kind of precaution.

Yeah a lock down drill, which can be used for a lot of different things, is a useful drill. Using blanks is a little much and doesnt really add any training benefit.

[Tradewind]

I went to school in a normal area of the world and we had a fire drill once a year.

[Ineras]

This is similar to lockdown drills which have been going on for quite a while now. I remember there was a lockdown drill at my high school once when I was there. No shots or anything though.

[Garnier Fructis]

My high school did one of these once. We messed it up so horribly that we were forced by the school district to do it again. There were people running around with a sign on their chest that read "Bomb" knocking on doors, and one stupid idiot actually opened the door.

In a real situation, I think I would punch any asshole that goes to open the door of the classroom.

[Airwaves]

This is just depressing. What kind of 1st world country needs to have shooting drills. Just sad, glad i don't live in a country like that. Most we had to do here was a fire drill at the start of each year.

[Valedus]

This is just depressing. What kind of 1st world country needs to have shooting drills. Just sad, glad i don't live in a country like that. Most we had to do here was a fire drill at the start of each year.

I live outside Chicago like 40 minutes from the City and all we've ever did was lockdown, fire, and tornado drills. Not like its commonplace.

[someotherguy]

Lol, now I feel old. I finished school in 95, and don't think we ever did any lockdown drill. It was a pretty good school, but in Brooklyn - as opposed to a suburb (which I'd assume be safer).

[Acquilae]

This is just depressing. What kind of 1st world country needs to have shooting drills. Just sad, glad i don't live in a country like that. Most we had to do here was a fire drill at the start of each year.

These are nothing; back in the 50's we had nuclear bomb drills and old videos would show the flash of an explosion outside the window and the innocent schoolchildren hiding under desks completely unharmed!

[Deleted]

When you're preparing children for a very possible eventuality like this, you can't ignore that changes need to be made.

[yurano]

Yeah a lock down drill, which can be used for a lot of different things, is a useful drill. Using blanks is a little much and doesnt really add any training benefit.

Fear training. Its the same thing they do to soldiers in boot camp to make sure they don't lose their heads when the danger is real.

[Tradewind]

Fear training. Its the same thing they do to soldiers in boot camp to make sure they don't lose their heads when the danger is real.

Yeah it truly is counter productive in a learning environment when all that enrichment and teaching gets turned into jam on the wall. Better prepare them for how to deal with it.

[Caesonia]

they do lockdown types of drills here already or at least they did when i was in school......same thing as that minus the blanks and what not.

[Hawkwing]

I live in Canada and we have code red drills as well, as we have had for the past six or so years.

[Tradewind]

I live in Canada and we have code red drills as well, as we have had for the past six or so years.

Where? Never even heard of them being done where I am.

[TheSerialSniper]

The high school I went to 5 years ago did lock down drills, but never fired blank rounds or anything of the sort.