83
Volume:
2019
,
February

Safety and the World as It Is

Submitted By:
Jonathan Gold, Moses Brown School, Providence, RI

"Active-Shooter Drills Are Tragically Misguidedby Erika Christakis
The Atlantic, March 2019

"
Teachers with Gunsby Thomas Baxter
Boston Review, February 19, 2019

These two articles parse the discourse around school safety while also complicating notions of security and responsibility. Erika Christakis's piece for The Atlantic argues that while schools should certainly prepare themselves for the unlikely but harrowing possibility of an active shooter event, the practice of conducting active shooter drills is itself traumatizing and needlessly reactive. Christakis then uses the increasing prevalence of these drills and other forms of disaster preparedness as a vehicle for a broader reflection on contemporary misconceptions about childhood and the effects of today's increasingly stressful world on our students. With regard to increasing rates of anxiety and stress among children, Christakis argues that "if today’s students feel anxious, perhaps it's partly because, after being told by adults that they're not capable of handling life's little challenges, those same adults are bequeathing them so many big challenges" and, in the case of active shooter preparedness, asking them to prepare themselves for the unthinkable. Meanwhile, Thomas Baxter, a public school teacher who went through a gun safety course in order to be able to carry a gun in school as part of an Ohio policy designed to prevent school shootings, takes us through his thinking as he contemplates what it means to assume this level of responsibility – and lethality – in a school. Baxter's ambivalence is palpable and poignant, as is his broader uncertainty about the world we're creating for our children. Both essays will prompt reflection for educators who take seriously our role of protecting students' safety while preparing them for the world as it is, whatever that could potentially mean.

Categories
Student Wellness & Safety
Current Events & Civic Engagement