[blparent] School shooting drills?

Wed May 9 04:10:46 UTC 2012

I don't watch the news myself, at least not the local nightly body count 
broadcast.  There's no way I would expose my child to it.

Jo Elizabeth

"How far you go in life depends on you being tender with the young, 
compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of 
the weak and the strong.  Because someday in life you will have been all of 
these."--George Washington Carver, 1864-1943, American scientist

--------------------------------------------------
From: "Veronica Smith" <madison_tewe at spinn.net>
Sent: Tuesday, May 08, 2012 10:01 PM
To: "'Blind Parents Mailing List'" <blparent at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [blparent] School shooting drills?

> Rebeccah, a feeling of power has been instilled into her.  She no longer 
> has
> the fears of a 5/6 year old.  We've done lots of talking and drills of our
> own.  If there was a fire, how do you get out of this house, what do you
> take with you, stay close to the floor, check doors with the back of your
> hand, listen for roaring, put a pillow on your face, try not to breathe 
> the
> smoke.  Drills drills drills.
> We don't watch much television with her and absolutely no news.  That is
> much too scary and frightening.  We talk constantly of who to talk to and
> who not to talk to and she carries a cell phone with her and calls me when
> she gets to school.  She has to call me, no texting, I need to hear her
> voice.
> All her friends who walk have cell phones and they all have to call their
> parents when they get to school and they all have to call us when they
> leave.  If they find that there is any chance they will walk alone, they
> must call a parent to pick them up. No if what or but. That is the law.
> She takes Tae Kwon Do twice a week as I want her to have half a chance to
> get away if she needs to. Two months in a row, she has been student of the
> month. She started out slow, but has really got the hang of it now, lots 
> of
> kicking and punching, lots of  endurance training.  I will look into the
> book you suggested, thanks for your suggestion.
> V
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Pickrell, Rebecca M (TASC)
> Sent: Tuesday, May 08, 2012 9:46 AM
> To: 'Blind Parents Mailing List'
> Subject: Re: [blparent] School shooting drills?
>
>        Sounds like you and Gab should read Gavin Debecker's book 
> Protecting
> The Gift. She's old enough for you two to read it together and to talk 
> about
> this stuff.
> I agree we do have a culture of fear, but it doesn't have to be this way.
> There are some very real things you and Gab can do to give her a feeling 
> of
> power.
>
> Both of you will meet people who wish to harm you.  There are things you
> guys can do so that you don't become victims.
>
> She isn't too young to learn about this stuff.
>
> As for fires, teach her that there are things that she can do.
>
> Also, is she really afraid of this stuff, or is she using it as a buzz 
> word
> to score some extra cuddle time? Nothing wrong with cuddling, but you do
> want to figure out if this is a real fear or if she's manipulating you.
>
> Also, do you guys watch or listen to the news in the evening?  We used to
> and stopped because it was just too upsetting. You can find out what
> happened the next day.  Since you have sirius radio, I'd highly suggest
> music, old time radio and whatever sport you like.
>
> I'd even stay away from the late-night talk shows as much of their humor 
> is
> political and if you guys are already spun up, you don't need it.
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Veronica Smith
> Sent: Monday, May 07, 2012 6:05 PM
> To: 'Jo Elizabeth Pinto'; 'Blind Parents Mailing List'
> Subject: Re: [blparent] School shooting drills?
>
> So when Gab started school 5 years ago, she was terrified that there would
> be a fire at school and at home.  Reality, there might be and how does one
> assure a 5/6 year old that it is safe to go to school or better yet sleep 
> in
> your own bed.  Whether a fire drill or a shooting drill, the fear is
> instilled into our children.
> I would like to believe that none of the above would ever come to my 
> child's
> school, but the reality is we just don't know.  the only drills that I 
> have
> ever been apart of was a fire drill, but what would I do if a gunman came
> in, I've never been taught, I've  never been drilled.  Gab says they have
> fire drills now and then and lock down drills.  The first time I heard 
> that,
> a lock down drill, I was terrified and thought to myself, I take my child
> there, do we live in a bad neighborhood, WTH But it happens everywhere, in
> good neighborhoods and in bad.  If a bad peep wants to come into my
> neighborhood, all they have to do is jump in their car and go.
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Jo Elizabeth Pinto
> Sent: Sunday, May 06, 2012 6:15 PM
> To: NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List
> Subject: [blparent] School shooting drills?
>
> Students Participating in Fake 'School Shootings' May End Up More Anxious
> Than Prepared
>
> Posted by Jeanne Sager on May 2, 2012
> How's this for unsettling? I hit the website of my local paper to see
> pictures of a school up the road from me filled with cops brandishing big
> guns. The good news? It was all a drill. The bad news? High school 
> shootings
> have now become so commonplace that teachers and students are now 
> practicing
> for them!
>
> The photos from the local school are an example of a national trend. Mock
> shooting drills are now lined up on the school calendar right along with 
> the
> fire drills of our youth. This is our reality.
>
> Schools here in New York. Schools in Florida. Schools in Michigan. They've
> all let men with guns into the building so teachers, and in some schools,
> the teenagers too can practice -- in a safe manner -- what to do if a 
> child
> turns into a killer. They're hoping to save lives by being proactive.
>
> I trust the members of law enforcement who led the shooting scenario in my
> area. I understand their reasoning for trying it out. I want my kid to be
> properly prepped for an emergency. I went through fire drills and mock DWI
> accident drills and God knows what else drills back in my day, and I admit
> they helped. When I hear a fire alarm, I know what to do.
>
> But that doesn't mean I like it.
>
> Yes; a shooting may happen. But actually, thankfully, the statistics say 
> it
> probably won't. Just this February, in the wake of the horrific shooting 
> in
> Chardon, Ohio, Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics released 
> a
> study showing school-related violent deaths are at an all-time low since 
> it
> began tracking such deaths in 1992. And these are the statistics we need 
> to
> focus on.
>
> We send our kids off to school each day thinking that they are going to a
> safe place. We aren't naive. We're aware there are shootings. But we have 
> to
> focus on the positive in order to get through the day, in order to entrust
> teachers with our most precious "belongings" so to speak. The reasoning is
> two-pronged. It's to make us feel better, but it's also to comfort our 
> kids.
> This is a place where they spend much of their lives; they need to feel 
> safe
> there.
>
> A school shooting drill takes the careful fantasy we have built and rips 
> it
> in two. And for what? For the possibility that there may be a shooting at
> our kids' school?
>
> I understand why law enforcement is suggesting these drills. But if they 
> are
> the new normal, I'm afraid of what we're accepting as "normal."
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