Lock Down

I am realizing from last week's fire and today's lock down, that substitute teachers are ill prepared for disasters and emergencies. The information that schools are suppose to provide is never in the folder, the classroom or on the teacher's desk. The bucket with class lists and other important things is never where you can get at it, usually lock in a cupboard for which you do not have a key. It is hard because every school is different, and trying to know everything about every school is impossible. I improv security, something the United States Secret Service doesn't even improv, they go through drills that they hope they never have to implement.

Today was my first actual REAL lock down, meaning that there was someone/something in the surrounding the perimeter that was suspicious and the cops were called. I guess according from what I heard, a man dressed in black with a gun across the street. It lasted for an hour.

To make matters far more interesting, I was subbing for a teacher in the Special Education Department, who teaches Foundations of World History (or US History, I forgot which one) and Practical Math, which means students who are grades below where they should be. Most of them have other issues too, mostly attitude. This is the same school that a female student threaten me (same class actually, the more I think about it... I do not think she was here today, another story for another day.) Luckily when the school announce over the PA system for the lock down, I had to Para Educators in my room (at least they knew what to do), so we all spent quality time together.

High school students fail to take things like this seriously. To be honest, I wasn't that nervous about it, cops were checking the school within minutes unlocking the lock classroom doors popping in and re-locking. But sitting in the dark and trying to keep high school students quiet with is impossible. Luckily, nothing happened.

I did not sign up to have to experience lock downs, worrying about the safety of my students and myself. Schools are suppose to be safe place, but ever since Columbine and the awareness of sexual predators rose in the 1990s, schools have to prepare for everything and everyone.

Since the Columbine shooting, I have had this recurring dream and the only thing I remember is the following: I am walking down this large hallway, lockers and classrooms are flanking either side of the me and I am running down the hall and there is a shot. I wake up. That did cross my mind today. Being an Educator is not for the weary, or the faint because the greater the chaos in the world, the greater responsibility for the teacher in the classroom protecting, educating and inspiring the students they are responsible for.

Yet, I still sub.

xen