Thoughts From A Conservative Mom?

[dairyfreelife]

Just discovered this blog from Mommy Life's link. She's a bundle of nutty for the most part. Even some of her posts that could have a point seem to turn into "people are out to harm, kill, indoctrinate, etc. you!" Mostly it's about Obama being another Pol Pot, Hitler, Bin Laden, etc.

She has a post titled Children Subjected to "Realistic" Terror and "School Shooter" Drills Where Homeschoolers, Christians are Portrayed as "Terrorists". However none of the post or the site she links talks about homeschoolers or Christians playing terrorists. We had shelter-in-place, evacuation, lock-down and fire drills when I was in school. There was nothing scary about them. Yes, some schools have gone to the extreme and it's not necessary.

It’s just another way to condition students to conform, believe and unquestioningly obey whatever the ruling class tells them.

:roll:

The linked article is just as silly. Americanthinker.com

In addition, parents were instructed not to call the school during the drill and children were instructed not to call their parents….

Gee, why would that be? The fact is that in a real emergency, lines need to stay open so parents calling the school can tie lines down. Causing a panic for a drill would make things worse and yes, in an emergency, children NEED to listen to the adults. It's for their safety and emergencies happen rarely, but they can happen. Having drills isn't a bad thing. Faking a shooting is unnecessary imo, but I'd venture to say that the majority of schools aren't holding mock terrorist and shooting attacks.

thoughtsfromaconservativemom.com/2012/04/children-subjected-to-realistic-terror-and-school-shooter-drills-where-homeschoolers-christians-are-portrayed-as-terrorists

[2xx1xy1JD]

My kids get lockdown drills (sadly necessary, IMO, esp. as a Jewish school could realistically be a target), but I've never heard of anyone doing elaborate fake shooter scenarios. Is this something isolated being blown way out of proportion?

[Glass Cowcatcher]

Does she not get that they actually NEED to have those drills for the children's safety?

Two school got hit in the tornadoes we had in Texas last week--one of them was badly damaged. The fact that no one was killed is very likely due to the students and teachers practicing what to do beforehand.

This is no different than having a fire escape planned out at home.

[ladypuglover]

Does she not get that they actually NEED to have those drills for the children's safety?

Two school got hit in the tornadoes we had in Texas last week--one of them was badly damaged. The fact that no one was killed is very likely due to the students and teachers practicing what to do beforehand.

This is no different than having a fire escape planned out at home.

^This. Schools here do practice fire/tornado/terrorism drills. Why? Because it can happen, if it couldn't then they wouldn't practice for it. We don't practice for hurricanes nor earthquakes because those either don't happen here or on such a small scale that most don't notice them. I as a kid had to practice terrorism drills as a kid in the 70's and 80's because there were always assholes who would call in bomb threats or death threats back then too. This is nothing new and I'm not living in fear of fires, tornados or bomb threats because I know what to do. :doh:

[socalrules]

We had to practice earthquake drills. Most of us thought it was fun. Considering the fact that we had a number of strong quakes in the 80s and early 90s, some of which occurred while we were in school, they were definately necessary. No one panicked when a quake occurred because we were prepared. My school also required every child to have an earthquake pack at school in case we had to stay there a few days. I don't understand why she doesn't understand that the school is trying to protect its children. They should be applauded, not chided for it.

[deelaem]

It’s just another way to condition students to conform, believe and unquestioningly obey whatever the ruling class tells them.

Talk about the pot calling the kettle black! Isn't that exactly what fundie women and children are supposed to do?

[ADoyle90815]

We had to practice earthquake drills. Most of us thought it was fun. Considering the fact that we had a number of strong quakes in the 80s and early 90s, some of which occurred while we were in school, they were definately necessary. No one panicked when a quake occurred because we were prepared. My school also required every child to have an earthquake pack at school in case we had to stay there a few days. I don't understand why she doesn't understand that the school is trying to protect its children. They should be applauded, not chided for it.

That was also the case when I was in school. The funny thing is that when I was in the 7th grade, we had an aftershock to a previous earthquake that hit during math class. Naturally, we did as we had practiced since kindergarten and got under our desks, but the teacher didn't feel the quake, so he thought the class was doing a prank. The next day, he apologized for how he reacted as he found out from other teachers that it was no prank. As far as preparedness, the schools have huge storage bins where they keep extra food and supplies in case students have to stay on campus for several days. Lately, the school districts have participated in a state wide earthquake drill where city governments and emergency responders can practice their responses as well.

[FundiesInMyFamily]

We had tornado drills in elementary school in the late 70's. We had to go into the basement and crouch down up against the walls. I lived in Michigan at the time and severe weather was a yearly thing. We had a huge tornado go right down the middle of our neighborhood one year, thank goodness it was summer and we were all out of school. If school had been in session those drills would have come in handy!

[Letgo]

Quote:

It’s just another way to condition students to conform, believe and unquestioningly obey whatever the ruling class tells them.

Hmmm...Don't they also "train" their children to obey without question? The ruling class? Is that what the evil government schools are? It is fine if they demand instant obedience from children, but not if a school does it for safety reasons. We had air raid drills in the 60s because of the Cuban missle crisis, earthquake and fire drills, and bomb threat drills in the late 60s. Now kids have lockdown drills. ALL done for safety. And a wacko with a gun or bomb is not limited in who or what is targeted. Reacting quickly and in the right way is important and can save lives.

[ems]

Just discovered this blog from Mommy Life's link.Mostly it's about Obama being another Pol Pot, Hitler, Bin Laden, etc.

She has a post titled Children Subjected to "Realistic" Terror and "School Shooter" Drills Where Homeschoolers, Christians are Portrayed as "Terrorists". However none of the post or the site she links talks about homeschoolers or Christians playing terrorists. We had shelter-in-place, evacuation, lock-down and fire drills when I was in school. There was nothing scary about them. Yes, some schools have gone to the extreme and it's not necessary.

thoughtsfromaconservativemom.com/2012/04/children-subjected-to-realistic-terror-and-school-shooter-drills-where-homeschoolers-christians-are-portrayed-as-terrorists

I should have known the link came from Mommy's Life; it sounds like something she would link to...

As for the drills (which I have not heard of, btw), children growing up in the 1950s underwent far worse with the bomb drills, etc. Oh, right, they pretty much think the Red Scare is still going on.

And the next person who compares Obama to a brutal dictator, I really want to ship off somewhere where people are actually being persecuted and living in fear. North Korea? Iran? Any votes?

[AnnieC 305]

We had earthquake and fire drills growing up, which came in real handy when [link=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1989_Loma_Prieta_earthquake]Loma Prieta[/link] hit. I was in high school, we were rehearsing a school play at the time and getting under a table probably saved my life when one of the big lights fell right where I had been sitting.

When I was teaching we had earthquake, fire and lockdown drills because we were in a very rough district. On more than one occasion we had to lockdown our rooms because people from the high school next door were having a gang fight and there were bullets flying. I had two through my windows,and we had a teacher, student, parent and our crossing guard shot, all during the eight years I taught there.

Really, schools take time out of their day to do these drills for a reason.

Also, this is why I retired young.

Edited to add: Part of my job during drills/emergencies was to set up a mobile station for our office staff so they could records to be certain that students were going home with a parent or emergency contact. In other words, not allow random strangers to take them somewhere.

Evacuation Plan: Requires that all building occupants leave and go to an alternate location. Evacuation may mean only going outside and away from the building until an all-clear signal is given. In some circumstances, students and staff may need to be transported and housed temporarily in another location until the Go-Home Plan can be put into operation.

I'm sorry, setting up the machines to check everyone out doesn't happen instantaneously. It took me about 30 minutes every time.

[Glass Cowcatcher]

When I was teaching we had earthquake, fire and lockdown drills because we were in a very rough district. On more than one occasion we had to lockdown our rooms because people from the high school next door were having a gang fight and there were bullets flying. I had two through my windows,and we had a teacher, student, parent and our crossing guard shot, all during the eight years I taught there.

Which is why all those kids should have been homeschooled, right? :roll:

[Wolfie]

Does she not get that they actually NEED to have those drills for the children's safety?

Two school got hit in the tornadoes we had in Texas last week--one of them was badly damaged. The fact that no one was killed is very likely due to the students and teachers practicing what to do beforehand.

This is no different than having a fire escape planned out at home.

This.

A couple weeks ago the school where I teach had to evacuate several classrooms due to a minor gas leak. Due to practicing evacuations over and over, the kids were not worried at all- other than being bored during the hour it took for it to get cleared up and the gas company to give the okay for them to go back to their rooms. I've seen this happen at other schools too.

[Tanaqui]

When I was teaching I appreciated the "scary person in the school" drills. A friend of mine was killed in a church shooting when I was a teenager and I spent a long, long time dealing with PTSD. The drills helped me practise keeping calm so that, hopefully, I wouldn't totally flip out and be able to properly protect my students if we ever had the misfortune to be in a similar situation.

Knowing what to do in threatening situations is empowering for both children and adults. It helps mitigate fear, promotes a calm response, and provides a set routine that will maximize survival and limit injury.

[skrmom]

Years ago, when a local bank was robbed, the nearby schools went on lock-down. A bank robber could enter a school to hide or take a hostage-but he could enter a home, grocery store or church as well.

[JesusFightClub]

We did fire drill at school but I've only ever done bomb drill once at work. Unfortunately this was in the middle of the G8 protests and people thought it was a real attack. I remember someone screaming "The anarchists have come here! They're attacking!" and me trying to point out an extremely small, obscure tax office (most of our fellow tax officials didn't even knw what we did) wouldn't be a very likely target. And red faces all round as it was discovered our muster point was in front of a plate glass window. Not the best place to be if a bomb goes off.

It was more surreal than anything else. I didn't feel that evil Government forces were oppressing me any more than usual, but that could have been because I was part of them. ;)

edit, riffle

[dairyfreelife]

I should have known the link came from Mommy's Life; it sounds like something she would link to...

As for the drills (which I have not heard of, btw), children growing up in the 1950s underwent far worse with the bomb drills, etc. Oh, right, they pretty much think the Red Scare is still going on.

And the next person who compares Obama to a brutal dictator, I really want to ship off somewhere where people are actually being persecuted and living in fear. North Korea? Iran? Any votes?

We has fire drills, shelter-in-place drills because there were chemical plants nearby and teachers would lock all windows and doors anc tape them up to prevent any gases from getting inside the building. We actually had a couple real shelter-in-places when I was young. We also had evacuation drills for bombs and went over emergency evacuation plans. We didn't take a bus anywhere, but were told what would happen should an emergency evacuation of the area be necessary. We'd get on a bus and the bus would take somewhere, but now I can't recall where. A safe location anyway out of the town. We had lock-downs in case there was a threat outside or even in the building. The classrooms would all be locked up to prevent anyone from coming inside. It was never a big deal and were just a way to keep safe and know what to do in the event of a real emergency.

We never had earthquake, tornado or any other natural disaster like lahar or volcano drills. Tornadoes are extremely rare here and though we did feel the aftershocks of the earthquake last fall, we aren't in an earthquake zone.

I'm not a fan of Obama at all, but comparing him to someone as sick and cruel as Hitler and Pol Pot is insane. He's not even close to being like them. Of course some of this people equate the supposed 1000s of abortions done each year and the millions done since Roe v Wade to the Holocaust, I'm not surprised. Obama wants better coverage for the pill, Plan B and abortions, so he's

"killing humans" and that makes him equal to evil dictators who torture, kill, make people and even young children kill others, turn others into slaves, starving people to death, etc. It's totally the same as abortion. . :roll: Smiles aren't working past page one, but *barf icon*

[Wolfie]

Years ago, when a local bank was robbed, the nearby schools went on lock-down. A bank robber could enter a school to hide or take a hostage-but he could enter a home, grocery store or church as well.

And generally if the schools go on lock down the police also suggest that everything else locks down too. I've been told by bullhorn to get in my house and lock all the doors.

[dairyfreelife]

And generally if the schools go on lock down the police also suggest that everything else locks down too. I've been told by bullhorn to get in my house and lock all the doors.

This. If someone dangerous is around, like an escaped convict or whatever, everyone goes on lock down who's nearby.

[PBrooke]

We had tornado and fire drills, and a few "scary person in school/near school" drills after Columbine. Those sort of drills are actually more useful than you might think, because although shootings in school are rare, I've known of several schools that went into lockdown mode due to a criminal known in the area - like someone being chased by the police that might run onto campus. It's not a bad idea to have a plan in case a bank robber, or, hell, a rabid dog wanders onto campus and you need to keep kids inside and safe.

We didn't have hurricane drills, because usually you know a hurricane is headed your way days in advance and you'd be evacuated/school would be canceled. But I could see having flash flood drills if you lived in one of those areas.

[shesinsane]

Emergency drills are necessary for the safety of the children. People tend to panic, if the kids have practiced leaving the building, they're more likely to do it in an efficient and safe manner.

First responders train all the time for scenarios that are very unlikely, but when disaster strikes, you don't usually have time to study up on what you should do.

Many people that escaped the World Trade Center on 9/11 said that regular fire/evacuation drills, held regularly since first WTC bombing in 1993, helped them to know what to do when those planes hit the buildings. The firefighters were trying to evacuate the injured and get to the fire, they didn't have time to go from office to office instructing people to leave the building.

I guess if you pray to Jesus the way this blogger does, you don't have to worry about disasters and emergnecies because the Lord will protect you. For the rest of us, knowing what to do in case of emergency is very helpful when emergencies occur.

[susanmr5]

Growing up we only had fire drills. The school I currently work at has fire drills and lock down drills. There's a plan in place for if there's a tornado but it's never practiced.

The first time I experienced a lockdown drill they didn't "stimulate" anything. The principal and police went around to make sure everything was the way it should be and timed how long it took. The second lockdown drill happened between classes to see how students would react if they had to go to the nearest classroom and prepare staff for the possibility of stray students. That time they also rattled/banged on the locked doors to see if students would be quiet. If the police/administration could hear people from outside the door they'd remind the kids, "They'd find you since you're giggling/talking/whatever. You'd be dead." Which I don't see as being scary for high school students, just making them aware of the reality.

[mockingbird]

Emergency drills are necessary for the safety of the children. People tend to panic, if the kids have practiced leaving the building, they're more likely to do it in an efficient and safe manner.

First responders train all the time for scenarios that are very unlikely, but when disaster strikes, you don't usually have time to study up on what you should do.

...

I guess if you pray to Jesus the way this blogger does, you don't have to worry about disasters and emergnecies because the Lord will protect you. For the rest of us, knowing what to do in case of emergency is very helpful when emergencies occur.

Yeah, this. I guess Jesus will protect you :roll:

We've done fire and tornado drills everywhere I went to school, including college. Tornadoes weren't really a big threat in my hometown but they are in my college and that helped me to at least identify where to go (like which room in the basement, etc.) when we have had real tornado warnings. Although we never had a real fire or tornado in high school, we did have a potential gas leak from the labs so at least we were able to successfully use fire drill protocol for that. Scratch that. We did have a fire after school once. Our school was right next to some woods and there were random haybales stacked at the edge. Someone lit those on fire and of course my car was conveniently parked on that end of the parking lot. No damage since they got it under control pretty quickly, but really not cool.

We also did lockdown drills in middle and high school. They didn't really simulate anything but I think sometimes knocked on some random doors. They always lasted a pretty decent amount of time, I guess because they had to go around and check all of the rooms. We had to shut the blinds, push chairs/desks up against the door, huddle in a far corner or covered area, etc. We always got advance notice that they would be doing a drill so nobody would think it was real. We did have real drug raids. The police would come in with the drug dog and sniff lockers and "random" classrooms (I put that in quotes because most of the time you could kind-of tell that they were targeting a known population). You weren't allowed out of the room so you wouldn't disturb the dog, unless the dog was sniffing the room (then the class waited outside). At least you could talk so you could still have class or free time while you waited for the drug raid to be over.

[snarkbillie]

Last week at work we had a fire drill, an inclement weather drill, and a drill about if a shooter was in the building. I think it's important to know what to do. I happen to be the person who shuts the fire doors on my wing. I feel better now that I've practiced it a few times to understand how to do it quickly.

[Kitty]

Tornado, lockdown and fire drills were done in every public school I've gone to. They weren't to elicit unthinking, unquestioning obedience, they were to prepare students for emergency situations... like those times when there were actual fires and tornadoes. (At my high school there was a fire in a chem classroom the year before I went, and there were tornado warnings my sophomore and senior years. Fortunately, the tornadoes never actually touched the ground- I'd love to nerd all over the place explaining why, but that's a bit OT). The only lockdown I can think of at any school in Hometown is one at The Other Middle School (that I didn't attend), and that was really to perform a drug bust. In high school, they do fire drills for that (that's the only explanation I can come up with for the monthly fire drills my senior year, and trust me, it's not that much of a stretch).

my sister and I were also trained on what to do when a tornado or a fire broke out at home. Because the new, cheap, shitty homes built in coastal NC in the past few years have large windows EVERYWHERE, if a tornado hits and you can't duck into the coat closet fast enough, you're kinda fucked. (Fortunately, while tornado warnings aren't all that unusual, actual tornadoes aren't all that common.) Someone mentioned hurricane drills, well, the school didn't exactly have hurricane drills, but both school and family had plans for hurricanes. That's not training a child to obey unquestioningly, that's preparing for when the shit hits the fan.

Ironically, I'd bet that this "conservative mom" would love nothing but unquestioning obedience from her children. And they probably don't have any plans for tornadoes, hurricanes, fires, earthquakes, whatever.