When put into a position where there could possibly be an active shooter, fire or other emergency, people have very different opinions. We can never truly prepare because every situation will be different. However, many feel that they are as prepared as they possibly can be. By speaking to TRHS administration, we found that they are in contact with many people inside and outside of our school to keep us safe. They talk with the fire department, police, other schools and all the staff in many meetings throughout the year. This ensures they are as prepared as possible, constantly receiving feedback and adjusting their training.
We interviewed many people in the school, most of them having different viewpoints on how safe they would feel in these situations. We got answers ranging from people saying they wouldn’t feel safe and would run, to some people saying that they don’t trust anyone because they wouldn’t take it seriously. We even had a staff member saying she would jump in front of any danger to save her students, and she is fully prepared to do so, as they are “her kids”.
Some people believe that the school should be doing something differently to prepare us, while other people believe that there is nothing we can do, as we can never be prepared for these situations. One student believes that we have our school money going to the wrong things, such as band or sports, and should instead be invested in more things to improve our security. Staff believes that they are doing everything they can to protect us and says that our safety is their number one priority. One person says that some of the drills should become extremely privatized to keep students from knowing everything, making it more realistic, and that they should be more immersive. It is also believed that we should put metal detectors in our school, as other schools have started to do this to prevent people from bringing in weapons.
When asked if the drills make students feel more worried, safer, or like we are being taught wrong things, we got many mixed answers. One boy said that he feels that they just happen and he doesn’t feel more prepared. They are not taken seriously enough. No matter what we do to prepare, we do not know how people are going to react. A staff member believes that she can not speak for the students, but she believes that these drills make her feel as though we will be able to protect ourselves better. She also understands that sometimes these different drills do not make people feel safe and give them anxiety. By doing these drills, we are going over the motions of protecting ourselves and others.
There is nothing any school can do to fully prepare students for a situation like a school shooter. It is an extremely difficult topic for some to talk about, never mind potentially experiencing it. Despite the topic being so difficult, our school is doing everything in their power to ensure our safety and make sure we are prepared as we can be for such an unfathomable event.
