He told me the drills didn’t seem real until he was 12, and a fellow student coughed during one of the drills. Ryan Marino, an emergency-medicine physician at the University of Pittsburgh, recalled that his school had adopted the drills during that period, after a student was found to have a “death list” and access to guns. What is known of their long-term psychological effects comes from the reports of people now in early adulthood. Which may be worthwhile, if it were clear that the drills saved lives.Īctive-shooter drills came into existence after the Columbine massacre in 1999. Many parents, teachers, and students say that the experience is somewhere between upsetting and traumatizing. The older they get, the more savvy they become, probably because they are exposed to more of the news.”Īt schools across the country, more children are taking part in mandatory “active-shooter drills.” Forgoing any pretense of a bear, sometimes a faculty member plays the role of a shooter, jiggling doorknobs as children practice keeping perfectly silent. Though, she admits, “They always see through this. She tells the kids they’re practicing to stay safe in case there’s ever a bear on campus. “I have them whisper about their favorite candy, dinner, books, movies-whatever, as a distraction,” Manias told me. Still Beth Manias, an early-elementary literacy teacher outside of Seattle, tries to act upbeat and relaxed. ![]() There’s always at least one kid in tears, as they huddle under their desks in the dark.
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