I struggle every year with continuing in my profession of over 30 years because of this very thing. I cannot keep my students truly safe, no matter what I do. Teachers/staff and students at this school are all forever changed, and some have lost their lives or are severely physically injured, while hundreds and hundreds will forever have mental scars from this day.
I retired after 25 years of teaching English to 8th graders in NYC.
In all that time, we only had one incident in which all the lockdown drills suddenly turned into an actual lockdown, which lasted for about two hours.
It emerged that the student in question had a fake gun, but it was a dreadful experience. My students were in a quiet panic, but what helped me decide to retire was the reaction my own family had about my own safety.
Two of my grandchildren are still school-aged, and it’s just unspeakable that we should have to fear every day that an incident like this may occur.
As to cell phones…when I was a new teacher, hands in the desk and eyes cast down meant they were playing with a Gameboy. As years went by and cell phones became ubiquitous, our principal demanded that all homeroom teachers (I was one) had to confiscate all cell phones during morning homeroom and place them in one of those closet shoe bags.
The commotion involved was a daily challenge. Some parents were in favor and some against. Some parents were concerned that they wouldn’t be able to reach their kids in an emergency, so we had to tell them to call the main office for that.
Not in an English class, because their work involved essay writing, but in classes such as Science where multiple choice tests were common, a crafty student would use the phone to take a picture of the test and forward that to friends whose class was coming next period. This way they would know the questions in advance and find the answers before the test.
Therefore most teachers really are in favor of banning cell phone use during class, but I can absolutely understand the need for it in case of emergency. The students cannot leave a class during lockdown so they have no way of getting their phones, unless they happen to be in a class that is also their homeroom.
My heart breaks more each time we hear about one of these tragic incidents. I agree, it’s gone from a rare event to a steady stream now.
God help the families. Public schools in NYC don’t even begin until tomorrow.
JMO and JME.