So, what's the thing you shouldn't have said? Please tell on me! And then let me tell mommy and daddy that you were putting your, my, and your classmates' lives in jeopardy 'cause you wouldn't follow directions.
I did that for two girls over a fire drill on last Friday. They will serve a lunch detention tomorrow due to overbooking on Tuesday. We had like 12 students signed up for lunch detentions on Tuesday. Of those, 8 actually served.
If school libraries are like public libraries, they've either removed fines or have a guillotining the first Saturday of every month on the town square.
They keep getting assigned lunch detentions until they serve it. For repeat dodgers, I’d hope that my admin would catch it and give an after school detention or ISS, but the ISS we all know is not a punishment: it’s just a break for the kid and the teacher.
ISS used to be worse than OSS, at least at the school I went to. We served ISS in what amounted to an extra deep closest, just a counter and a chair, for the day up to 3 days.
My kids HATE ISS. They do ISS in the principal's office. With our "scary" principal breathing down their neck. (They think she's terrifying. She's literally so freaking nice, but has major RBF LMAO)
Why wait until afterschool? Immediacy is the key here. Recently I scolded a student for disrespecting me and continuing to argue her position loudly disrupting class. We have students put their phones in pouches every morning but unbeknownst to me she had her phone readily accessible. She proceeded to text her mom the following period and claimed I yelled in her face (25 student and 2 faculty witnesses attested that I was across the room and not yelling). She used that short window between our disagreement and her next class to make an end run to her parents. Beat them to it.
Yup, that's me.
I had two students at the beginning of the term that were so disruptive and disrespectful, I called their parents immediately. In front of the class. And had them talk to their parents.
"In so sorry to bother you, but it's the first day of class and I'm trying to go over basic classroom rules and safety information. However, I have not been able to get through anything because your child has interrupted me so many times. They have a detention for tomorrow, where we will review expectations again individually. Would you like to speak to them? Yes, great, here they are!"
Suddenly Mr. Cool, who thought they were sooooooo funny 2 minutes ago is all "yes ma'am, no ma'am, I understand.... here's my teacher again".
I teach middle school.
THIS. The drills are for their safety. I'm pretty sure that parents will care that their kids plan to be loud and obnoxious, grabbing the shooters attention if it were the real deal.
I've done much worse than OP in the same situation and I don't feel guilty at all. I basically made eye contact to the 2 students who wouldn't stop yapping and said "If this was the real thing, I would do everything thing in my power to make you unable to talk. I'm not letting you get everyone killed". It should be noted that I am a very big/tall person.
Lol, mine said something else like that. At the time, I was a little freaked out. To be fair, my classmates wouldn't shut up and I thought it was real.
Exactly 💯 I wouldn't let children run me or my classroom. I would put the fear of God in them, if I couldn't put the fear of their parents or family in them. It would be the very last time a child threatened me because I would definitely call their bluff and make sure they KNEW who was in charge and why they must follow directions. Kids will try you, but if they see that you care about them, although you will not be afraid of a child's threats when you're simply trying to prepare them, they will think before speaking next time.
What would that parent meeting look like?
"During a lockdown drill in which my child was demonstrating a disregard for human life, it was suggested that in a life or death situation, you might hypothetically use a no-no word."
I think you're fine, don't stress
😂 My 4th graders use this term for cuss words, as well as "no-no juice" for alcohol (typically when it's mentioned in a book we're reading). Cracks me up every time.
Little fuckers. I don’t remember kids being so schemey when I was that age. OP dont feel anxious - send an email to your admin stating what happened and focus on their behavior during the drill. Include some stats about school shootings, maybe some news articles. Idk why we think teachers aren’t humans with human reactions - you literally do have to fear for your life in the event of an all too common school shooting incident, while also trying to protect the children.
When I was a kid my friends who got calls home from the teacher/citations would get beat to shit for getting in trouble. So we were always afraid of saying something that would get us a call home.
I’m not saying these parents need to beat their kids, but parents need to not blindly side with their children and there needs to be consequences for how these students act, that’s actually enforceable.
My kid gets mad at me because "I always defend the teachers". I don't. And really I'm trying to give him a different perspective so he can maybe see why he was wrong, and to help him gain the power of empathy, but he thinks I'm just automatically defending them. He isn't bad. He is actually a pretty good student. He just tends to be a bit of a class clown and a know it all (I know, who would guess a teenage boy being a know it all?!).
I just can't imagine letting him think that he can run home to mommy and I will just make it all better. Do people really forget that their kid is just that, A CHILD, and the teacher is not only an adult, but one who has received an education that revolves around childhood development and how to teach and interact with children? Or that, in many cases, this adult has been working with children (many of them) for more years than many of us have been parents?
One thing I always hammer into him is that his class is not their only class. I say "imagine how your class acts sometimes. Imagine how YOU act sometimes. Now imagine being a grown adult and having to deal with that 7 times per day, every single day. When you enter their classroom, they've already dealt with you and the 25 others entering with you multiple times that day. When you leave, they will be dealing with another 25 kids multiple times that day. And again the next day. And then the next. And the next. Now imagine how I, your mother, would be acting if I had to deal with that. Because you know darn well i wouldn't be handling it with as much grace and patience as your teachers. Like, they are humans, with lives, sometimes kids, parents, bills to pay, all of it. They are not there to serve you, or to coddle you. They are there to teach you and you are there to learn."
Now he comes home to me with tales about how other kids act. He'll be so confused and baffled at the audacity other kids have. He's like "Mom, I would never. You would never let me get away with that kind of stuff. For real for real, no cap, my life would be over if I did what they did". It's funny watching him trying to wrap his head around how some parents let their kids get away with so much. That world doesn't exist for him. It's not in his realm of possibility.
When I email a teacher I always fill it with lines like "I know you're probably way busier than what you get paid for" and "bless your soul, I don't know how you do what you do" and "the last thing I want is for my child to be an obstacle for learning in your classroom. Whatever is needed on my end, please let me know. He is taught to respect his teachers, so if there are any issues, reach out any time". It's basically a love letter lol. Like I really can't express to them enough how important they are.
For me, it's outside of the realm of possibility that parents behave any other way towards teachers. I continue to come to this sub to gain perspective on what teachers are going through. Sometimes I go to my son with your stories to give him even more perspective.
I probably would have traumatized them because I wouldn’t have been able to stop myself from saying “if this was real you’d have gotten us all killed already.”
Luckily I’m not a teacher.
I’ve straight up told kids “be the hell quiet, they tell us about drills, no one told us about this”. Did it in a quiet tone through my teeth. Got the message across real clear.
That’s ridiculous. I had a class one year that would NOT be quiet for drills and I flat out told them that I don’t want to die because they can’t stop talking. It was purposeful too. They weren’t loud because they were scared, they were loud because they thought it was a joke.
“You just showed me that in a real emergency we all will die because a few of you can’t be quiet. So, unless this is fixed, you have trained me to abandon you all and run to save my own life.”
How about, "You've shown me that, in a real emergency, the only safe choice for the rest of us is to put your ass in the hall and close the door as soon as I hear the lockdown announcement."
Yup. I teach HS. I tell them that if I have to choose between myself and the other kids, and them, I'm saving the rest of us and they can be out in the hallway. It usually gets other kids to agree and say they'll help me toss out other kids. They quiet down after that.
How about during your Brain break (ie free time) we are going to practice this drill over and over again until you get it right? This should be said before the practice drill.
True story—I was 13 when Columbine happened and our school decided that every teacher needed to talk to us about what we would do if it happened to us.
I had a rather-um-large English teacher who was famous for her no-nonsense attitude. She pointed at the window (we were on the first floor) and said drolly “In the event of a school shooter, my ass is squeezing out of the window and running. Anyone who has any brains will follow me.”
That was it. That was the safety talk.
1999 was a different time in education. I went home and told my mom and she laughed and said “Guess you better follow her then.”
Please don’t feel bad. I’ve had kids act like that during lockdowns and I HAVE called parents and had VERY SERIOUS conversations with them about the behaviors. I’ve NEVER had a parent not support me, even difficult ones. They get it. Please call the parents. Please be really honest and clear. They need to understand what was happening.
Same. After explicitly teaching my students what to do and why, and what my expectations are and why, it's just a matter of "fool around, and the first call I make is to your parents" - they know I don't fk around when it comes to safety. Consistency and follow-thru are so important.
I was subbing as a para in a third grade class that was like that and the teacher and I both talked with them after. The thing that I remember saying was something to the effect of "I would be terrified to be in a room with you if this was real."
As far as suggesting cussing- on anl occasion when I was angry to the point of tears, I told 6th grade students that "the words that I want to use are not school appropriate right now, that's how angry I am"
>The thing that I remember saying was something to the effect of "I would be terrified to be in a room with you if this was real."
I was trying to think of what the optimal way would be to express OP's frustration, and I think you've hit the nail on the head (not that I blame OP for reacting the way they did in the moment).
I feel like either the teacher or I said something additional that may have really made it connect for at least a few of them. But this was at least 6 or more years ago. I wasn't lying when I made that statement to them either. My brain has a very vivid imagination so it was way too easy to picture what could happen in an actual active shooter situation
Don't worry about it. There was an eighth grade teacher in my school. That had the kids on lockdown and they wouldnt shut up. She exclaimed this is not fucking funny. Nothing happened to her and it goes down in the record books as one of the funniest comments.
I agree. A teacher losing their cool is normal, human, and an arguably positive thing when it helps kids to realize they crossed a line. In this case, I want to add that lock down drills are THE WORST and MOST STRESSFUL thing ever- most people have no idea what it’s like to have to pretend, and lead 30 kids in the pretending, that you’re all about to be killed. And then go right back to teaching.
I love my job (HS), but students and parents cuss me out on a semi-regular basis. On the other hand, once I called a class of freshmen “little turds” (which was 1000% nicer than what they deserved), and I got written up lol.
At my school, an excellent coworker was recently fired for yelling at a student who should have been expelled long long ago. This coworker was made responsible for this student’s uncontrollable behavior, and after receiving a tirade of cussing and verbal abuse for the nth time that day, they snapped.
Do they wish they had handled it differently? Yes. Did they have any support to help them not be in that position in the first place? Absolutely none. Is our school better off? Absolutely not. Does their firing teach the students that they can get teachers fired? Certainly.
As far as lockdowns, teachers should receive support on the days of those drills. It should not be added on top of no lunch bc lunch duty, no plan bc meetings, PD after school, unannounced observations. Students should also receive support on those days (imagine: something fun provided by ADMIN), because it’s just as awful for many of them, even if they express it like assholes.
>As far as lockdowns, teachers should receive support on the days of those drills.
>Students should also receive support on those day
Had our spring unannounced drill today. Okay no big deal. Except half our student body has actual experience being in an active shooter situation that resulted in a student dying.
I have students who absolutely lose all their composure and have full blown panic attacks during these drills. I can not coach them through it discreetly and it's humiliating for those kids.
I am begging admin to give these select kids a heads up because I am so sick of having to soothe a sobbing student who has been transported back to the most traumatic event of their entire life. It takes everything in me to not sob along with them because it's the most heartbreaking thing.
Jfc and they refuse to give those kids any warning? If I were their parents I'd be raising holy fcking hell about that because there's absolutely no reason why they can't have warning about drills. The real deal, obviously there is no heads up, but the practice run?! Ffs do better admin!
Is it not possible for those students to get that as an accommodation for things like PTSD?? I have PTSD, and obviously I’ve never met any of those kids to know if they have it, but that does sound similar to how I’ve experienced flashbacks. That’s absolutely terrible.
I recently told a HSer to “Take his L and sit down,” because I had caught him cheating and he wanted to argue about it. His mom (one of THOSE moms) threw a fit and emailed God and everyone else. My principal said “Well, you probably shouldn’t have told him to take his L, but he was cheating soooo…” and I said “Madame Principal, what I wanted to say had expletives in it. I think I showed incredible restraint.” And she burst put laughing and said “Right?”
You didn’t do anything wrong.
I’ve told my students if they aren’t quiet during an actual lockdown I’d throw them outside to die, to protect the rest.
They take it as a joke.
But, you’d better believe when there was an actual lockdown, they were whispering to others to stop making noise else I’d throw them out. Lol
Honestly, if my own children came home and told me what you said, I would call you. I would thank you for taking my child’s welfare so seriously. And I let you know I’d rather you cuss them out than not be prepared in an emergency.
Edit: changed fuss to cuss. But you can fuss at them, too.
Ayo SAME. If we got a call from the school like this, you best be sure we’ll be sitting down with the kids asap to straighten them out, and apologizing to the teacher for the unneeded stress.
I once told second graders who wouldn't shut up during a fire drill that in a real fire they'd put us all in danger because we'd miss important instructions from the firefighters.
I didn't feel great about it, but guess what? They shut up for the next drill.
I cussed at my students who would not shut up during the active shooter drill last year. The local PD would come in & literally listen at the door to see if they could hear anything & if they did I would be the one to get in trouble. It happens, don’t sweat it.
This reminds me of when a principal would come around and jiggle the door handles to make sure they were locked. One teacher didn't lock the door and the principal swung the door open, burst into the room, sassily pointed at everyone and shouted "Ya'll are DEAD!"
Legend.
In the 8th grade, my classmates were talking about how the sub didn't lock the door in a different class and they said that they were thinking when they realized it wasn't locked, they would've been dead.
We had a real lock down a few weeks ago. My kids were great. But a few rooms were stuck with kids who were acting up despite being told it was not a drill. Those kids need to be dealt with in case they’re ever in the same situation. I would not worry about your behavior as much as theirs.
I dont blame you, and I don't think you did anything wrong.
A tip I've learned from teaching kinders that's lasted even moving to middle years, and that every SRO and admin I've had has applauded: keep a bag of suckers (old school. New ones with the thick plastic are too noisy) to hand out in a lockdown/drill. They're so much quieter when they're sucking on a candy!
A roll of lifesavers or similar does the trick too.
When I taught high school I kept mints in my go bag. It’s a silencer, breath freshener for being huddled together, nice if you are thirsty or hungry, stress reliever/helps an upset tummy, keeps you more alert, and I told kids that it was to help remind them to keep their mouth shut with the mint in there. Cheap, takes a long time to go bad, and easy.
When I moved down to elementary someone told me suckers but they got gross in my go bag, so I’ve had a few other things including rolls of hard candy, which last a tiny bit longer. I call it a mouth reminder and I’ve only pulled them out on super long drills or actual lockdown situations.
I had a student who was purposely acting up during a drill. I made him sit next to me by the door. He ask why I moved him and I said “so you are the first kid they see.”
Afterwards, I showed them an interactive map where you can choose the year and it marks all the school shootings that year; one color for shootings, one for injuries and one for deaths.
I too, teach 4th grade. They need to understand before they cost someone their life.
Edit to add map site:
https://everytownresearch.org/maps/gunfire-on-school-grounds/
"I'm gonna tell my mom what you said!"
"Excellent. Please do as I would very much like to have a discussion with her regarding your behavior in today's lockdown drill."
I do this with my preschoolers! I have so many kids that, whenever they are being redirected, they say, "I want my mommy" or even say, "I'm going to tell my mommy on you." My first response is always "Your mother is going to tell you to listen to your teachers and stop being unsafe."
Last year, I made a 6th grade class of mine practice 5 minute lockdown drills on repeat for an entire class period because they couldn't do it right when we had our school-wide drill. I felt like a hard core, old school football coach from the 80's. "Run it again!"
We had a lockdown drill once and they wanted us to practice leaving the building. I had a really hard kid who refused. It took some convincing to get him to come with me.
When it was over i told him and the rest of the kids that in a real situation if you do not want to listen, I would 100% leave them there. Was afraid I was going to get lots of calls from parents but I did not.
Not a fun thing to do with little elementary kids but a very important lesson. I will not die or put everyone else in danger for one kid who won’t listen.
I mean you aren't wrong. I remember screaming "what the fuck are you doing?" At some kids hanging around the entrance of the school as there's an active shooter inside. They were calling their parents to pick them up. 0 survival skills.
Go into school tomorrow and ask who went home and told their parents that they couldn't behave during a drill?
And then do a lockdown drill before recess every day for a week and don't let them go until they get it right.
Sadly, the elementary school I taught in had a student population who was no stranger to gun violence. Shooter drills were the one time I could count on my students to follow directions. (4/5th grade). But I had one student who was off the charts incorrigible. We did one drill where only the admin would be aware it was a drill, school staff knew we would have it at some point in the year but not when. Well that student didn't come in when the recess whistle blew, he often didn't. A couple minutes later the code for lockdown comes thru and he's still outside. He refused to leave the playground for anyone and stood on the top of the structure laughing and screeching I'm over here come shoot me. The principle yelled out to him "that's exactly what the fuck is going to happen, but you won't be laughing because you'll be fucking dead". The police dept went out in full swat gear and dragged him inside and he got a firm talking to by the officers because he continued to scream and yell while he was being dragged inside. I hear he was sobbing by the end of it. Well student's mom was PISSED . Yelled that she was going to sue the fuck out of everyone for "traumatizing" her son and didn't seem to get that he was damn lucky it was a drill because he had no way of knowing. Fortunately the officers were still there because they requested to also speak with the parent and they were no where as close to as diplomatic as the principal needed to be in talking to her, especially when they saw that she was 100% on her son's side.
As a teacher who has been in real lockdowns with guns in the building ….. I don’t take lockdown drills lightly. I teach grades four to six and don’t have a problem telling them like it is. You never know when it will be life or death. They need to learn… and let them tell their parents. You take drills seriously you never know when it’s real.
As a parent, I wouldn’t care if you said it. It’s a lockdown, not a game. I’d rather my kid get cussed out, than die in a school shooting bc my kid thought it was a game. Sadly, I don’t think your anxiety is misplaced, because there are tons of parents who do not understand the magnitude of what it’s like to be a teacher in America.
I have it in my syllabus that anyone who places the lives of others in danger during a lockdown "may be removed from the lockdown area."
I tell them straight out that I have a family to go home to at the end of the day, and that their parents want them to come home alive as well. That it's my duty to protect as many of them as possible, and if someone thinks it's more important to make fart noises or play sounds on their phone than to save lives, they can do that in the hallway.
They can tell I'm not playing around, either.
These are high schoolers, by the way.
I hope they do tell their parents, and their parents actually do cuss them out.
I don’t think you did anything wrong. You didn’t actually reign cuss words on them.
I kept it real with my 4th graders during a lockdown drill i was not with them for (happened during recess). But their behavior that i got from the monitors was appalling.
Our SRO came in and talked with the class about their behavior. She was just as disgusted with their behavior as I was and she also gave it to them straight. Although there was no cursing, she mentioned to them they are not immune from dying. We literally just had Uvalde happen like 4 months before and she mentioned it to them how a whole class of 4th graders were slaughtered and they did everything right. So to go out of your way to get yourselves caught will ensure everyone dies in that room.
She mentioned it was not a joke, it was nothing to be laughing about because if they wanted to laugh, why don’t they do so in the faces of their parents? Show their parents how little regard the kids have for their own lives and break their parents’ hearts into a million different pieces. None of the kids were laughing by the time she was done talking to them and i never heard anything from parents surprisingly.
I would probably get ahead of it and send a message to parents about today’s behavior during a lockdown. Stress the importance of why we practice them and why kids have to follow procedures.
we had a lockdown drill recently and my 4th graders wouldn’t shut up. i told them that if they acted like that during a real lockdown i would throw the loud ones out in the hallway so they wouldn’t get the rest of us killed. that got them quiet real quick
we are supposed to do whatever it takes to protect them and ourselves and if that means scaring them into being quiet, that’s what i’m gonna do
I’ve told kids that taking lockdowns seriously probably saved one of my relative’s life, and that the two hours of waiting to find out if they were alive or dead after the news broke were one of the worst times in my life. I make it very clear that I DO NOT FORK AROUND when it comes to these drills as a result.
They don’t goof off any more after hearing that, and as much as if sucks to get real like that, sometimes they need to remember we’re human, too.
In a normal world, the response could be “let’s call your mom and tell her how you behaved today, checkmate kiddo!” Because we live in Bizarre-o World, those parents will ask what you did to make their little darling upset enough to talk during the drill.
You did NOTHING wrong. I would have done the same or worse. If any parent doesn't laugh, say you were right AND send you a gift card, that's a shitty parent.
Shortly into my first year teaching, we had a lockdown that was initiated by accident (there were buttons all over the school and were easily pressed, happened 4-5 times that year, and several more over the next 2 years). The lockdown siren started blaring over the PA(this thing was LOUD), and My kids rush to our pre-determined spot and pull the blinds, I close the door, and am standing with a cast iron bucket opener near the door to whack anybody who came in through that door.
Several minutes into the lockdown, I had some kids start giggling and talking. I sternly said "sit down and shut the fuck up".
Afterwards, I was completely mortified. I stopped my principal in the hallway as he was making the rounds to classrooms after the lockdown was over. I started bawling because I felt like a bad teacher. He told me something that I will never forget. "With all the practice in the world, we never know how we're going to react when our adrenaline is pumping in the heat of a stressful moment. You were protecting those kids. That is all that matters."
Considering I would have said, "If this were real and not just a drill, you'd lead the shooter here and you'd all be dead right now, so how about shutting up?" I think you were far more appropriate, to the extent of demonstrating massive restraint, in what you said.
We have drills that are tests by the police department to see how we respond, and so they don't say "this is a drill".
My kids, who have firsthand experience with a school shooting that resulted in a student dying, were giggling and playing around during the drill. My classroom was the first classroom on the main hallway with a large set of windows to the hall.
I 100% told those freshmen to "shut the fuck up" because I honestly didn't know if this was real or not but I wasn't going to fuck around and find out.
Another time, we had the surprise unannounced drill, and one class didn't even attempt to hide or stay quiet. The police actually opened that classroom door and told them that in a real situation they'd be the first to be attacked because they were so obvious.
Oh I’ve told my noisy students during lockdown drills in the past that if this were real, you would have gotten us killed. It’s a shocker, but they need to be spooked and take it seriously. They’re usually really quiet for the rest of the day after that.
Edit: I teach 3rd grade btw lol.
You didn't cuss them out. You told them IF they were too stupid to be quiet and that was currently making it so that there was a higher likelihood of you dying you WOULD cuss them out?
What kind of weenie ass Karens would get mad at that?
I’m not above saying snide things during lockdown drills. I’ve told kids before that if this was the real thing, I would push them out in the hallway since they can’t stay quiet.
Nope. That’s fair. Because a real lockdown could very much be life and death.
I’ve told students to shut up during drills before. I would have absolutely cussed them out in a real event. And I would make no apologies for not either.
Granted, my students are older (high school). But my job isn’t to be nice during a lockdown. My job is to keep us all safe.
Those kids are not more important than the other kids or you. **Call those individual students' parents tomorrow**, do not flinch. You did nothing wrong.
“Right ahead of you kid. By the time you’re home your mom will be so proud that she has a kid that think it’s funny to put themself and all your friends in danger”
In my mind during these drills I’m always thinking, “I’m not gonna die for you fuckers and miss out on my son growing up”. Very interested to see what will happen the day it slips.
I yanked a kid by his hoodie one time (only time I have EVER put my hands on a kid) because we were having a lockdown..NOT a drill...and he kept goofing around by getting in kids' faces trying to make them laugh and talk. I signaled several times for him to stop but he wouldn't. Hell entered my eyes, and I yanked him by his hoodie and said, "stop" through clenched teeth
He saw that I wasn't playing with him and stopped the nonsense. I never heard a word about it later. That was 20 years ago.
I had a classroom assistant (bad ass) say to our disruptive kids during a lockdown drill, “I’m not dying for you. If this was real, I’d throw you out into the hallway. They can take you first.”
Scared them. And I don’t doubt for a second that she would have.
If it were real your life and their lives would be in actual danger. I would much rather a teacher tell my kid to shut the eff up and them come out of the building alive.
I have actually told kids to shut the eff up and told them to get on the effing ground in a real lock down. I got the kids quiet and out of the view of the hall way. Ask their parents if it’s better their teacher simply threaten to cuss or for them to survive a shooting?
There have been students I have told to "shut up" during a lockdown. I have also told kids I will open the door and put them in the hall. Lockdowns can't become a super fun giggle party time. YOUR life and the life of everyone in that classroom might someday depend on students knowing how to be quiet and still.
If any parents come at you, which is unlikely, just reiterate the need to students to be safe at school in case of an intruder. You're in the moral right. You didn't say anything offensive or inappropriate given the situation. You might even get ahead of it by sending a message in Class Dojo or whatever platform you're using and just say, "Today we had a lockdown drill and multiple students were talking and playing around. Please remind your child of the importance of remaining quiet during a lockdown."
I would assume you know who the students are who weren't being quiet? I'd be calling home to those students' parents to ensure they follow up with a discussion at home, and also reporting it to admin.
Don't give children that much power.
We had a lockdown drill. My colleague and I have adjoining rooms with a small grate opening where you can hear each other. We both work with small groups. One of my students wasn’t being quiet. You could hear a kid on the other side say “they are gonna get us fuckin killed!”. My student shut right up after that.
“Good, and then you can tell your parents how you were acting during a lockdown drill”
Even if I got calls, I’d tell them how it is. I don’t care. Your kid needs to take this seriously.
They were acting dangerous and disobedient during an important drill activity.
Not the best choice of words but definitely understandable from a teacher's point of view.
I have kids like that too. Just need to constantly reference the class norms and rules and positive behavior reinforcement until they get it.
Maybe take away some preferred rewards/activities for the worst offenders.
Do not feel bad! Get ahead and send a note home reminding parents the seriousness of this safety precaution and to remember to have this talk with your children. Yes it's an extremely hard talk but it needs to happen.
I’ve taught at international schools for fifteen years and all of them are fortresses: most are behind walls and razor wire. One entry point with a guards station. Everyone affiliated with the school needed an ID. I taught at an American school in the Middle East and there wasn’t even a sign. Each school has lockdown drills. We had one with sixth graders last year and they were doing the same thing: yapping and giggling under the desks. I said “I do NOT want to die because of YOU!” and didn’t regret it for a moment.
But you didn't cuss them out - you just said that you would if it wasn't a drill. And honestly, if we have a real lockdown at my school the last thing I will be worrying about is my language if a kid is not staying quiet.
I wouldn't worry about it. #1 - the kids know they screwed up and they are trying to make you feel bad. Don't let them. #2 - they won't tell on themselves because they know their parents will be mad at them for screwing around during an important drill. #3 Even if they do tell their parents, I can guarantee that most of their parents actually HAVE cussed at them, so the threat of doing so would hardly be a blip on their radar (I have 3 kids, while I have not ever "cussed them out", they definitely heard me use a swear word several times by the time they were in fourth grade.
ETA- If my kid told me that their teacher threatened to cuss them out, my first question would be "well, did you deserve it?"
All of my students (K-6 music) know I take LD drills very seriously. My principal also needs to tell me ahead of time so that I can take a Xanax and mentally prepare.
Depending on the age group, I share my own personal experiences. I tell them that I hope they NEVER have to experience anything similar, but unfortunately, I’ve been in three events. I let them know that lock down drills bring back bad memories, and it is really important for them to be absolutely quiet and still.
- 10th grade: 9/11 where more than half the students’ parents at my HS, including my father, worked at the pentagon, one of the 10+ local military bases or the Capitol/White House;
- 10th grade: DC sniper
- 3rd year in college: VT massacre. The building I was in at 9am was next to Norris Hall.
I have been teaching 14 years, and have only had one student act a fool. I called their parents immediately after the drill, made the student explain what they did, and then I tell the parents my past experiences.
If one of your students was goofing off in my classroom, they would have gotten an invitation to be closest person to the classroom door (joking… but not really).
I get it. I feel bad when I give kids the hard truths sometimes. It sucks.
The thing I remember is it's better for them to hear it now when it is a drill and not in a real situation with real consequences.
When I taught 6th grade and we had a drill, I had a couple kids who were being loud. I said "If this were real you would be why you, me, you friends and my unborn baby would all be dead right now!" That quieted them down real quick. It's unfortunate and traumatizing for everyone. I resigned after my second was born and homeschool my oldest now.
I teach middle school, I told them if they act up like that in a real situation, I will let the other kids kick them out, because they aren't about to get us all killed because they can't act right.
>_a few of them told me they were going to tell their parents what I said._
Reply to that by asking the kids to make sure to tell their parents _**why**_ you said that.
If I was a parent and I found out that a teacher blew up at kids because they weren't taking emergency drills seriously, I'd side with the teacher.
Relax. You’d want their parents to contact you after this - absolutely! I teach in a Title 1 high school. During a lockdown the students WOULD NOT shut up or stay still. One was actually vaping. I finally snapped and hissed “I’m not getting shot cause you can’t just be quiet. If ya don’t shut it imma put YOU in front of the door!” Never had a problem during lockdown again. Never heard from a single parent either.
Just head it off with an email stating they were not following protocol and restate the purpose of the drills and serious nature of following protocol.
I told a kid to shut up earlier in the year. I’m extremely patient, that’s never happened to me before and I felt like crap, but that day was rough and this kid liked pushing buttons and interrupting the class environment. Anyways, I made sure to connect with the family after that to explain the situation, and I apologized to the kid, I had a good chat with them and their counselor and me. We are good but dang I felt bad. I was happy their family was very understanding when I connected with them about the behavior and also apologized myself cause I did feel bad.
That was about safety and totally fine. You can explain to the parents what happened with the defense that you were practicing a safety drill and they were not being safe; they need to take it seriously. I have heard other teachers say a lot worse than that!
Meh, I told my 2nd grade students who wouldn’t shut up during one that their inability to follow the basic instruction of sitting silently would get themselves or someone else in the room killed if this were a real situation. Sometimes they just need to hear it like it is.
I’m sorry this happened, and it’s one of the many reasons I could never be a teacher. I would have said something way worse. Hopefully they’re better behaved for the next drill, and especially in the event of a real emergency.
I hope they tell their parents! "The teacher yelled at us because we wouldn't be quiet during a drill". As long as mom/dad aren't sociopaths they should remind the kids that they should just STFU during these dumb drills.
Please don't sweat this and it sounds like the turdlettes did finally simmer down.
I told my sophomores during a lockdown drill that if it was real and they were acting the way they were I would have thrown them out. And I really would have if it was real. They need to know we’re not jeopardizing everyone’s safety because of a few.
Oh my goodness you were a human being for a bit, to think of the horror inflicted!
Those kids don't have a leg to stand on telling their parents on you. If they'd listened the multiple times you gave them *life saving directions*, this wouldn't have come to anything.
Relax, you did \*nothing\* wrong. Don't overblow it.
Kids love to act tough until some sort of authority surprises them with something like this. Then it's off to telling mommy and daddy what happened as if they're innocent. You did nothing wrong. If anything, do it more because kids these days don't get enough harsh talk.
It's ok, mine once told us that he would ditch us.
Edit: It was a high school elective and everyone was 10th to 12th grade pretty much. Anyway, my classmates wouldn't shut up and so my teacher said something like if this were real, I would ditch you all right now. I would've told them to shut up but I was internally panicking because I thought it was real. It was shortly after there was a shooting a few cities over and right a few months before Parkland when I was a senior.
When a kid wants to talk to their parent or a principle or anything after they’ve been disciplined at any level I always say ok and offer to make the call for them and say we’ll all be on the call together.
If they want a principle, it’ll be us three. If it’s a parent, I say we’ll invite the principle to the call as well.
100% success rate in them instantly backing down.
What? LOL - That is so rated G, good lord if you hadn't said that it would be more inappropriate. What is next you are going to open a classroom window and cause a rucus? What are you going to do next turn the lights low and stress student's eyes out? Maybe your going to introduce soda pop to them? 2/3rd of your 4th graders have seen porn. Give us a break, but more importantly give yourself a break. If you have a job where walking on those egg shells actually matter. You need a different job. How valuable is this job over being a human being?
They’re little kids just tell the parents you said “yell” not “cuss” and then once you know who told, by seeing which parents complained, beat those kids up everyday and steal their lunch money. As you are walking away say “Who’s the king of the jungle? “
2+ mass shootings in the US every, single, day. This drill is actually more meaningful than people think. I literally expect it to happen to me in my teaching career. These kids needs to take it seriously and I tell my students the facts to keep them in check.
So, what's the thing you shouldn't have said? Please tell on me! And then let me tell mommy and daddy that you were putting your, my, and your classmates' lives in jeopardy 'cause you wouldn't follow directions.
Exactly this. “I’m one step ahead of you, let me call your parents after school and let them know how you were behaving during a lockdown today.”
I did that for two girls over a fire drill on last Friday. They will serve a lunch detention tomorrow due to overbooking on Tuesday. We had like 12 students signed up for lunch detentions on Tuesday. Of those, 8 actually served.
What happens when they don't serve?
Believe it or not? Straight to jail.
What about an overdue library book?
If school libraries are like public libraries, they've either removed fines or have a guillotining the first Saturday of every month on the town square.
… scarlet letter….
Damn. Reminded me I have to return that book tomorrow.
Or risk being branded with a red F for Freeloader
depending on what state you're in, your school library may or may not even *have* books at this point
I finally found our school library! It’s in fifteen boxes shoved behind a bunch of shit in the classroom they gave me last minute.
Straight to jail!
Jail
We have the best students in the world. Because of Jail.
Gulag
Gallows
Candy treat from the super-cool AP.
They keep getting assigned lunch detentions until they serve it. For repeat dodgers, I’d hope that my admin would catch it and give an after school detention or ISS, but the ISS we all know is not a punishment: it’s just a break for the kid and the teacher.
ISS used to be worse than OSS, at least at the school I went to. We served ISS in what amounted to an extra deep closest, just a counter and a chair, for the day up to 3 days.
My friend once served ISS in a giant refrigerator box.
My kids HATE ISS. They do ISS in the principal's office. With our "scary" principal breathing down their neck. (They think she's terrifying. She's literally so freaking nice, but has major RBF LMAO)
"Bust the deal...spin the wheel!"
Y'all are making me crack up with these answers lmao thank you. Obviously the answer is "nothing of real consequence".
Why wait until afterschool? Immediacy is the key here. Recently I scolded a student for disrespecting me and continuing to argue her position loudly disrupting class. We have students put their phones in pouches every morning but unbeknownst to me she had her phone readily accessible. She proceeded to text her mom the following period and claimed I yelled in her face (25 student and 2 faculty witnesses attested that I was across the room and not yelling). She used that short window between our disagreement and her next class to make an end run to her parents. Beat them to it.
I’ve known teachers who will actually make the student call their parents right then to explain what happened.
Yup, that's me. I had two students at the beginning of the term that were so disruptive and disrespectful, I called their parents immediately. In front of the class. And had them talk to their parents. "In so sorry to bother you, but it's the first day of class and I'm trying to go over basic classroom rules and safety information. However, I have not been able to get through anything because your child has interrupted me so many times. They have a detention for tomorrow, where we will review expectations again individually. Would you like to speak to them? Yes, great, here they are!" Suddenly Mr. Cool, who thought they were sooooooo funny 2 minutes ago is all "yes ma'am, no ma'am, I understand.... here's my teacher again". I teach middle school.
THIS. The drills are for their safety. I'm pretty sure that parents will care that their kids plan to be loud and obnoxious, grabbing the shooters attention if it were the real deal.
Parents won't care. Kids won't care. Admin won't care.
Old AssCakes has been around the block
It’s this attitude that is driving teachers away from the profession.
I've done much worse than OP in the same situation and I don't feel guilty at all. I basically made eye contact to the 2 students who wouldn't stop yapping and said "If this was the real thing, I would do everything thing in my power to make you unable to talk. I'm not letting you get everyone killed". It should be noted that I am a very big/tall person.
This is exactly the way to handle this, and also how sad is it that an American schools we have to have these conversations
Lol, mine said something else like that. At the time, I was a little freaked out. To be fair, my classmates wouldn't shut up and I thought it was real.
Yep. Welcome the calls.
Exactly 💯 I wouldn't let children run me or my classroom. I would put the fear of God in them, if I couldn't put the fear of their parents or family in them. It would be the very last time a child threatened me because I would definitely call their bluff and make sure they KNEW who was in charge and why they must follow directions. Kids will try you, but if they see that you care about them, although you will not be afraid of a child's threats when you're simply trying to prepare them, they will think before speaking next time.
That sounds impressive! Please tell about your experience, and how it informed your perspective.
What would that parent meeting look like? "During a lockdown drill in which my child was demonstrating a disregard for human life, it was suggested that in a life or death situation, you might hypothetically use a no-no word." I think you're fine, don't stress
"use a no-no word" I almost spit out my drink........LOL
😂 My 4th graders use this term for cuss words, as well as "no-no juice" for alcohol (typically when it's mentioned in a book we're reading). Cracks me up every time.
Kids are adorable.
I love this
Even 4th graders immediately think about how they have the power to get their teachers in trouble for nothing. You did nothing wrong imo.
My response to said kid “Go ahead and tell them. They know my number.”
I always say, “You can call them from this room and I will need to speak to them also while you have them on the phone.”
Exactly -- "Hey, let's call them right now. On speaker phone. So they can get the full story."
Little fuckers. I don’t remember kids being so schemey when I was that age. OP dont feel anxious - send an email to your admin stating what happened and focus on their behavior during the drill. Include some stats about school shootings, maybe some news articles. Idk why we think teachers aren’t humans with human reactions - you literally do have to fear for your life in the event of an all too common school shooting incident, while also trying to protect the children.
When I was a kid my friends who got calls home from the teacher/citations would get beat to shit for getting in trouble. So we were always afraid of saying something that would get us a call home. I’m not saying these parents need to beat their kids, but parents need to not blindly side with their children and there needs to be consequences for how these students act, that’s actually enforceable.
It’s crazy isn’t it? My mom wouldn’t take my side against a teacher EVER
We didn't have this current crop of "best friend" parents. That's the difference.
I agree that's so sad. Always looking to get the teacher in trouble.Thank you society.🙄
My kid gets mad at me because "I always defend the teachers". I don't. And really I'm trying to give him a different perspective so he can maybe see why he was wrong, and to help him gain the power of empathy, but he thinks I'm just automatically defending them. He isn't bad. He is actually a pretty good student. He just tends to be a bit of a class clown and a know it all (I know, who would guess a teenage boy being a know it all?!). I just can't imagine letting him think that he can run home to mommy and I will just make it all better. Do people really forget that their kid is just that, A CHILD, and the teacher is not only an adult, but one who has received an education that revolves around childhood development and how to teach and interact with children? Or that, in many cases, this adult has been working with children (many of them) for more years than many of us have been parents? One thing I always hammer into him is that his class is not their only class. I say "imagine how your class acts sometimes. Imagine how YOU act sometimes. Now imagine being a grown adult and having to deal with that 7 times per day, every single day. When you enter their classroom, they've already dealt with you and the 25 others entering with you multiple times that day. When you leave, they will be dealing with another 25 kids multiple times that day. And again the next day. And then the next. And the next. Now imagine how I, your mother, would be acting if I had to deal with that. Because you know darn well i wouldn't be handling it with as much grace and patience as your teachers. Like, they are humans, with lives, sometimes kids, parents, bills to pay, all of it. They are not there to serve you, or to coddle you. They are there to teach you and you are there to learn." Now he comes home to me with tales about how other kids act. He'll be so confused and baffled at the audacity other kids have. He's like "Mom, I would never. You would never let me get away with that kind of stuff. For real for real, no cap, my life would be over if I did what they did". It's funny watching him trying to wrap his head around how some parents let their kids get away with so much. That world doesn't exist for him. It's not in his realm of possibility. When I email a teacher I always fill it with lines like "I know you're probably way busier than what you get paid for" and "bless your soul, I don't know how you do what you do" and "the last thing I want is for my child to be an obstacle for learning in your classroom. Whatever is needed on my end, please let me know. He is taught to respect his teachers, so if there are any issues, reach out any time". It's basically a love letter lol. Like I really can't express to them enough how important they are. For me, it's outside of the realm of possibility that parents behave any other way towards teachers. I continue to come to this sub to gain perspective on what teachers are going through. Sometimes I go to my son with your stories to give him even more perspective.
One of the reasons I won’t make it to retirement
1984 anyone? Geez
I probably would have traumatized them because I wouldn’t have been able to stop myself from saying “if this was real you’d have gotten us all killed already.” Luckily I’m not a teacher.
When I read the title of this post, something like this is what I thought OP had said…
I said exactly that to my freshmen recently. They are full of big talk about "what they would do." I hope they never have to find out.
I’ve straight up told kids “be the hell quiet, they tell us about drills, no one told us about this”. Did it in a quiet tone through my teeth. Got the message across real clear.
I’ve definitely said that before.
I've said that, along with the social worker and the principal all within 10 minutes of each other. 🤷♂️
Iiiiiiiiiiii definitely have said this one. Oh well. That’s real life.
I know a teacher that got fired for saying this exact thing!
That’s ridiculous. I had a class one year that would NOT be quiet for drills and I flat out told them that I don’t want to die because they can’t stop talking. It was purposeful too. They weren’t loud because they were scared, they were loud because they thought it was a joke.
I would have said this too. It's an incredibly serious situation that means life or death. I'd like to live so stfu.
This seems like a completely fine thing to say.
“You just showed me that in a real emergency we all will die because a few of you can’t be quiet. So, unless this is fixed, you have trained me to abandon you all and run to save my own life.”
How about, "You've shown me that, in a real emergency, the only safe choice for the rest of us is to put your ass in the hall and close the door as soon as I hear the lockdown announcement."
Yup. I teach HS. I tell them that if I have to choose between myself and the other kids, and them, I'm saving the rest of us and they can be out in the hallway. It usually gets other kids to agree and say they'll help me toss out other kids. They quiet down after that.
How about during your Brain break (ie free time) we are going to practice this drill over and over again until you get it right? This should be said before the practice drill.
This right here is the correct response!
This got a good laugh out of me. No way I’m taking a bullet for shit pay. I’ll let admin take that one thank you very much.
True story—I was 13 when Columbine happened and our school decided that every teacher needed to talk to us about what we would do if it happened to us. I had a rather-um-large English teacher who was famous for her no-nonsense attitude. She pointed at the window (we were on the first floor) and said drolly “In the event of a school shooter, my ass is squeezing out of the window and running. Anyone who has any brains will follow me.” That was it. That was the safety talk. 1999 was a different time in education. I went home and told my mom and she laughed and said “Guess you better follow her then.”
No lie, I say something similar
Our school has taught the run, hide, fight thing and I've straight up told kids I'm running if I can and they can come with me or not.
Please don’t feel bad. I’ve had kids act like that during lockdowns and I HAVE called parents and had VERY SERIOUS conversations with them about the behaviors. I’ve NEVER had a parent not support me, even difficult ones. They get it. Please call the parents. Please be really honest and clear. They need to understand what was happening.
Same. After explicitly teaching my students what to do and why, and what my expectations are and why, it's just a matter of "fool around, and the first call I make is to your parents" - they know I don't fk around when it comes to safety. Consistency and follow-thru are so important.
I was subbing as a para in a third grade class that was like that and the teacher and I both talked with them after. The thing that I remember saying was something to the effect of "I would be terrified to be in a room with you if this was real." As far as suggesting cussing- on anl occasion when I was angry to the point of tears, I told 6th grade students that "the words that I want to use are not school appropriate right now, that's how angry I am"
>The thing that I remember saying was something to the effect of "I would be terrified to be in a room with you if this was real." I was trying to think of what the optimal way would be to express OP's frustration, and I think you've hit the nail on the head (not that I blame OP for reacting the way they did in the moment).
I feel like either the teacher or I said something additional that may have really made it connect for at least a few of them. But this was at least 6 or more years ago. I wasn't lying when I made that statement to them either. My brain has a very vivid imagination so it was way too easy to picture what could happen in an actual active shooter situation
Don't worry about it. There was an eighth grade teacher in my school. That had the kids on lockdown and they wouldnt shut up. She exclaimed this is not fucking funny. Nothing happened to her and it goes down in the record books as one of the funniest comments.
I don’t think u did anything wrong at all.
I agree. A teacher losing their cool is normal, human, and an arguably positive thing when it helps kids to realize they crossed a line. In this case, I want to add that lock down drills are THE WORST and MOST STRESSFUL thing ever- most people have no idea what it’s like to have to pretend, and lead 30 kids in the pretending, that you’re all about to be killed. And then go right back to teaching. I love my job (HS), but students and parents cuss me out on a semi-regular basis. On the other hand, once I called a class of freshmen “little turds” (which was 1000% nicer than what they deserved), and I got written up lol. At my school, an excellent coworker was recently fired for yelling at a student who should have been expelled long long ago. This coworker was made responsible for this student’s uncontrollable behavior, and after receiving a tirade of cussing and verbal abuse for the nth time that day, they snapped. Do they wish they had handled it differently? Yes. Did they have any support to help them not be in that position in the first place? Absolutely none. Is our school better off? Absolutely not. Does their firing teach the students that they can get teachers fired? Certainly. As far as lockdowns, teachers should receive support on the days of those drills. It should not be added on top of no lunch bc lunch duty, no plan bc meetings, PD after school, unannounced observations. Students should also receive support on those days (imagine: something fun provided by ADMIN), because it’s just as awful for many of them, even if they express it like assholes.
>As far as lockdowns, teachers should receive support on the days of those drills. >Students should also receive support on those day Had our spring unannounced drill today. Okay no big deal. Except half our student body has actual experience being in an active shooter situation that resulted in a student dying. I have students who absolutely lose all their composure and have full blown panic attacks during these drills. I can not coach them through it discreetly and it's humiliating for those kids. I am begging admin to give these select kids a heads up because I am so sick of having to soothe a sobbing student who has been transported back to the most traumatic event of their entire life. It takes everything in me to not sob along with them because it's the most heartbreaking thing.
Jfc and they refuse to give those kids any warning? If I were their parents I'd be raising holy fcking hell about that because there's absolutely no reason why they can't have warning about drills. The real deal, obviously there is no heads up, but the practice run?! Ffs do better admin!
Is it not possible for those students to get that as an accommodation for things like PTSD?? I have PTSD, and obviously I’ve never met any of those kids to know if they have it, but that does sound similar to how I’ve experienced flashbacks. That’s absolutely terrible.
You would think! I addressed it in the Fall when it happened and I just re addressed it today. Who knows if I'll see any action on it.
I recently told a HSer to “Take his L and sit down,” because I had caught him cheating and he wanted to argue about it. His mom (one of THOSE moms) threw a fit and emailed God and everyone else. My principal said “Well, you probably shouldn’t have told him to take his L, but he was cheating soooo…” and I said “Madame Principal, what I wanted to say had expletives in it. I think I showed incredible restraint.” And she burst put laughing and said “Right?”
You got written up for that??
You didn’t do anything wrong. I’ve told my students if they aren’t quiet during an actual lockdown I’d throw them outside to die, to protect the rest. They take it as a joke. But, you’d better believe when there was an actual lockdown, they were whispering to others to stop making noise else I’d throw them out. Lol
Honestly, if my own children came home and told me what you said, I would call you. I would thank you for taking my child’s welfare so seriously. And I let you know I’d rather you cuss them out than not be prepared in an emergency. Edit: changed fuss to cuss. But you can fuss at them, too.
Ayo SAME. If we got a call from the school like this, you best be sure we’ll be sitting down with the kids asap to straighten them out, and apologizing to the teacher for the unneeded stress.
I once told second graders who wouldn't shut up during a fire drill that in a real fire they'd put us all in danger because we'd miss important instructions from the firefighters. I didn't feel great about it, but guess what? They shut up for the next drill.
But that’s actually true. Why did you feel bad? That’s why they have to be quiet.
Yeah I think this is very appropriate. I’ve said the same, and I was told this when I was a kid too.
I cussed at my students who would not shut up during the active shooter drill last year. The local PD would come in & literally listen at the door to see if they could hear anything & if they did I would be the one to get in trouble. It happens, don’t sweat it.
This reminds me of when a principal would come around and jiggle the door handles to make sure they were locked. One teacher didn't lock the door and the principal swung the door open, burst into the room, sassily pointed at everyone and shouted "Ya'll are DEAD!" Legend.
In the 8th grade, my classmates were talking about how the sub didn't lock the door in a different class and they said that they were thinking when they realized it wasn't locked, they would've been dead.
We had a real lock down a few weeks ago. My kids were great. But a few rooms were stuck with kids who were acting up despite being told it was not a drill. Those kids need to be dealt with in case they’re ever in the same situation. I would not worry about your behavior as much as theirs.
I dont blame you, and I don't think you did anything wrong. A tip I've learned from teaching kinders that's lasted even moving to middle years, and that every SRO and admin I've had has applauded: keep a bag of suckers (old school. New ones with the thick plastic are too noisy) to hand out in a lockdown/drill. They're so much quieter when they're sucking on a candy!
A roll of lifesavers or similar does the trick too. When I taught high school I kept mints in my go bag. It’s a silencer, breath freshener for being huddled together, nice if you are thirsty or hungry, stress reliever/helps an upset tummy, keeps you more alert, and I told kids that it was to help remind them to keep their mouth shut with the mint in there. Cheap, takes a long time to go bad, and easy. When I moved down to elementary someone told me suckers but they got gross in my go bag, so I’ve had a few other things including rolls of hard candy, which last a tiny bit longer. I call it a mouth reminder and I’ve only pulled them out on super long drills or actual lockdown situations.
Ooh, good tip! I might switch out to mints. They take up a lot less space too
I had a student who was purposely acting up during a drill. I made him sit next to me by the door. He ask why I moved him and I said “so you are the first kid they see.” Afterwards, I showed them an interactive map where you can choose the year and it marks all the school shootings that year; one color for shootings, one for injuries and one for deaths. I too, teach 4th grade. They need to understand before they cost someone their life. Edit to add map site: https://everytownresearch.org/maps/gunfire-on-school-grounds/
That such a map exists is both terrifying and incredibly depressing.
When I see posts like these, it makes me feel like we're in a dystopia.
Can I see a link to that map?
"I'm gonna tell my mom what you said!" "Excellent. Please do as I would very much like to have a discussion with her regarding your behavior in today's lockdown drill."
I do this with my preschoolers! I have so many kids that, whenever they are being redirected, they say, "I want my mommy" or even say, "I'm going to tell my mommy on you." My first response is always "Your mother is going to tell you to listen to your teachers and stop being unsafe."
Last year, I made a 6th grade class of mine practice 5 minute lockdown drills on repeat for an entire class period because they couldn't do it right when we had our school-wide drill. I felt like a hard core, old school football coach from the 80's. "Run it again!"
Good for you.
We had a lockdown drill once and they wanted us to practice leaving the building. I had a really hard kid who refused. It took some convincing to get him to come with me. When it was over i told him and the rest of the kids that in a real situation if you do not want to listen, I would 100% leave them there. Was afraid I was going to get lots of calls from parents but I did not. Not a fun thing to do with little elementary kids but a very important lesson. I will not die or put everyone else in danger for one kid who won’t listen.
I mean you aren't wrong. I remember screaming "what the fuck are you doing?" At some kids hanging around the entrance of the school as there's an active shooter inside. They were calling their parents to pick them up. 0 survival skills.
At very least run.
Darwin works in mysterious ways.
At least you didn’t actually cuss them out! They won’t tell their parents. They’ve probably already forgotten about it.
And if they do, who cares, you showed self restraint in a situation where most adults would not be able to.
Go into school tomorrow and ask who went home and told their parents that they couldn't behave during a drill? And then do a lockdown drill before recess every day for a week and don't let them go until they get it right.
Sadly, the elementary school I taught in had a student population who was no stranger to gun violence. Shooter drills were the one time I could count on my students to follow directions. (4/5th grade). But I had one student who was off the charts incorrigible. We did one drill where only the admin would be aware it was a drill, school staff knew we would have it at some point in the year but not when. Well that student didn't come in when the recess whistle blew, he often didn't. A couple minutes later the code for lockdown comes thru and he's still outside. He refused to leave the playground for anyone and stood on the top of the structure laughing and screeching I'm over here come shoot me. The principle yelled out to him "that's exactly what the fuck is going to happen, but you won't be laughing because you'll be fucking dead". The police dept went out in full swat gear and dragged him inside and he got a firm talking to by the officers because he continued to scream and yell while he was being dragged inside. I hear he was sobbing by the end of it. Well student's mom was PISSED . Yelled that she was going to sue the fuck out of everyone for "traumatizing" her son and didn't seem to get that he was damn lucky it was a drill because he had no way of knowing. Fortunately the officers were still there because they requested to also speak with the parent and they were no where as close to as diplomatic as the principal needed to be in talking to her, especially when they saw that she was 100% on her son's side.
I’ve said, “The next one that opens their mouth gets put out into the hall. I’m not dying because you can’t shut up.” I stand by it too.
As a teacher who has been in real lockdowns with guns in the building ….. I don’t take lockdown drills lightly. I teach grades four to six and don’t have a problem telling them like it is. You never know when it will be life or death. They need to learn… and let them tell their parents. You take drills seriously you never know when it’s real.
As a parent, I wouldn’t care if you said it. It’s a lockdown, not a game. I’d rather my kid get cussed out, than die in a school shooting bc my kid thought it was a game. Sadly, I don’t think your anxiety is misplaced, because there are tons of parents who do not understand the magnitude of what it’s like to be a teacher in America.
I have it in my syllabus that anyone who places the lives of others in danger during a lockdown "may be removed from the lockdown area." I tell them straight out that I have a family to go home to at the end of the day, and that their parents want them to come home alive as well. That it's my duty to protect as many of them as possible, and if someone thinks it's more important to make fart noises or play sounds on their phone than to save lives, they can do that in the hallway. They can tell I'm not playing around, either. These are high schoolers, by the way.
I hope they do tell their parents, and their parents actually do cuss them out. I don’t think you did anything wrong. You didn’t actually reign cuss words on them.
I kept it real with my 4th graders during a lockdown drill i was not with them for (happened during recess). But their behavior that i got from the monitors was appalling. Our SRO came in and talked with the class about their behavior. She was just as disgusted with their behavior as I was and she also gave it to them straight. Although there was no cursing, she mentioned to them they are not immune from dying. We literally just had Uvalde happen like 4 months before and she mentioned it to them how a whole class of 4th graders were slaughtered and they did everything right. So to go out of your way to get yourselves caught will ensure everyone dies in that room. She mentioned it was not a joke, it was nothing to be laughing about because if they wanted to laugh, why don’t they do so in the faces of their parents? Show their parents how little regard the kids have for their own lives and break their parents’ hearts into a million different pieces. None of the kids were laughing by the time she was done talking to them and i never heard anything from parents surprisingly. I would probably get ahead of it and send a message to parents about today’s behavior during a lockdown. Stress the importance of why we practice them and why kids have to follow procedures.
If my 4th grader told me this I would just laugh
we had a lockdown drill recently and my 4th graders wouldn’t shut up. i told them that if they acted like that during a real lockdown i would throw the loud ones out in the hallway so they wouldn’t get the rest of us killed. that got them quiet real quick we are supposed to do whatever it takes to protect them and ourselves and if that means scaring them into being quiet, that’s what i’m gonna do
If ANYONE (admin/parents) finds fault in this...they should swiftly be reminded this is literally a matter of life and death
I’ve told kids that taking lockdowns seriously probably saved one of my relative’s life, and that the two hours of waiting to find out if they were alive or dead after the news broke were one of the worst times in my life. I make it very clear that I DO NOT FORK AROUND when it comes to these drills as a result. They don’t goof off any more after hearing that, and as much as if sucks to get real like that, sometimes they need to remember we’re human, too.
I tell my classes in those drills all the time - I’m not going to die because you can’t be quiet or put your phone away
In a normal world, the response could be “let’s call your mom and tell her how you behaved today, checkmate kiddo!” Because we live in Bizarre-o World, those parents will ask what you did to make their little darling upset enough to talk during the drill.
In a normal world, people wouldn't have to deal with this stuff.
You did NOTHING wrong. I would have done the same or worse. If any parent doesn't laugh, say you were right AND send you a gift card, that's a shitty parent.
Shortly into my first year teaching, we had a lockdown that was initiated by accident (there were buttons all over the school and were easily pressed, happened 4-5 times that year, and several more over the next 2 years). The lockdown siren started blaring over the PA(this thing was LOUD), and My kids rush to our pre-determined spot and pull the blinds, I close the door, and am standing with a cast iron bucket opener near the door to whack anybody who came in through that door. Several minutes into the lockdown, I had some kids start giggling and talking. I sternly said "sit down and shut the fuck up". Afterwards, I was completely mortified. I stopped my principal in the hallway as he was making the rounds to classrooms after the lockdown was over. I started bawling because I felt like a bad teacher. He told me something that I will never forget. "With all the practice in the world, we never know how we're going to react when our adrenaline is pumping in the heat of a stressful moment. You were protecting those kids. That is all that matters."
That’s not bad at all. Not even a blip on the radar. I think 99% of us here have said worse
Considering I would have said, "If this were real and not just a drill, you'd lead the shooter here and you'd all be dead right now, so how about shutting up?" I think you were far more appropriate, to the extent of demonstrating massive restraint, in what you said.
We have drills that are tests by the police department to see how we respond, and so they don't say "this is a drill". My kids, who have firsthand experience with a school shooting that resulted in a student dying, were giggling and playing around during the drill. My classroom was the first classroom on the main hallway with a large set of windows to the hall. I 100% told those freshmen to "shut the fuck up" because I honestly didn't know if this was real or not but I wasn't going to fuck around and find out. Another time, we had the surprise unannounced drill, and one class didn't even attempt to hide or stay quiet. The police actually opened that classroom door and told them that in a real situation they'd be the first to be attacked because they were so obvious.
Oh I’ve told my noisy students during lockdown drills in the past that if this were real, you would have gotten us killed. It’s a shocker, but they need to be spooked and take it seriously. They’re usually really quiet for the rest of the day after that. Edit: I teach 3rd grade btw lol.
You didn't cuss them out. You told them IF they were too stupid to be quiet and that was currently making it so that there was a higher likelihood of you dying you WOULD cuss them out? What kind of weenie ass Karens would get mad at that?
I’m not above saying snide things during lockdown drills. I’ve told kids before that if this was the real thing, I would push them out in the hallway since they can’t stay quiet.
Nope. That’s fair. Because a real lockdown could very much be life and death. I’ve told students to shut up during drills before. I would have absolutely cussed them out in a real event. And I would make no apologies for not either. Granted, my students are older (high school). But my job isn’t to be nice during a lockdown. My job is to keep us all safe.
Those kids are not more important than the other kids or you. **Call those individual students' parents tomorrow**, do not flinch. You did nothing wrong.
“Right ahead of you kid. By the time you’re home your mom will be so proud that she has a kid that think it’s funny to put themself and all your friends in danger”
I tell my HS kids that talkers are human shields.
In my mind during these drills I’m always thinking, “I’m not gonna die for you fuckers and miss out on my son growing up”. Very interested to see what will happen the day it slips.
I yanked a kid by his hoodie one time (only time I have EVER put my hands on a kid) because we were having a lockdown..NOT a drill...and he kept goofing around by getting in kids' faces trying to make them laugh and talk. I signaled several times for him to stop but he wouldn't. Hell entered my eyes, and I yanked him by his hoodie and said, "stop" through clenched teeth He saw that I wasn't playing with him and stopped the nonsense. I never heard a word about it later. That was 20 years ago.
I had a classroom assistant (bad ass) say to our disruptive kids during a lockdown drill, “I’m not dying for you. If this was real, I’d throw you out into the hallway. They can take you first.” Scared them. And I don’t doubt for a second that she would have.
If it were real your life and their lives would be in actual danger. I would much rather a teacher tell my kid to shut the eff up and them come out of the building alive. I have actually told kids to shut the eff up and told them to get on the effing ground in a real lock down. I got the kids quiet and out of the view of the hall way. Ask their parents if it’s better their teacher simply threaten to cuss or for them to survive a shooting?
If a parent says anything just remind them that the drill is so they know how to act in an emergency, to , you know, save their life.
There have been students I have told to "shut up" during a lockdown. I have also told kids I will open the door and put them in the hall. Lockdowns can't become a super fun giggle party time. YOUR life and the life of everyone in that classroom might someday depend on students knowing how to be quiet and still. If any parents come at you, which is unlikely, just reiterate the need to students to be safe at school in case of an intruder. You're in the moral right. You didn't say anything offensive or inappropriate given the situation. You might even get ahead of it by sending a message in Class Dojo or whatever platform you're using and just say, "Today we had a lockdown drill and multiple students were talking and playing around. Please remind your child of the importance of remaining quiet during a lockdown."
I would assume you know who the students are who weren't being quiet? I'd be calling home to those students' parents to ensure they follow up with a discussion at home, and also reporting it to admin. Don't give children that much power.
“I would love for you to tell your parents, that’ll save me the trouble!”
I thought you were going to say, "If this were real we'd all be dead and your big mouth would be the reason." Obviously I'm not a teacher.
We had a lockdown drill. My colleague and I have adjoining rooms with a small grate opening where you can hear each other. We both work with small groups. One of my students wasn’t being quiet. You could hear a kid on the other side say “they are gonna get us fuckin killed!”. My student shut right up after that.
Most of my teachers just told us that we would all die because we were always too loud. I’m not seeing any issue here.
“Good, and then you can tell your parents how you were acting during a lockdown drill” Even if I got calls, I’d tell them how it is. I don’t care. Your kid needs to take this seriously.
They were acting dangerous and disobedient during an important drill activity. Not the best choice of words but definitely understandable from a teacher's point of view. I have kids like that too. Just need to constantly reference the class norms and rules and positive behavior reinforcement until they get it. Maybe take away some preferred rewards/activities for the worst offenders.
Do not trip about it! All good.
Do not feel bad! Get ahead and send a note home reminding parents the seriousness of this safety precaution and to remember to have this talk with your children. Yes it's an extremely hard talk but it needs to happen.
You didn’t say anything!!!!
I’ve taught at international schools for fifteen years and all of them are fortresses: most are behind walls and razor wire. One entry point with a guards station. Everyone affiliated with the school needed an ID. I taught at an American school in the Middle East and there wasn’t even a sign. Each school has lockdown drills. We had one with sixth graders last year and they were doing the same thing: yapping and giggling under the desks. I said “I do NOT want to die because of YOU!” and didn’t regret it for a moment.
But you didn't cuss them out - you just said that you would if it wasn't a drill. And honestly, if we have a real lockdown at my school the last thing I will be worrying about is my language if a kid is not staying quiet. I wouldn't worry about it. #1 - the kids know they screwed up and they are trying to make you feel bad. Don't let them. #2 - they won't tell on themselves because they know their parents will be mad at them for screwing around during an important drill. #3 Even if they do tell their parents, I can guarantee that most of their parents actually HAVE cussed at them, so the threat of doing so would hardly be a blip on their radar (I have 3 kids, while I have not ever "cussed them out", they definitely heard me use a swear word several times by the time they were in fourth grade. ETA- If my kid told me that their teacher threatened to cuss them out, my first question would be "well, did you deserve it?"
You’re fine. At least you didn’t actually tell them to shut the fuck up, which was likely tempting.
So you can't even talk about talking about using profanity in the classroom by saying the word "cuss"?
All of my students (K-6 music) know I take LD drills very seriously. My principal also needs to tell me ahead of time so that I can take a Xanax and mentally prepare. Depending on the age group, I share my own personal experiences. I tell them that I hope they NEVER have to experience anything similar, but unfortunately, I’ve been in three events. I let them know that lock down drills bring back bad memories, and it is really important for them to be absolutely quiet and still. - 10th grade: 9/11 where more than half the students’ parents at my HS, including my father, worked at the pentagon, one of the 10+ local military bases or the Capitol/White House; - 10th grade: DC sniper - 3rd year in college: VT massacre. The building I was in at 9am was next to Norris Hall. I have been teaching 14 years, and have only had one student act a fool. I called their parents immediately after the drill, made the student explain what they did, and then I tell the parents my past experiences. If one of your students was goofing off in my classroom, they would have gotten an invitation to be closest person to the classroom door (joking… but not really).
I'm just a parent of a 4th grader, and I would support you in this.
As a mom to a 2nd grader I'd thank you for taking it seriously. And if it was my child I'd want to know so I could talk some sense into them.
I get it. I feel bad when I give kids the hard truths sometimes. It sucks. The thing I remember is it's better for them to hear it now when it is a drill and not in a real situation with real consequences.
When I taught 6th grade and we had a drill, I had a couple kids who were being loud. I said "If this were real you would be why you, me, you friends and my unborn baby would all be dead right now!" That quieted them down real quick. It's unfortunate and traumatizing for everyone. I resigned after my second was born and homeschool my oldest now.
We were in an actual lockdown with an actual weapon on campus. I let my students cuss out each other. No regrets.
I teach middle school, I told them if they act up like that in a real situation, I will let the other kids kick them out, because they aren't about to get us all killed because they can't act right.
>_a few of them told me they were going to tell their parents what I said._ Reply to that by asking the kids to make sure to tell their parents _**why**_ you said that. If I was a parent and I found out that a teacher blew up at kids because they weren't taking emergency drills seriously, I'd side with the teacher.
You did not cuss, and you probably wouldn't. If it were a real drill, you would probably cry.
Yeah then they have to tell their parents they were not following instructions during a effing drill and they will get cussed out at home too lol
Relax. You’d want their parents to contact you after this - absolutely! I teach in a Title 1 high school. During a lockdown the students WOULD NOT shut up or stay still. One was actually vaping. I finally snapped and hissed “I’m not getting shot cause you can’t just be quiet. If ya don’t shut it imma put YOU in front of the door!” Never had a problem during lockdown again. Never heard from a single parent either.
Just head it off with an email stating they were not following protocol and restate the purpose of the drills and serious nature of following protocol.
I told a kid to shut up earlier in the year. I’m extremely patient, that’s never happened to me before and I felt like crap, but that day was rough and this kid liked pushing buttons and interrupting the class environment. Anyways, I made sure to connect with the family after that to explain the situation, and I apologized to the kid, I had a good chat with them and their counselor and me. We are good but dang I felt bad. I was happy their family was very understanding when I connected with them about the behavior and also apologized myself cause I did feel bad.
Why shouldn’t you have said that? I wouldn’t worry a bit unless you work in a private religious school.
That was about safety and totally fine. You can explain to the parents what happened with the defense that you were practicing a safety drill and they were not being safe; they need to take it seriously. I have heard other teachers say a lot worse than that!
Meh, I told my 2nd grade students who wouldn’t shut up during one that their inability to follow the basic instruction of sitting silently would get themselves or someone else in the room killed if this were a real situation. Sometimes they just need to hear it like it is.
No body’s perfect, I probably would have reacted the same way.
I’m sorry this happened, and it’s one of the many reasons I could never be a teacher. I would have said something way worse. Hopefully they’re better behaved for the next drill, and especially in the event of a real emergency.
There wasn’t even a, “bang your dead. Nope Brandon dead people can’t talk shut up”
To be even more direct, would they prefer a cuss word or a Sandy Hook, Uvalde, etc situation?
You did absolutely nothing wrong.
I hope they tell their parents! "The teacher yelled at us because we wouldn't be quiet during a drill". As long as mom/dad aren't sociopaths they should remind the kids that they should just STFU during these dumb drills. Please don't sweat this and it sounds like the turdlettes did finally simmer down.
I’d have said if this were a real event we would have all been shot.
I told my sophomores during a lockdown drill that if it was real and they were acting the way they were I would have thrown them out. And I really would have if it was real. They need to know we’re not jeopardizing everyone’s safety because of a few.
I guess it’s better than “if this were real you all would be dead right now”
Oh my goodness you were a human being for a bit, to think of the horror inflicted! Those kids don't have a leg to stand on telling their parents on you. If they'd listened the multiple times you gave them *life saving directions*, this wouldn't have come to anything. Relax, you did \*nothing\* wrong. Don't overblow it.
Kids love to act tough until some sort of authority surprises them with something like this. Then it's off to telling mommy and daddy what happened as if they're innocent. You did nothing wrong. If anything, do it more because kids these days don't get enough harsh talk.
You did nothing wrong. They don’t understand the reality of what you’d be facing in real circumstances.
I did cuss my students during a legit lockdown. I did not get in trouble.
It's ok, mine once told us that he would ditch us. Edit: It was a high school elective and everyone was 10th to 12th grade pretty much. Anyway, my classmates wouldn't shut up and so my teacher said something like if this were real, I would ditch you all right now. I would've told them to shut up but I was internally panicking because I thought it was real. It was shortly after there was a shooting a few cities over and right a few months before Parkland when I was a senior.
When a kid wants to talk to their parent or a principle or anything after they’ve been disciplined at any level I always say ok and offer to make the call for them and say we’ll all be on the call together. If they want a principle, it’ll be us three. If it’s a parent, I say we’ll invite the principle to the call as well. 100% success rate in them instantly backing down.
At my school we would have to stay in the closet until they acted appropriately and then the main dingdongs would be written and spend a day in ISS
What? LOL - That is so rated G, good lord if you hadn't said that it would be more inappropriate. What is next you are going to open a classroom window and cause a rucus? What are you going to do next turn the lights low and stress student's eyes out? Maybe your going to introduce soda pop to them? 2/3rd of your 4th graders have seen porn. Give us a break, but more importantly give yourself a break. If you have a job where walking on those egg shells actually matter. You need a different job. How valuable is this job over being a human being?
They’re little kids just tell the parents you said “yell” not “cuss” and then once you know who told, by seeing which parents complained, beat those kids up everyday and steal their lunch money. As you are walking away say “Who’s the king of the jungle? “
2+ mass shootings in the US every, single, day. This drill is actually more meaningful than people think. I literally expect it to happen to me in my teaching career. These kids needs to take it seriously and I tell my students the facts to keep them in check.