OPINION:
Ear-piercing fire alarms startle kids at schools all across the country at regular intervals to drill and drive our children outside the building in case of a fire. Pulses rise, adrenaline flows, and kids practice stopping what they are doing and immediately take the emergency route exit to get away from the hypothetical flames in the building. Teachers and school officials dutifully prepare our kids to flee danger in an orderly fashion. Kids have a clear directive to ensure safety — “leave the building now to get away from the fire.” That’s what a fire drill looks like at a school.
But what about the other kind of drill that has become the norm in our schools — the intruder alert drill? How do we prepare our kids for those drills?
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It is a sad fact that ever since one of the most prominent and deadly school shootings happened in April 1999 at Columbine High School, our nation has changed how we think about safety in schools. Drills are designed to keep our kids safe by having everyone on the same page with a safety procedure/process — kids, parents, staff, and emergency responders all know what the precautionary measures are and where to go to carry them out.
But what is different about fire drills versus intruder drills?
With fire drills, the concept is simple: you are out of the building, you are safe. Intruder drills are more complex. Depending on information about where the intruder is and their activity, determines whether teachers are guiding their class to hide against walls or under desks to become invisible or leading them into full evacuation mode of the building. An intruder threat is more unpredictable and not as contained. It’s more stealthy.
So, it can be much scarier for children because of the unknown variables with less time to process the danger and less time to process the path out of danger.
Whether you like these drills or not for your kids, they are part of our school system. Many states require schools to conduct a certain number of lockdown and/or evacuation drills a year.
How, then, can we equip our kids spiritually and emotionally for an intruder alert drill? Our kids need to know two things about intruder alert drills to bring down their anxiety and help keep them safe:
- Trust God
- Trust Your Teacher
Trust God
Instill in your children that no matter what is happening, God is with them and He is in control. Whether things are going as planned or not, God’s got it. In the Bible, Psalm 46 says, “God is our shield and our strength, an ever-present help in danger.” Also, Isaiah 41:10 says, “Do not fear, for I am with you…”
Interestingly, the phrase “Do not fear” is mentioned 365 times in the Bible — one verse for each day of the year. My favorite comforting verse is Matthew 28:20, where Jesus said, “I am with you always.”
By giving into fear, a child’s mind could be in danger of not thinking clearly or being paralyzed. Crystal Woodman Miller, a Columbine survivor, says that she trusted God and fully relied on Him that tragic day. She believes that prayer should be our first line of defense.
Trust Your Teacher
Remind your children that teachers have been trained to know the best way for them to stay safe. Teachers are amazing at moving big groups of kids and keeping control of them. They do it every day. Build up your children’s confidence in their teacher’s ability to get them out of danger — whether it’s a fire drill or an intruder drill.
If you have 30 children implementing 30 different solutions in a crisis, that equals chaos and not safety. Reinforce that the teacher is acting in place of a parent in keeping them safe, so they need to listen and do whatever the teacher says to do. God put them in charge of their safety and they can trust that God gave them someone who will do everything they can to keep them safe.
Trust goes a long way in a crisis.
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Keep nurturing your children’s relationship with God, so they will have no problem trusting God or trusting their teacher in a crisis. As a result, they will have God’s peace and clarity of thought in any situation.
Keep praying over your children — their day, their safety, and their teachers. Call on the name of the Lord.
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Kori Pennypacker is the CEO of Bible2School, where she oversees the mission and speaks to businesses, churches, and community leaders on the topic of the importance of spiritual training for children in our communities nationwide. She has over 20 years of experience in children’s ministry and leadership.
Bible2School equips communities across the nation to provide free elective Bible classes to elementary school children DURING their public school day. Their vision is that every public school in the nation would have a dynamic Bible program taught during their school day as allowed by national released time court rulings.
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