What is the worst way to combat school shootings?

Please read carefully because there might be a test.

A school district in Pennsylvania placed a 5 gallon bucket of rocks in each classroom two years ago. If locking and barricading the classroom door does not work, the students have been instructed to throw rocks at the would-be shooter instead of hiding under their desks.

According to a Buzzfeed story, the school superintendent for Schuylkill County believes the rocks serve as a powerful deterrent. He said, “If an armed intruder attempts to gain entrance to any of our classrooms, they will face a classroom full of students armed with rocks. And they will be stoned.”

Maybe it’s working. Since the arrival of the rocks, there have been no shooter incidents in any Schuylkill County school.

Two more stupid ideas to protect schools against mass shootings

In January, I wrote about a plan by an Ohio school board to arm janitors in schools. Needless to say, I didn't think much of it.

A similar plan instituted by a Texas school district resulted in an injury to a maintenance worker who shot himself after taking a class on carrying a concealed handgun. [Link]

Two recent proposals are even more absurd.

A brief Homeland Security video opens with a helpful definition of an "active shooter." There is some worthwhile advice about taking cover, hiding and what do when police arrive. The big problem is that the video suggests if you are caught in the open, you should consider trying to overpower the shooter with scissors.

If you are caught in the open, where are you going to find scissors? Your Swiss Army knife? If you are in an office, as depicted in the video, you would probably be better off hiding or playing dead.

As odd as that advice seems, it doesn't come close to this hare-brained device. The NY Daily News reports that a company is marketing bulletproof whiteboards for teachers.

In peaceful times, it's like any other whiteboard. But when the shooting starts, the teacher can hold up the 18-by-20-inch slab for protection. The article has a few pictures of it in action. Here's one.



The article says, "Several schools, including two grade schools in Maryland, a high school in North Dakota and the University of Delaware, have already ordered or installed the boards." They cost $299.00 each.

Questions come to mind. Doesn't it look like there is plenty of unprotected teacher to shoot at? What about the children? Will they have white boards? What if the teacher doesn't have the white board in her hand when the shooter enters the room?

I guess she can always fall back on the scissors.

Are they serious? School board approves carrying of handguns by custodial staff

Is there a worse idea in the world than arming janitors in public schools?

I don’t think so, but a school board in Ohio had other ideas and voted unanimously to give guns to their custodians.

The Toledo Blade carried the story.

"Sitting back and doing nothing and hoping it doesn't happen to you is just not good policy anymore. There is a need for schools to beef up their security measures," Superintendent Jamie Grime told The Blade today. "Having guns in the hands of the right people are [sic] not a hindrance. They are a means to protect."

OK, so the right people are the schools’ janitors?

"Our main goal is to offer safety for our students while they are in the classrooms and in the building," Mr. [School board President Larry] Martin said. "We have to do something and this seems like the most logical, reasonable course to go with."

Do they have to “do something” and is this logical and reasonable?

I say “No.”

Other than being physically present in schools, what qualifications for carry guns do janitors have? The article says they will be sent to a two-day training course on handgun use given by the renowned Tactical Defense Institute of West Union, Ohio.

This strikes me as a typical “system error” type of response. I have written about this in the past. You can search my blog using the term “system errors” to see the other posts. An unusual event occurs and rather than chalking it up to bad luck or human factors, organizations attempt to correct a “one-off” occurrence with a system change.

Here’s why won’t arming janitors work.

1. Armed guards in schools don’t have a good track record (see: Columbine).

2. The janitor would have to be mighty alert at all times because the crazy guy hell-bent on killing someone has the element of surprise in his favor.

3. Even if an armed janitor serves as a deterrent, which I doubt, what is to stop a shooter from taking out the third grade while they’re outside at recess or getting off the school bus?

4. I assume the janitors will be packing pistols of some kind. Are they going to stand up to a shooter in full body armor carrying an AR-15 Bushmaster semi-automatic rifle?

Where does this end?

What if the next mass shooting is at on a field trip, at a basketball game in a high school gym or at football stadium? How can those very public areas be protected?

The answer is, they can’t.

Just as putting metal detectors in movie theaters won’t stop a determined psychopath, arming a janitor will not stop one from attacking a school. It’s much more likely that the janitor will shoot himself or an innocent person than a crazed attacker.

In addition, there will always be a place that does not have an armed guard. Use your imagination.