In case you missed this story, here’s the news report from Fox 29:
Basically, graduating 8th graders were given ballistic inserts for their backpacks in preparation for heading off to high school. Judging from the looks on their faces, I would guess they were Wordless. While the shields do protect against the ammunition from certain types of guns, I question the value of a 10-inch x 12-inch shield that may or may not be in the right place at the right time.
I thought maybe I was just unaware of the benefits of ballistic shields in backpacks, so I asked Paul Timm, PSP, of Facility Engineering Associates. Paul said, “The concept of bullet-resistant (because there is no such thing as “bulletproof”) shields is unsettling to school stakeholders, because esoteric products such as this make no real contribution to a safe learning environment. Protection-effectiveness will only be enhanced as they take further steps to improve access control, communications, awareness, relationships, etc.”
Other safety advocates were quoted in the New York Times article – So It’s on to High School Now? Here’s a Bullet Shield for Your Backpack. While I understand that schools and parents want to do all they can to protect kids, and I appreciate the sentiment behind the gift, I think there’s more that can be done to proactively provide safety and security in our schools.
~~~
Related Post: School Security – How to Build and Strengthen a School Safety Program, by Paul Timm
You need to login or register to bookmark/favorite this content.
So sad our world has come to this. Being given a ballistic insert for their backpack must scare them so much. What a lousy attempt in combating the problem. Home schooling is looking better every day!