Snapped: Why School Attackers Are Not Like Those Who Riot

Bestselling author, Malcolm Gladwell, used the analogy of a person caught up in a riot to describe why students may be attacking our schools.

He asserted that like those in a riot who get carried away by the moment (as well as the crowd) and impulsively act in a manner that they never would any other time, so are students who are attacking our schools.

While it’s a very creative analogy, and something worth thinking about, it is unfortunately not the case with school attackers and decades of data disprove it this theory.

To watch the video…click here!

Common Ground: How to Foster Agreement and Limit Internal Strife When Disciplining Students

Have you ever disciplined a student only to be told, “You’re ruining his life, you’re too hard, unreasonable, unfair, mean…a rotten no good #&%^#$…”

Hopefully you haven’t heard the last one, but when it comes to handing out discipline to students…it’s a tough business.

I think we make it harder on ourselves than it needs to be because we haven’t set a threshold or conditions for what must be achieved when handing out discipline.

Adopt this model for your school, community, and family and reduce your heartache, foster agreement, and limit internal strife.

All you have to do is just establish a common ground.

http://peoplearetheprize.wistia.com/medias/shabrz70rj?embedType=async&seo=false&videoFoam=true&videoWidth=745

Today’s Word is Action

Today’s word is action and every generation throughout history has placed great value on this word because without it, it’s impossible to be successful. When it comes to preventing violence, action is the single most important word.

Do this one (little and easy) action every school day and I guarantee you that your school will become immediately safer (and you’ll feel better while doing it)!

http://peoplearetheprize.wistia.com/medias/0ljsq9iqh9?embedType=async&seo=false&videoFoam=true&videoWidth=745

Fire Drills: The Model for Preventing School Attacks

“Why do we have so many fire drills each year? We haven’t had a major fire inside a school in a very long time.”

I get this sentiment completely and it makes perfect sense, but there’s another way of looking at it.

Fire is still a serious threat. That hasn’t changed and never will, but how we view fire has changed greatly. We no longer fear it as we once did because, over the decades, we’ve greatly enhanced our ability to prevent fire by implementing effective procedures, creating better fire-resistant building materials, redesigning schools to stop or limit the spread of fire, and instituting a mindset of fire prevention in our students, teachers, and staff members. If you’re getting tired and bored with doing fire drills, that’s not by accident. In fact, it’s exactly how you’re supposed to feel at this stage of the game.

Try to think of it this way.

We had a serious problem that was a very real threat. We worked the problem, faced it head-on, implemented and re-implemented new prevention efforts until we got it right, and now, we’re enjoying the fruits of our diligence.

This is a huge win!

Don’t get bored or tired with fire drills, celebrate the fact that we worked together to mitigate what once was a terrible threat into something that we no longer fear. At least not like we used to.

We also have a concrete example that we can follow. Let’s take this successful model and apply it to preventing the school attack. That’s our serious problem and it’s a very real threat. So, let’s work the problem, face it head-on, and implement and re-implement new prevention efforts until we get it right.

Let’s quickly get to the day that we’re bored with doing lockdown drills…

With the start of a new school year, everyone’s required to conduct a series of mandatory fire drills in quick succession. During each fire drill, let it be a reminder of how far we’ve come and what great things we can do when we work diligently to solve a problem. We should—we must—do the same in preventing violence and the school attack.

We were successful in limiting the threat of fire, we can have the same success in limiting the threat of school attacks.

“I’m Going to Kill You.”

What do you do when a student (adult) utters this phrase?

This question comes up a lot during threat assessment trainings, but before we look at some specific examples, let me first set the stage.

We live in a contextual world and live a contextual life. To understand a person, we have to look at the context in which they live their life. To determine if a person’s behavior is right or wrong, good or bad, threatening or non-threatening, we have to look at the context surrounding the behavior. Often, it’s only through context that we are able to fully grasp the true meaning or intent behind the behaviors.

If your response to unwanted behaviors is strictly punishment and consequences, then context is immaterial. In other words, the kid did the behavior and regardless of why he did it, he now gets the punishment. Period. Over. Done.

Life would be much simpler if it could only be this way, but it can’t because our job is to educate (better) and protect kids which means we have to intervene and manage behaviors. Yes, there may also be punishment and consequences that go along with an unwanted behavior but these alone will never win the day. They may be very valuable tools and exactly what’s deserved, but they must be used in conjunction with the goal of intervening and managing a behavior.

Why?

The best way to effect long-term change as well as to make our school communities safer is to intervene and manage behaviors. Always intervene and manage behaviors.

With this in mind, let’s look at some examples of the phrase, “I’m going to kill you” and how context can help us to accurately determine the true meaning behind the behavior as well as how we should respond (intervene and manage).

 

Example #1.

John, a six grader, is shoving his books into his locker. Tony, a male friend, comes up behind John and slaps him on the back of the head. Tony then takes off running down the hall, laughing and taunting John over his shoulder. John chases after him yelling, “I’m going to kill you.”

Is John serious that he wants to kill Tony?

Probably not.

Is he going to hit Tony when he catches up to him? Is this behavior a waste of time and simply ridiculous? Absolutely. But is it threatening behavior? Do we need to conduct a threat assessment? I’m going to say with the information available as well as the context of the behavior—no.

In this example, it appears that the phrase was used in the context of a joke.

As far as punishment and consequences—that’s up to you.

 

Example #2.

A lively discussion about girls and dating spontaneously breaks out before the beginning of first period. Things get a little bit out of hand and a few of the eleventh grade boys begin to make pointed comments, in jest, about each other. Jack turns to Seth and says, “You don’t have to worry about it. No one would ever date you.” Seth, who had been sitting quietly and not participating in the discussion, takes the comment very personally. His face glows red, his brow wrinkles in hurt, and he replies to Jack in barely a whisper, “I’m going to kill you.”

Is Seth serious that he wants to kill Jack?

Not certain, but probably not.

However, is there a high probability that Seth will try to retaliate (verbally or physically) against Jack—I’d say absolutely.

Is this threatening behavior? Do we need to conduct a threat assessment? I’m going to say with the information available as well as the context of the behavior—yes this is threatening behavior and requires intervention and management, but I’d say no to a threat assessment.

How should we intervene?

Several ways.

1. Train and require your staff to take immediate action in these situations.
2. Seth was publicly humiliated. Unfortunately, for many students a public humiliation requires a public retaliation. Do not let that happen—act now and act fast.
3. These types of hurtful comments, even if done without bad intent, should be publicly corrected and the person (Jack) made to apologize.
4. Your staff should also report it to school leadership if a student (Seth) leaves the classroom and is still visibly upset after a public humiliation. Do not let this boil over into another period.
5. Intervene and manage behaviors.

In this example, it appears that the phrase was used in the context of anger and in response to being hurt. It does not appear to be premeditated, but spontaneous.

As far as punishment and consequences—that’s up to you.

 

Example #3.

A seventeen-year-old male student is arrested for making threats via Twitter. He’s suspended and when his locker is searched, you find a journal. You read the journal and find disturbing hand drawn images as well as scribbled across several pages the phrase, “I’m going to kill you.”

Is the student serious about killing someone?

Not certain, but probably yes.

Is this threatening behavior? Do we need to conduct a threat assessment? I’m going to say with the information available as well as the context of the behavior—yes this is threatening behavior and we need to immediately began a threat assessment.

Why?

1. The student has repeatedly demonstrated threatening behavior not only in the journal but also via Twitter. This may demonstrate an obsession and willingness to use violence.
2. The journal reflects the private thoughts and personal feelings of the student which are disturbing and violent in nature.
3. More information needs to be gathered because this student appears to not only be in need of assistance, but a potential threat to others.

In this example, it appears that the phrase was used in the context of planning and preparing to use violence. It was not spontaneous but appears to be premeditated.

As far as punishment and consequences—the student has been punished and is receiving consequences. Blend these into your intervention and management strategies. Remain flexible and continue to adjust as you gather more data from your threat assessment.

Last point…

Context is not the same thing as cause and effect. It does not occur because of some external action, but is already present and can serve as a light to illuminate the reason and meaning of behaviors.

Yes, the phrase, “I’m going to kill you” always has implications. That’s why people use it. The question we have to answer is whether it was used as a threat. To be successful in reading behaviors, we have to know the ‘why’ behind the behavior and the only way to get that answer is to look at the context of the behavior.

To ignore the context is to seriously handicap your efforts. Always look to the context…

What Do You See Wednesday (17 December 2014)

Check out the comments to read what others have seen!

Being able to spot what is safe and unsafe takes practice. And experience is invaluable. We’re going to post a new picture each Wednesday and after everyone has had a chance to comment, we’ll review and discuss the findings.

This week’s picture was taken early in the morning and the yellow glow is from the parking lot light.  This is a mobile classroom.

What do you see and how can we make it safer?  Are there any special safety measures we need to consider?

 

Review & Discussion (What Do You See Wednesday Dec 11, 2014)

Let’s review and discuss the last, ‘What Do You See Wednesday’

First, here’s the picture.

 

Here’s what Officer Diana Back had to say…

It is SUPER clean which shows that it is taken care of and staff care about their school. It is also well lit, nice line of vision, no real hiding spots…..door is open so people can hear/see anything unusual from inside the classroom and there seems to be a color-code scheme thing going on.

Here’s what I have to add.

First of all, outstanding job to Diana. Absolutely, the school is well taken care of and super clean. That tells us a lot about the leadership, staff, and students. It looks like they care and having spent the day in the school—I can say unequivocally that they do!

I want to add to the color-code scheme that Diana mentioned, which was really the purpose of this picture. The color coding is a CPTED (Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design) technique. It’s made to influence behavior. Along with the lights directly over the colored squares, it helps to create a ‘desire’ in the person walking down the hall to follow a particular path. After all, ask yourself if you were walking down the hall where would you choose to walk. Would it be on the colored squares and under the lights or along the sides?

I’m guessing down the middle of the hall which is good and bad.

Good, because we want to influence behaviors and guide people to walk where we want them to. This helps to control access, enhance surveillance, and give order to the space.

Bad, because it’s in the middle of the hall. When students are changing class, we don’t want 100 students walking in the center of the hall. It is better to keep people separated by space and distance which reduces conflict and the possibility of random violence.

How would we fix this?

When you build new schools or renovate existing buildings in your district, really think about each space and add in every control feature that you possibly can. In this hall, we would put the colored squares on the outside, near the walls and put a string of wall lights directly over them. That way, when the students walk down the hall they will be close to the walls and separated in two columns instead of one directly down the middle.

This will give us greater control and allow for one adult to stand in the middle and better supervise the passing students.

It may seem like a little thing, but creating safer schools is a process and everything that helps, even if only a little, will add up to make a big difference.

What Do You See Wednesday? (12 November 2014)

Check out the comments to read what others have seen!

Being able to spot what is safe and unsafe takes practice. And experience is invaluable. We’re going to post a new picture each Wednesday and after everyone has had a chance to comment, we’ll review and discuss the findings.

Today’s picture has several crime prevention techniques (which is really influencing behaviors) as well as something larger that I want to discuss.  Take a look and what do you see?

 

What is Your Single Greatest School Safety Asset?

Whenever I ask this question during a seminar, I always receive lots of, “Cameras, locks, secured front doors.” These enhance your safety measures, but they are not your greatest asset. They never have been and they never will be. People are your greatest asset—if you treat them as such.

What do I mean?

Cameras are not your greatest asset because they are reactive and not proactive. All they can really do is record an event. They may influence some to not commit lesser crimes and other unwanted behaviors, but cameras do not stop school attacks and your greatest safety asset must be able to prevent a school attack.

Locks and secured doors are much better than cameras, because they can physically delay a school attack. Minutes matter and the longer we can keep those who want to hurt us separated from our children, the more lives that will be saved. Locks and secured doors are critical for a safer school, but they are not your greatest safety asset.

People can see, hear, smell, and sense impending danger and that makes them your greatest safety asset. People are the only safety device that can initiate direct action to prevent violence and here’s the best news. Every school already comes equipped with hundreds of them—for free! All you have to do is ask them to be a part of the safety team and train them how to respond to and report potential threats of violence. That’s easy. If you do this, you’ll have hundreds of people helping you to prevent violence and your school will become safer—instantly!

Another great and often forgotten benefit to equipping people to be your greatest safety asset is that by doing so you will improve the quality of their day by lessening their fear which will in turn enhance your school climate. Like academics, school safety is connected to everything you do. When a person feels that they have the ability to control their environment, that they are not at the mercy of others, especially those who just want to hurt them, they will feel better, more confident, and more cared about and this makes for a great day and a great school climate. Never underestimate the importance of team morale. It’s the only leadership responsibility that has to be tweaked daily if not hourly.

So, install cameras and always secure your doors, but put your faith and effort into your people. They will save the day—if you prepare and enable them to succeed. And…they’ll thank you for it.

People are the prize.

 

Review & Discussion (What Do You See Wednesday? 19 March 2014)

Let’s review and discuss the picture from What Do You See Wednesday? (19 March 2014)

Here’s the background:

Today’s picture is from another high school with severe security concerns. Every student that enters the school must walk through one of the two metal detectors and then have their backpack run through the X-ray machine. When you comment on this picture, do so as if you are a security officer and you are working this spot during student arrival.  What do you see from the eyes of the security officer?

Here’s the picture:

Here are my thoughts:

We talk a lot about the safety of the students and the staff members, but today I want to talk about the safety of our security personnel. The current setup is unsafe for the security officers. They have no space and distance between them and a potential threat and therefore no time to react first. Remember, this school feels the risk is high enough to have every student pass through a metal detector and to have their book bags x-rayed. That alone, should have the security officers take additional precautions.

What do I mean?

Increase The Space:
While it is good that only one door is being used, the officers have given themselves no time to react first. Imagine you’re a security officer and you’re standing there watching students stream in and suddenly the alarm goes off. How long have you been able to observe the student who set off the alarm? Maybe five seconds at the most? That is not long enough. We want to increase the time we are able to observe and assess those before they enter our area. The best way to do that is to…

Increase The Distance:
If I couldn’t move the metal detectors backwards and gain distance that way, I’d post an officer in the hall but place him in a spot where he was still visible from the doorway (typically there are at least three security officers manning an area like this and if I was an officer standing inside, I’d want to be able to see the officer outside in the hall).

Next, I’d create a lane in the hall and make all the students form in a line out there, before they get near the metal detector. The officer in the hall would have the job of observing and assessing. Does anyone look nervous? Anyone carrying something bulky? Anyone showing other signs of potential danger?

The officer in the hall would also have the job of spacing out the students. That is, not letting them bunch up around the metal detector but instead ensuring that they enter one at a time—nice and slow and at our pace. If the alarm goes off we want as few students in the immediate area as possible and we want a clear path to immediately address the situation.

We see it again and again that we can solve or lessen so many problems just by tweaking the environment to make it work for us. In everything we do, we want to increase the space and distance between ourselves and a potential threat. It is always in our benefit to be the one to act first.

When we do, we stand a better chance of influencing the outcome.