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?
This weekend I watched the movie Maleficent. I have to say that while my kids liked it, I thought it was okay at best. For me, it was just kind of ordinary and the characters were a little flat.
I wouldn’t even be talking about the movie if not for the similarities I saw between the main character, Maleficent, and school attackers.
Or more precisely, how their society and ours view the justification to do evil.
I’ll try not to give away too much for those who haven’t seen the movie, but Maleficent places a curse on the king’s baby girl which can only be broken by true love’s kiss. This element is faithful to the original tale, Sleeping Beauty. What happens before and after the curse is completely new or at least a different take on the classic story. In the beginning of this new story, Maleficent was a sweet, innocent fairy who loved all and was loved by all. She is the most kind and caring fairy you could ever meet until she is treated horribly and then she has no choice but to turn into something that she didn’t want to be.
And this is where the similarities between our two societies (one magical and one real) collide.
In the movie, it’s crystal clear that Maleficent didn’t want to be a meanie. They drove her to do it and the story line is crafted to make you feel sorry for the bad guy (girl). Clearly, she’s the victim and therefore her evil behavior is in some way justified because of what ‘they’ did to her. If they just would have treated her better she wouldn’t have had to do it.
The same kind of thing is happening with school attackers.
“He was bullied…”
“He snapped, but what do you expect after they…”
“Nobody cared about him and that’s why…”
“It’s because of the gun lobby and easy access to guns…”
“It’s violent video games…”
Like in Maleficent, it’s dangerous to blame some external cause, even if it is terribly unfair, as a plausible explanation for one person to hurt another. There can never be a plausible explanation to attack a school just as there was no plausible explanation why Maleficent would curse an innocent baby to death for something her father did, even though she suffered terribly.
Yes, outside influences and events may contribute to doing violence but deciding to do violence is an individual choice. Maleficent was not ‘made’ evil because of what they had done to her, but by her desire and action to hurt others.
And the same goes for school attackers.
In 1927, Andrew Kehoe murdered his wife, blew up the school, turned his vehicle into a suicide bomb, and murdered 44 teachers and students and injured 58. He left a note on his fence which read, “Criminals are not born, we are made.”
No one is made to do evil.
Few organizations in the world rely so heavily on their members being able to apply the virtue of resiliency more than our Armed Forces. On this day, Veteran’s Day, it’s the perfect time to discuss a topic that is gaining (and rightly so) attention in the public schools.
It’s a great word and a quality that students need to embody. Kids break down too quickly, give up too quickly, and follow bad fads too quickly. And it’s not that they have too much free time or too much access to toxic information. That certainly plays a part, but that’s not all of it. It’s really because too many kids have too few guiding principles and not enough absolutes.
What do I mean?
Members of the military have to remember and live by the Armed Forces Code of Conduct. There are six articles and its primary purpose is to help its members to be resilient. And resiliency doesn’t mean that you can’t lose, just that you won’t give up while you still can or should keep going.
Here’s article 1:
I am an American fighting in the forces which guard my country and our way of life. I am prepared to give my life in their defense.
The next time you see a veteran or an active service member, remember that for them this is their guiding principle—their absolute—their power to be resilient, if you will. Without this high standard, it would be very difficult for men and women in the military to be resilient. And there is no shortage of remarkable examples of service members being resilient in horrific conditions while fighting against terrible odds. If there are experts in resiliency, it’s the brave men and women of our Armed Forces.
1. Right and Wrong:
You can’t teach a person how to be resilient without defining what is right and what is wrong. The more solid the person’s guiding principles and absolutes, the stronger their resiliency. And yes, there are absolutes such as it is absolutely always wrong to murder an innocent person. A person’s ability to summon resiliency in the time of hardships and to be successful is really a question of the depth of their morality or beliefs.
Like in the military, if you want to strengthen a person’s ability to be resilient then you have to strengthen their depth of character. The military focuses on training their people to know what is right and wrong and we should do the same for our kids.
If we do, we will not only make them better people but by default more resilient.
2. Killing Resiliency:
You can’t teach resiliency while pointing the finger at someone else and claiming that they have some unfair advantage. Being a victim means you’ve lost control. Being resilient means regaining or taking back control, in spite of the hardships facing you. You can’t live in both worlds. They’re incompatible.
Resiliency is directly related to the interior strength of the person. If you want to kill the resiliency of a student, tell them that they are a victim.
3. Find Purpose:
The most resilient people are those who know who they are and have found their purpose in life. You can’t teach a kid to be resilient while framing them to be something they are not. Or worse, trying to make them into something they do not want to be. If a person doesn’t believe in what they’re doing, it’s really tough to be resilient.
Everybody has a purpose in life. Help your students to find their purpose in life—not your purpose or what you think it should be—but their purpose. As long as it is lawful and directed towards some worthy good, let them be who they want to be.
Service members are incredibly resilient because they know exactly who they are and their mission in uniform which therefore defines their purpose in life.
Last thing about resiliency.
This character trait is critical and needs to be developed and encouraged in our kids. Like most virtues, the good it produces is not limited to just one aspect of a person’s life. Improving a student’s resiliency will not only better their own life, but it will also help them to be better people as well as better family members, friends, and students.
Proven best practices and research based data is always preferred when searching for answers. In the world, there is no organization that exemplifies true resiliency like our Armed Forces and they have plenty of best practices with endless data to prove it. If you’re looking for solutions and ideas, you’ll find no shortage of examples in our Armed Forces.
Today we thank all past veterans and current military service members for their sacrifices and devotion to duty. Thank you!
Imagine a kid who has no regard for right and wrong, absolutely no self-worth, and lives in the false perception that he has zero prospects of ever achieving greatness by working hard and playing fair. Worse, he’s tempted by the knowledge that he can become world famous in a matter of minutes without having to acquire any skills. This is a powerful lure and Gavin de Becker illustrates this point well in his book, The Gift of Fear, in which he recounts these sentiments from a potential offender. When asked why he wanted to murder a famous person the bad guy stated (and I’m paraphrasing), “It may have taken that person twenty years to become famous but if I murder him, in twenty minutes I’ll be more famous.”
Think about it.
Who murdered JFK?
Now compare the lives of the two men. JFK was an officer in the US Navy, celebrated war hero, skipper of PT 109, and president of the United States.
His murderer was a…um…well…the guy who murdered JFK.
His name would be unknown today if not for that single brief act of targeted violence (targeted violence occurs when a person commits to using violence, plans and prepares for it, and then executes the violent act). JFK’s murderer only became world famous because he murdered a famous person.
Those who attack our schools are not murdering famous people, but they are attacking a target that is vitally important to us—our children. By doing so, they’re striking us where it hurts the most because of the great value and worth we place on the lives of children and they know it.
At conferences, I’ll ask the participants to name one victim from Columbine. To date, no one has been able to recount the name of a single victim. When I ask the names of the two murderers from Columbine, there has never been a class where most of the participants did not immediately respond.
I don’t blame the participants for not knowing the name of a victim. I blame the media which focuses on the murderers rather than the victims and to such an overwhelming extent that they literally make them famous and their names into household words.
I’ve had the privilege of working with thousands of people who have made a meaningful difference in this world. They’ve dedicated their lives, poured out their hearts, sacrificed for the sake of others, and their names will never be known. Yet, two boys murder 13 innocent people and within minutes the world knows their names and we hear it over and over and over again.
There is something really wrong with that.
(Notice how the images of the ‘monsters’ are in color and significantly larger).
The media should report what has happened, but stop fixating on the murderers and especially stop drumming their names into the human conscience. In fact, I’d like to see it become illegal for the media to mention their names. Instead, they should only be addressed for what they are…murderers (at least after the first use of their names).
“The murderers from Columbine, the murderer from Sandy Hook, the murderer from Virginia Tech…”
If the media continues to mention their names, I’d like to see the media outlet charged for what it would cost to have bought that same airtime and then the money given to the victims (families, survivors, first responders, etc.).
Can you imagine how much money that would mean for the victims from Columbine?
For the record, the media is not to blame for school attacks. The murderer and only the murderer is. The environment, video games, guns, and mental health may influence the person and contribute to the attack, but only the murderer is to blame. The media makes the situation worse by elevating these people to ‘celebrity’ status after they have committed a horrible offense. For those who are damaged and have broken thinking, this can have a powerful attraction.
Here is the list of victims from Columbine. I encourage you to pick at least one and to remember it…
Cassie Bernall
Steven Curnow
Corey DePooter
Kelly Fleming
Matthew Kechter
Daniel Mauser
Daniel Rohrbough,
William “Dave” Sanders
Rachel Scott
Isaiah Shoels
John Tomlin
Lauren Townsend
Kyle Velasquez
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.
Why do we do what we do?
Police officers are required to enforce the law, all schools are required to practice fire drills, and some schools are required to complete school vulnerability assessments and to practice crisis drills. It’s the law, it’s a requirement, you have to do it, but that’s not why we do it.
Or at least it shouldn’t be.
Today reminds us why we do what we do. Today is the anniversary of the Virginia Tech Shooting where 32 people were murdered–not killed—murdered. One can be killed in a car accident without there being any malice, but murder is an intrinsically evil act with the intentional purpose of robbing a person of their most precious belonging—their life. No one was killed this day at Virginia Tech. Thirty-two people were murdered.
In a small way it reminds me of the movie Saving Private Ryan when Tom Hanks is asked by his commanding officer how many men were lost after a battle. Tom Hanks replied, “35 dead and times two wounded.” That means besides the 35 men who died in the attack, an additional 70 men were wounded. That’s a terrible number, but it doesn’t give the true picture until you think in terms of total victims.
What do I mean?
When you include the soldiers who witnessed their friends die, wives and children who lost their husbands and fathers, parents who lost their children, brothers and sisters who lost their sibling, communities who lost their members, the doctors and nurses who treated the physically wounded—all of a sudden, the number of wounded is actually much, much higher and we start to realize the tragic implications of a single life lost or hurt.
Virginia Tech suffered 32 murdered but it was times 5,000 or even higher in total lives lost and hurt which leads me back to my initial question.
Why do we do what we do?
It’s not simply to enforce the law, fill out a checklist, evacuate the building, or disrupt the school day. Don’t just go through the motions. We do what we do to prevent death, crippled bodies, lifelong pain and suffering, broken hearts, destroyed lives–we do it to prevent victims, which is anyone who was wounded in any way by the act.
This has to be the reason behind our reason. If we adopt this mindset it will sustain us, strengthen us, make us do the right thing with compassion and a sense of urgency—which is desperately needed right now.
Whatever it costs us personally to make our schools safer is far less than it will cost a victim to recover from something that maybe, just maybe, we could have prevented.
Today we remember. We are all Hokies. Our prayers are with every victim of Virginia Tech.
Each summer, 7-Eleven runs a program specifically for law enforcement called Operation Chill. Depending on how many officers that are in your department and how many 7-Eleven stores that are in your jurisdiction, 7-Eleven will send your department coupons for a free small Slurpee that your officers can then hand out to kids doing a good job in your area.
All you have to do is contact 7-Eleven, enroll in the program, and they mail you the coupons. It’s easy and a great opportunity to help change perceptions of law enforcement. Most people (especially kids) only talk to police officers when something bad has happened. This is one small but easy way to help change that.
Order yours today!
Find out more online at www.7-Eleven.com.
Contact:
Margaret Chabris
margaret.chabris@7-11.com
In baseball, if you’re not 100% certain that the runner is out you give the benefit of the doubt to the runner, The phrase is, ‘Tag goes to the runner’ and it’s a good concept that is as old as baseball.
We should apply the same standard to kids.
If you have a student who is talking about being the next Michael Jordan or Bill Gates or whatever, and you think it’s impossible or even just highly unlikely, keep it to yourself. Thank goodness that most adults won’t shut the kid down with something as harsh as, “Ain’t never gonna happen.” but too many send a softer sounding yet similar message when we pound the young person with doubt after doubt.
What do I mean?
We say things like, “Sweetheart, not everyone is made to play basketball,” or “You’re not that good with computers.”
Please don’t do that. We have a nasty habit in America of fixating on the negative. Let the kid dream and encourage him or her to go for it. Unless you are 100% certain and without a single doubt that the kid can’t do it then keep it to yourself and instead think of baseball.
Tag always goes to the runner.
Dreaming and failing is not the worst thing in life. Having a dream and never trying still isn’t’ the worst thing. Having a dream and being shot down by the ones you trust is the worst.
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.
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 pictures are from a real live issue happening at a local school. Those using the Park & Ride are entering the school to use the bathrooms and to charge cell phones while waiting for rides to pick them up or after they have been dropped off. Recently, there was even a ‘take down’ at the Park & Ride by federal agents which was witnessed by the school.
For a more detailed explanation, read the following story. http://www.wdbj7.com/news/local/residents-say-park-and-ride-lot-is-a-threat-to-nearby-school/25166184
From the three pictures below, you can see that the school is very close to the Park & Ride. What do you see and what would you do to address this issue?
Standing inside the Park & Ride and in the distance the school is visible.
Sign posted at the exit of the Park & Ride
Sign posted on school property and in the path of those walking from the Park & Ride towards the school.
Don Shomette 