I just read an article on the Orlando Sentinel site about a lockdown at Edgewater High School. When I was a kid in school, there was no such thing as a lockdown. However, things change. It seems that we hear about a lockdown all the time, particularly after horrific school shootings across the country. If there’s a man with a gun near a school, they go on lockdown. I’m fine with that concept. Schools need to provide, first and foremost, a safe place for the community’s children.
This time, Edgewater High School went on lockdown because two students got into a fight. Really. Seriously. What was the danger to the rest of the school population? A couple of high school kids got in a fight. An Orlando Police officer was “mildly injured” during the fight.
OK. Big deal. Discipline the kids, give the cop a Band-Aid, and let the rest of us get on with our day. Going on lockdown for such a common and trivial event is teaching our kids to be wimps. Who wants an entire generation of pussies that runs to hide every time something disrupts the normal flow or routine? It was a fight, deal with it.
Instead, we have a lockdown. Kids start sending text messages to their parents about it. The parents get nervous and think of the worst case scenario. They show up in droves to get their kids out of there someplace safe. Basically, everyone panics over a situation that doesn’t concern them at all. This should be nothing more than an announcement over the PA the next morning, or some blurb in a note home to parents reminding them that kids shouldn’t bring a knife to school. [The article mentions the officer found a knife in a student's backback, but it was not used in the fight.]
If I were a parent who showed up to get my kid out of school for this lockdown based upon a couple of students getting into a fight, I’m pretty sure I’d want to kick the Principal’s ass for going overboard with the lockdown crap.
Remember when American’s were tough? Remember when we learned we could face any adversity and still come out on top? Those aren’t the lessons we’re teaching our kids these days. It’s pathetic.