Replies to '07/11 Abducted from School'

Quote From: grandpoo

As a teacher, when I first heard the show's topic today, I sighed a little, and though..."Here we go, another reason for people to fear we aren't doing our job."  Local news stations sometimes use scare tactics for an interesting story.  Obviously, we're going to be very interested in anything that relates to the safety of our children.

When I thought about it, though, I started hoping that the parents of children at my school were watching.  We do have a very stringent policy at our school for child safety, and the problem we run into the most is parents being upset that we're making them sign, confronting them in the hallways when they haven't signed in, or not allowing their child to go home with someone who is not on their emergency contact list.  When a parent gets upset that I'm following the procedure, I very politely remind them that I do it only for the safety of their child.  Sometimes they then say, "Yes, I know, I'm sorry," and sometimes they continue to be annoyed.

Also, no matter what kind of policies are in place, it's impossible for the administration to know what's going on at all times and that her/his staff are following those procedures.  I thought the principal of the school sent a very good statement.  I know that I sometimes seem very "hardcore" when it comes to following the safety policies of my school [i.e. It doesn't matter that both parents are active members of the p.t.o...If they are not on the emergency list, they are not picking up someone else's child, but I really believe its absolutely necessary that when it comes to safety, we do not make exceptions.  Making one exception will not only make you vulnerable to doing it in the future, it also let's someone know that you're willing to make exceptions.  You can't be lax when it comes to the safety of children.