[Chronic Diarrhea]

Running a drill for the potential that a mad gunman will attack a group of students on a field trip doesn't prepare the children in any way. The only way you can do something about that is if one of the teachers is armed with a weapon and can counter the shooter. It would be like having a drill at a high-profile business in the case of a terrorist attack. What exactly can you do if that happens? The answer is, sadly, not much at all. That's why it's important to take PRECAUTIONARY actions to prevent something like that happening, instead of focusing on what to do during the event.

The biggest thing a teacher can do to prevent the possible loss of life in the event of a school shooter is very simple: lock the classroom door. A lot of my teachers would lock the door for every class as soon as the tardy bell rung. The deaths of the VT students could have possibly been reduced greatly if that classroom door was locked. As it stands today, anybody could walk into a high school or college campus and duplicate a school shooting wherever teachers don't lock the doors.

Point is, you can learn something from a fire drill because the actual procedure of leaving the building is essential to survival. You can learn something from a tornado drill in the same fashion. What exactly can you do if somebody with an an automatic rifle or shotgun kicks the door open to your classroom and immediately opens fire? Are there any reasonable methods that consistently prove it will increase your chance of survival? Not likely. You're pretty much SOL if that happens. That's why it's more important to focus on what to do before it happens, rather than during.