For those of you who read yesterday’s blog about how ALICE drills can impact the mind of neurodivergent and special education students, you probably might be wondering if doing an ALICE drill can impact the mind as a whole?
The answer to that question is yes. ALICE drills are very bothersome to teachers and administrators just as much as the students themselves. But there is a way to take the edge off for teachers and administrators because they are human too.
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Yesterday, I talked in Blog #415 about how my town’s high school, Seekonk High School, will undergo an ALICE simulation on Wednesday February 21st and it got me thinking that there is a way to help take the edge off of a doing an ALICE drill without impacting the message getting across.
I actually went on the 360 Navigation Website yesterday and I saw a video from NBC News that some of the “weapons” used were nerf balls and toy guns. The teachers tackled the “suspect” and then were all laughing about it at the end. After seeing that clip, I thought to myself, that maybe there is a way to take the edge off and perhaps, maybe even throw in a hint of fantasy and make believe into the drill.
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When I was growing up in the 1990’s, the more popular toys out there were the Super Soaker XP series and the Spider Man webbing toys. I mean, think about it. When we were using these toys, we were having fun getting each other wet, covering one another in spider webbing, just getting caught up in the imagination of playing games.
Now, those games can be brought back to life but in a lighthearted yet serious matter. Using something like a super soaker or a nerf ball gun can not only take the edge off, but also bring back memories of what it was like when we were kids and sends a message to ourselves that we will be triumphant in the end.
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But just because we are playing with toys in an emergency simulation, we should not detract from the purpose of why we are doing a school safety drill like an ALICE drill. In mean, if we go into an ALICE drill with that mindset, how do you think the intruder is going to feel?
Take a look at the climax of Disney’s 1961 film, “Babes in Toyland” for example and take notice of how Barnaby (Ray Bolger) is reacting to toys under the command of Tom Piper (Tommy Sands) blasting him with toy weapons and how he reacts to it.
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The truth of the matter is that we cannot let our guard down when the time comes for the unthinkable. The weapons that the intruder uses will not be something we play with, but rather weapons that could mean the difference between life and death. But it’s not a bad thing to take some of the edge off, especially for those who have anxiety.
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It’s also helpful for any students who have anxiety issues to maybe witness the teachers and administrators doing the drill when school is not in session. Like what I discuss in my “School Safety Drills and Autism” training, I discuss that if a student watches the drill actually happening to show that its a drill and nothing else, it will make a difference, especially when there will be toys involved as acting weapons.
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Remember, that in conclusion, I am not in ANY WAY trying to detract anyone from not taking the ALICE drills seriously, I’m just trying to help take the edge off while having the message get across.
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Catch you all later!!
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