Auburn has finished showing off its new high school, and what a doozy it is. Absolutely beautiful, top of the line, and large enough to support a growing populace. The city spent top dollar, and I'm sure the school board and officials in charge thought long a hard about what was needed to make sure that money was spent wisely. For the most part, they nailed it. But they put in glass walls.
I don't like that my mind goes to a dark place. Perhaps its because the news cycle doesn't even reset before we read about another public shooter. Perhaps its because I was in High School when this disturbing crime became a trend. For this blog entry I went to Wikipedia to count how many shootings have taken place in educational facilities since 2010 and quit counting once I hit 100 by 2014. The list was only getting longer. The concern is real. My mind goes there, and perhaps all of ours should.
When I was in grade school they didn't teach Hide, Flight, or Fight. They just taught Hide. The walls were thick brick. The teacher was taught to turn off the lights, cover the door window if possible, and gather everyone in a corner to make it seem like the room was empty. The idea/hope was that any armed intruder would assume the room was empty and pass by. I'm not here to argue the effectiveness of that plan, but can assure you that its wholly more protective than a glass wall.
In this day and age, I can't see a reason for a glass wall to any classroom in America. They aren't even bulletproof. I understand that security should prevent the situation of an armed intruder on campus ever approaching those glass classrooms, but why play with fire? What gain could outweigh that potential loss?