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Do School Guards Really Protect Anyone?
Filed under: Opinions
It's the night of the dance school recital. The performances are over, a few kids are still on stage, receiving awards. The mom picks up her daughters and is about to head out when the school guard stops them:
No parents are allowed to take their kids home from the recital before it's over unless they present a note pre-signed by the teacher.
"But the recital is over," says the mom.
Not officially, says the guard, who prevents them from leaving.
More and more parents arrive at the guard's desk, more and more are told they can't leave without notes, until finally the guard goes to check with a higher up. At which point, you'll be shocked to learn: Everyone hightails it outta there.
Now, I am keenly aware that guards are not free to interpret rules they find ridiculous. But maybe it's time for that to change. Let guards use their common sense and our kids won't be any less safe, and we adults will not have steam pouring out of our ears.
At the public schools my kids have attended here in New York City, all visitors are required to show a photo ID and sign a register before they're allowed to enter.
Uh ... why? What possible safety purpose can this really serve? If I blow up the gym, are the authorities going to go back and check the registry: "Oh! It was her!"
If I'm a fugitive on the lam, are our policy makers just hoping my name will ring a bell with the guard so she won't let me in? "Billy the Kid, Billy the Kid. Where have I heard that name before?"
Because it's not like anyone is looking our names up anywhere. The guards are just looking at the I.D. and asking for a signature. Every time. Even if they know us. Even if it's scary, middle-aged mom me, coming to drop off cupcakes. They see the cupcakes. But everyone is treated like a terrifying stranger.
At the same time, many schools now DO electronically look up the name of every visitor, as if fiends would otherwise be running in and out all day: "I'm just going to grab a few victims and be on my way." This leads to situations like the one I heard of in Texas where a woman who came to her daughter's kindergarten Christmas party was not allowed in. The reason?
The results of her criminal background check had yet to arrive.
The mom begged, "Please!" and finally the school relented -- on the condition that she stand at the back of the classroom and not interact with any of the children.
As if common sense -- LET THE MOM ENJOY THE PARTY! -- is too dangerous.
Yes, there are cases when a noncustodial parent presents a problem and the school should be made aware of those particular situations. But when guards are instructed to treat every parent as a potential criminal, our schools become no safer.
Just a lot less welcoming.
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
6-15-2010 @ 12:32PM
Kelley said...My mother is a public elementary school teacher. One of the reasons I've heard for visitor check in is actually fire safety- the safety of the visitors. This way they have a record of everyone in the building, and all can be accounted for. Additionally, in a lock-down situation, it would be important to know all outsiders in the building.
In my mind, some plan of security is better than no plan at all. Though I agree, in some instances they are taken a bit too far.
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6-15-2010 @ 1:18PM
kevinzpl said...Isn't it a bit rude to leave while children are still receiving awards? Are we so caught up in what we want to do that we can't take an extra ten minutes to recognize a child's success? The recital was not over, except to the narcissistic.
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6-17-2010 @ 12:33AM
mom2cne said...I'm ok with the school knowing who is roaming the halls or at least having a list of it somewhere. I agree, it is more likely for potential visitor safety than it is to protect kids.
I will admit I am the world's worst about actually checking in. I am at the school nearly every day and the secretary doesn't even ask if she can help me anymore when I buzz, she just unlocks the door. I do try to remember to sign in but I rarely wear the visitor badge and I almost never sign out.
I agree with the above poster that it is rude of the parents to leave while other children are still getting awards. The rule was right and the guard was right to enforce it.
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6-17-2010 @ 2:32AM
Waltz said...I totally get what your saying. And it's true, but I have also heard that sign in is for the safety of visitors. If something happens to them we know where they were kinda thing.
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6-17-2010 @ 8:02AM
Sandyone said...Sorry, the kids are *my* kids and I will take them where I want, without permission from a teacher. Mr. Guard, I understand that you have a job to do. Please understand that I have a job to do, also. I am going to be the mother of my children and I will decide when they can and can't leave the school building.
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6-17-2010 @ 12:29PM
Gena said...My daughter's school (3rd to 5th graders) is about the same way. I was basically threatened with the possibility of my daughter not being allowed to perform in the school play if I continued to refuse to sign her out when we left the building at 5pm... after school hours were over. I started signing aliases, smiley faces and little notes like... 'my kid is not stupid enough to leave with the wrong person'. (the principal had insisted that signing kids out after school hours were over was for their own safety, to keep them from going home with the wrong person, OR if they did go home with the wrong person, the secretary could look at the sheet and see what pedophile they did go home with. I was told that there are a lot of bad people out there. I suggested that the myriad of security cameras around the building would be a better indicator who a kid left with, because if I was up to no good, I would not sign my real name.
I have no problem signing my kids in or out DURING school hours, that is for attendance purposes. It's ridiculous that schools insist on the kids being signed in before school if they are dropped off (which is one reason they can;'t walk or bike on their own), or if picked up after extracurricular activities.
My daughter also recently played for a recruitment night for band for the younger kids. After the band and orchestra played, those students could go home. There was a lady (not a teacher that I know of, but everyone who is the school alot gets an id badge), who would not let kids go past her in the hallway... they were only trying to meet their parents. She insisted that the kids MUST wait for their parents to come get them, and eventually when parents got tired of waiting for them, they would come looking for them. She was insistant, and annoying. While walking by with my daughter I said 'It's not like kids are going to go home with the wrong people' she replied 'but it's the RULE!'.
Simply put, you give a secretary, a volunteer or a guard an id badge, or a little authority, and it goes WAY too far. PLEASE, common sense should trump rules.
As a gift to the principals at my kids' schools, I am giving them copies of "Free Range Kids" for their summer reading enjoyment.
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6-18-2010 @ 7:29PM
tew said...Having to show ID is absurd - and background checks are over the top and all of the safety precautions in the world aren't going to stop the random horrible things from happening randomly. At worst, these things breed a false sense of security that might; at best, they're a nuisance.
That said, as a teacher, I'm all for making people sign in at the office. As a couple of people said above, it's good to know who's in the building if there's a fire or a crazy person running around with a gun in the halls. A list lets you know you've gotten everybody out safely.
It's also a nice buffer between parents and the classroom - I've had angry parents storm into my classroom and confront me in a room full of students. It's scary for the kids and just so far beyond the pale of what's OK in a school. Having to check in at the office gives a parent a chance to cool down. It also provides the opportunity for the confrontation to happen in the office and not in front of children.
But, yeah, having to show picture ID is just a silly waste of time.
6-29-2010 @ 5:42AM
sleighschmidt said...So... now the purpose of the guards is to enforce my own social politeness? In effect, the arguement for the school guard is not for personal safety, then, but to make sure people are politely watching other people's children recieve awards and commendations? When I was a kid, I was excited that my family and friends were there to watch me get an award. I couldn't care less for the kids in the other grade. I didn't know them. It's not the school's responsibility to enforce other people's manners.
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