ACTIVE SHOOTER - Kids, teachers, community terrorized by admin, police at Thompson Jr. HS in Bakersfield in the name of safety?

The latest school shooting did not make the national news yesterday because allegedly it was an act of domestic terrorism perpetrated against kids and a working-class community in the name of safety. For about 30 minutes on Tuesday, students, faculty, and their parents feared the worst was happening at Thompson Jr. High School in Bakersfield. We contend that the botched drill deliberately and needlessly terrorized kids and was wasted as a learning experience.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Terrorization in the name of safety is still terror. Yesterday, the Bakersfield Police and administrators at Thompson Jr. High School in a working-class suburb of Bakersfield, opted to host an "active shooter drill" on campus. The problem is that they did not notify stakeholders in advance.

Drills are important tools for assessing and teaching safety. They are, in fact a part of every school's routine procedures. However, what happened at Thompson on Tuesday was far from routine, and bordered on the sadistic.

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During their second period class, faculty and students, while in the midst of lessons and exams, were informed that a dangerous (but unspecified) situation existed on campus and the police were present. Faculty were instructed to follow lockdown procedures. Typically, faculty are notified of drills in advance so they know not to schedule exams or other important lessons on that day. Teachers from the school who spoke to us made clear this did not happen.

Once locked down, the situation turned truly terrifying. A few handpicked students went to locked rooms with instructions to cry and beat on the doors until a teacher was found who gave them sanctuary. Teachers are taught not to open the doors in such circumstances, but some eventually did. The beating on the doors and cries from kids quickly escalated the hysteria.

Pre-teen students and faculty both texted for information. Parents began calling the school, which cannot answer phones during a lockdown. The combination of frantic texts and a lack of information resulted in panic spreading through the community.

During the middle of the drill, a fire alarm was triggered, to see which teachers would send their students outside as per fire-drill procedure. This also heightened fear among kids and faculty.

At least one faculty member was so terrified that as she recounted her story to a Catholic Online iReporter, she welled up with tears considering the prospect of not seeing her family again.

After an agonizing span of thirty minutes, during which kids lay on the floor frightened, some in tears, while teachers tried texting their colleagues and spouses for answers, the fact that a drill had taken place was unceremoniously announced. Teachers, students, and angry parents were all shaken by the ordeal. Why the verisimilitude? Which Common Core standard is satisfied by terrorizing kids and the community?

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An email sent from the school's principal, Darryl Pope, praised the staff and suggested there were some "take aways" from the event. A letter was also sent home to parents -after the fact. No community alerts were issued prior to the event. Local news outlet KGET 17, may have been notified and reportedly informed people in real-time that a drill was being conducted--but only if they called the newsroom to ask. Frantic parents could get no information from any official sources except their kids text messages.

Active shooter drills are becoming increasingly common across the nation following two decades of rampages by armed gunmen in public places. The news of a shooter on a school campus is perhaps the most terrifying thing someone with a loved one at a school can hear, which is what makes the decision by Thompson administrators to skip informing key stakeholders in advance so baffling. Typically, stakeholders are warned before such a drill.

Also baffling is the use of students to beat on doors, frantically seeking a way in. Just last school year, an assistant principal within the same school district was arrested for bringing a gun onto his campus. Vice Principal Kent Williams was later released and no charges were filed because he had a lawful concealed-carry permit for his firearm, although the district still argued it was against policy. Williams has filed a legal claim against the city of Bakersfield.

Firearms may be banned at schools, however some faculty and staff may still bring them out of concern for personal safety and in spite of the rules. What happens when a child beats on an armed teacher's door?

The Wall Street Journal recently discussed the legal complaints sparked by active shooter drills across the nation. The problem is that the simulation can feel real to terrified participants. Although the drill is in the name of safety, it is in essence, terrorism of a domestic stripe.

At least this is the claim of a bevy of lawsuits filed against police, cities, and bosses who felt such drills might be a good idea.

Defenders of the drills say they yield valuable information, such as how people will react in a real-world scenario, and they serve as teaching tools. However, critics say that the experiences can be so traumatizing that the psychological harm they do far outweighs any benefit.

Of course in reality no two school shootings are alike. Shooters know that schools drill for such events and simply find ways around the defenses. At Sandy Hook the shooter simply went into the school just before the start of classes. In one shooting at Taft Union High School, west of Bakersfield, a student made his way into a classroom and shot his victim there in 2013.

The WSJ explained: "Some experts, however, say recreating the chaos of a mass shooting is no way to prime for emergencies. 'There ends up being zero learning going on because everyone is upset that you've scared the crap out of them,' said Greg Crane, a former SWAT officer with the North Richland Hills Police Department near Dallas who holds seminars to teach civilians different strategies to deal with mass-shooting scenarios."

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Active shooting drills have hurt employees with the trauma they inflict. Michelle Meeker, who was briefly taken hostage during such a drill by a plainclothes police officer armed with a fake pistol--all part of the drill, said the experience was so frightening she had to quit her job at a Denver nursing home. Her lawsuit is pending.

Apart from teaching a few basic common-sense safety measures to students and staff, there is little from a practical perspective that people can do to prevent tragedies. When a shooter is determined, only a swift, armed response is likely to save lives. Teachers and students must be taught how to find cover and to remain disciplined and shelter in place. It appears the faculty and students of Thompson Jr. High did this well.

However, these procedures can be taught and drilled without the added component of terror.

The goal of terrorism, be it at the hands of jihadists or domestic terrorists, is terror. If we inflict terror on our children, even in the name of safety, haven't the terrorists won? We're doing their job for them.

Kids are sent to school to learn their lessons. They are not there to be terrorized by bullies, the police, or overzealous, well-intentioned administrators. Yesterday's drill satisfied no Common Core standard, nor did it necessarily advance the cause of safety. If anything, it had the fearsome potential to expose kids to even more danger, or to create a cynical attitude by crying wolf at a time when there was no danger. Will a real event be greeted with less urgency because staff might assume this time it is another poorly-managed drill?

In our opinion, the administration of Thompson Jr. High School in Bakersfield engaged in an act of domestic terrorism against students, faculty and their community. The real lessons are for them to take away. This must not happen to our children again.

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