The Girlchick came home from school on Friday to tell us about how they practiced a lock down drill. I'm glad that they practice these but so disheartened that it's a reality of our lives. I asked her to explain to me what a lock down drill was and what she was supposed to do. She told me all about it and the steps she was supposed to do if they ever had a "bad guy" in the school. I was very proud of her.
It's just another eye opener on how much things have changed from when I was a kid. I used to take the bus as an elementary kid and I used to walk to and from school in middle school. Never thought anything about it as a kid. I had to walk down a major street in middle school (Broadway, which is a major north south street in Boulder) and it was about 4-5 blocks away. These days I really would like to keep my kids off the bus if at all possible. The stories you hear and the things the kids do on buses now a days is shocking! That stuff didn't happen when I was a kid. And even though we live pretty close to the school none of the kids will walk by themselves. I might think about letting them ride by themselves when they are a little older, but not anytime soon. Statistics show that there is a huge increase in abductions with kids who walk vs. kids that ride bikes. I never thought I would ever need to know a statistic like that, but I do and it's scary. Just like it's extremely scary that they have to practice lock down drills at my daughters elementary school.
