May 14, 07 11:57 am — As some of you may know I work in a school.

Well last week was a particularly eventful week. We had our first lock down due to gunman threat. It turns out it was just some students with over active imaginations thinking they saw a man with a gun on campus. However the threat was perceived real until we were escorted out by armed swat team members. I gained a new understanding of what the instructors had to deal with in these high stress situations trying to keep students safe as well as themselves. I didn't have a gunman roaming my halls or threatening my students but the fear was there none the less. Trying to comfort and reassure students when not knowing what the outcome would be myself was a bit trying and nerve wracking. Some people respond in different ways and how you are able to deal with those different ways while holding onto your sanity yourself is a feat to be proud of.

During the initial part of the lock down you try and figure out if the person/persons is/are anywhere near your class room. You try hard to hear anything out of the ordinary. Since everyone is supposed to be locked down every footstep you hear clicking closer towards your class pushes your heart higher up into your throat. As the footfalls echo away you relax a bit and try to take in a few breaths to make sure your heart is still beating.

As the time progresses you start to feel like everything is going to be OK. There is no commotion in your building (that can be heard) and the students are now starting to get a bit restless. Trying to keep them focused on something else but being stuck inside on a nice day proves to be a bit of a challenge and the noise level in the room starts to rise not allowing anybody the opportunity to hear anything that may be going on outside. Then the loud speaker comes on to let everybody know that the manhunt is still on and everybody needs to stay in the classroom until they find the person or persons that prompted this scare.

After 1 1/2 hours of being locked down students want to get the hell out of the class and go home, beach, mountains, etc anywhere but here and the murmuring has become a steady hum of where are the cops, why wont they let us out, did they forget about us, I wonder what is going on. This is when most students want to venture out to see what is happening but one look through the window watching the SWAT team members glide through the campus quickly changes their minds. (especially the sniper rifles they see perched on top of the building to our left. Right about now is when we get a knock on the door from another teacher wanting some company. Sitting alone in your office during this endeavor can be a little mortifying and terrifying. When they say you get strength from numbers that works psychologically as well and any residual fear escapes with just Idle banter of how a certain sports team is doing or where they plan on spending their weekend. This makes lock down a little more bearable.

After the 2 hour mark and the mixed reports we were able to find online about who may or may not have been taken into custody and if they had any kind of weapons on their person makes the "prisoners" restless for the fresh air and freedom that follows the wisps of wind that guild the air past eager nostrils and stress sweat stained shirts start to take a toll on the mood of the students. One by one they all grumble "When can we leave?" almost magically a voice over the intercom states that the officers are making their way through campus to evacuate all students and faculty. After several minutes of mind numbing waiting an armed escort arrives at our door to guild us out of the building.

All should be over and done with by now but one thing they never take into effect when designing a building... how to quickly allow for everyone to be able to leave campus at one time.

25 minutes later at about noon I am at home having the first of several beers to help relieve the stress that the early morning events provided.

Lets hope no one ever has to deal with that type of situation again!