Safety is a key component of Maslow''s hierarchy of needs. For those readers unfamiliar with Maslow, he created a hierarchy of needs which pinpointed specific needs students need to learn at their optimal level. The hierarchy starts with physiological needs (basic needs) such a food, water, etc. Safety is the second level, followed by love/belonging, esteem, and self-actualization. All of these factors are necessary for students to learn at the optimal level. Now our schools fail to provide students with many of these needs, but that is a topic for another day. The main topic in discussion recently has been that of safety.
Think about Maslow's hierarchy in your own life. If you are trying to work, but you do not feel safe in your office, how much thought actually goes into your work? Our students needs to feel safe in order to spend their mental energy focusing on what is being taught in front of them. Recently, a heinous act of violence has all left us wondering how safe our schools actually are. The effect, in my opinion, is focused on the parents. How safe do the parents feel about their children being in school? The main issue, in my opinion, is how safe do the students feel being in the school. Oftentimes we fail to realize the impact our media has on our students. Children, of many ages, are aware of what happened. Children, of many ages, are fearful of what happened.
Many schools have now begun to adopt a buzz-in system where the main office or front desk have cameras to see who is asking to enter the building. They then must buzz in the person at the door, or not buzz them in if they feel something is not right. It is a precaution that is necessary. No one should be allowed to enter our schools willingly without the office knowing they are entering. I have seen this system work in many schools.
My fear for the future is this; at what point will our schools begin to resemble our prisons? Already they share many similarities; organized lunch, classes, recess in a designated area. These similarities mean nothing to us nor should they. However, at what point does protecting the safety of our students make our schools more similar to prisons?
To be clear, this is not a criticism of any school. Our school leaders and communities are doing they best they can to ensure our children safety.
I guess it is more a criticism of the society we live in.
A society where we find it very difficult to feel truly safe anywhere we are.
A society where one days our schools may be as hard to enter as a prison.
