Closing threatened schools isn’t overreaction
When it comes to children’s safety, best to err on the side of caution
A lockdown at my old high school in the West Island this week hit a little too close to home; what began as a typical Tuesday quickly evolved into a stressful morning of text messages and phone calls checking in on loved ones.
After a threat targeting BHS surfaced online, police and school officials did not waste any time in ensuring the safety and well-being of all the students and staff. The fear and panic, however, was a whole other story.
Most of the students were turned away before arriving at school, but a handful had gone in early to work on class projects. Hearing them describe sitting in the corner of the room with the blinds drawn, doors locked and communicating using whiteboards so as not to make noise made me sick to my stomach. I thought of my own kids and the trauma that must have elicited on those who were hiding in a classroom in which they had barricaded themselves, as per school drills.
Although this incident was unnerving, it was comforting at the same time. Unnerving because it was a lockdown and those are words no parent or family member ever wants to hear. Close family and children of our friends attend Beaconsfield High School, and I would not wish the stress, anxiety and fear that rippled through their minds and bodies, on even my worst enemies. It was comforting, however, to see the emergency protocol put in place by the Lester B. Pearson School Board.
Back when I graduated from Beaconsfield High School just the … cough … other day, the only thing we’d be practising was fire drills. That was before cellphones.
We are fortunate to live in one of the safest countries in the world, where fears of school shootings do not cross our minds. To have that comfort pierced, however, was a shocking glimpse into the reality that many people live with south of the border and in other parts of the world. As it turned out, the BHS targeted by the threats was in fact another BHS, in Georgia.
It is comforting to know that online threats are taken with a significant degree of seriousness and that our law enforcement officials acted swiftly to ensure the children’s safety. The staff and administration at Beaconsfield High School deserve an absolute standing ovation for the professional, comforting and responsive manner in which this week’s threat was handled. As someone with loved ones whose children attend the school and a former student myself, I cannot express how comforting it is for us to know that the safety and well-being of their students are of utmost importance and that no risk was taken when this threat surfaced. Similarly, the authorities were right to act cautiously in closing another West Island school Thursday, École secondaire des Sources, in response to online threats.
The West Island is like a small town. So when a potential threat of this magnitude arises, it’s just a matter of minutes before the phone calls and text messages start. By the following morning, it seemed as if everyone on the West Island knew someone who attended BHS and had stayed home. While some are taking to online forums to complain that officials overreacted by sending students home, I shudder even to suggest what the alternative could have been had the story been different. The bottom line is that no amount of inconvenience supersedes the importance of erring on the side of caution 10 times out of 10 when it comes to the safety of our children.
Incidents like this are enough to make you want to hold your kids a little closer, hug them a little tighter and be thankful for the rules and procedures that help keep our children secure.
Fariha Naqvi-Mohamed is the founder and editor in chief of CanadianMomEh.com, a lifestyle blog. twitter.com/canadianmomeh