Keeping Kids Safe - The New Reality

Welcome to life in 2010, where suburban and inner-city schools now have to practice lock-down drills. Not a week goes by without hearing that some school in the GTA is under a lock-down because of a gun or stabbing, either nearby or at the school itself. So, I guess it makes sense that schools are now practising what to do if ever the situation arises. Just like we had fire alarm drills when we parents were younger, the kids today are getting both fire drills and lockdown drills.
While it's a step to keep our children safer, it's still disconcerting to have my four-year-old daughter tell me they had a lockdown at school where they had to go to their cubbies and sit down. To my daughter, the lockdown meant that the classroom door got locked. As a parent, I know why that door is locked. Devlin had returned from a field trip in the middle of the lockdown, and had to remain on the school bus until the "all-clear" was given.
We live in a relatively quiet neighbourhood. I think the chances of a real lockdown occurring are low. I understand the board's policy of better safe than sorry. But I still mourn the potential loss of innocence that will ensue if ever a lockdown really occurs for my children. Perhaps, it's better stated that I sometimes yearn for the days of years past when "lockdown" wasn't part of everyday language. When Elmer the pink safety elephant came to school with Officer Friendly to chat about the rules of the road and the importance of walking on a sidewalk. Perhaps it's the media, or maybe it's the advance in technology that allows us the ease of having information at our fingertips, but the perception is we now live in a scarier, more sinister world. Every unfamiliar individual must be eyed with suspicion. We teach our children about "private parts", and good touches and bad touches. We get accosted by organizations offering to fingerprint our kids in case they're ever kidnapped, or worse. School doors are locked immediately after the morning bell. Police are called if you forget to inform the office that your child will be away or late. All school volunteers have to be fingerprinted and cleared by a police check. Same with hockey coaches and scout leaders. And while I realize that it's all an attempt to keep our children safe and secure, I have to wonder if this world is that much more evil than the world we grew up in. Sometimes, no matter what we do, there are people who will harm no matter what. People we trust, or thought we trusted. People the country trusted - like that Russell Williams.