Safe Havens International
In the ongoing school safety discussion on the best way to respond to Active Shooter Incidents, Mike Dorn has developed an analogy that he has used to show the importance of the critical first thirty seconds.
When a submarine submerges, a delay in securing a compartment door can prove disastrous for a submarine.
When an Active Shooter Incident begins, quick responses can save lives, slower responses can prove disastrous.
School Safety Shield
Non en Meus Vigilo!
Showing posts with label Mike Dorn. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mike Dorn. Show all posts
Friday, February 21, 2014
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
School bus driver training raises interesting questions
Merced, California
Approximately 20 school bus drivers in the Los Banos Unified School District were trained by law enforcement on how to respond to a gunman attacking their bus. The training was done by the Mercer County Sheriff's Department. The training was reportedly designed to give the bus drivers "hands-on, practical skills for dealing with a gunman on a bus."
"We go over mentality of active shooters. We give statistics of past incidents, the do's and the don'ts. We give strategies for survival and basically we go over scenarios," said a department spokesman.
The Transportation Director said, "We're not in a classroom, we're in a bus, I think it all applies. The same thing that could happen in the classroom could happen on a bus."
The spokesperson added, "Eventually, our goal is for all districts to have a template and the know-how to preserve life in dealing with active shooters."
Yesterday I blogged about the furor over a driver who witnessed a beating on his bus. Yesterday's blog, and today's story exemplify the problem facing education today. Educators.
I have been an educator for 25 years, and I have the utmost respect for for my fellow educators for the dedication, professionalism, and caring they show everyday. However, as a former Infantry Drill Sergeant and Infantry platoon leader, they are not the most tactically proficient people. The same mindset that allows them to develop rapport with their students and care deeply enough to spend long hours teaching and grading papers is at odds with the mindset needed to face interpersonal violence and function.
In Staying Alive, a book I co-authored with Mike Dorn and Sonayia Shepherd, we talk about how to develop that mindset. We talk about the importance of training, including scenario training. However, it has to be realistic. Active Shooter incidents are very rare. Active Shooter incidents on school buses are even more rare. The various techniques for remaining calm under stress are critical, as is the setting in which these techniques are taught.
In this type of setting the people who are being taught, with no tactical background, will remember the skills learned in the context of an Active Shooter. Thus a similar but markedly different scenario, such as a student holding a gun to his own head, will most likely spark a tactical response not suited to the scenario. Such a reaction may spark a more violent reaction than intended, or wanted.
Active Shooter training sounds 'sexy', but is a very small subset of school violence. As a precursor to further training, training like this can be great. As a way to train people to react in all crises, it's not so good.
Approximately 20 school bus drivers in the Los Banos Unified School District were trained by law enforcement on how to respond to a gunman attacking their bus. The training was done by the Mercer County Sheriff's Department. The training was reportedly designed to give the bus drivers "hands-on, practical skills for dealing with a gunman on a bus."
"We go over mentality of active shooters. We give statistics of past incidents, the do's and the don'ts. We give strategies for survival and basically we go over scenarios," said a department spokesman.
The Transportation Director said, "We're not in a classroom, we're in a bus, I think it all applies. The same thing that could happen in the classroom could happen on a bus."
The spokesperson added, "Eventually, our goal is for all districts to have a template and the know-how to preserve life in dealing with active shooters."
Yesterday I blogged about the furor over a driver who witnessed a beating on his bus. Yesterday's blog, and today's story exemplify the problem facing education today. Educators.
I have been an educator for 25 years, and I have the utmost respect for for my fellow educators for the dedication, professionalism, and caring they show everyday. However, as a former Infantry Drill Sergeant and Infantry platoon leader, they are not the most tactically proficient people. The same mindset that allows them to develop rapport with their students and care deeply enough to spend long hours teaching and grading papers is at odds with the mindset needed to face interpersonal violence and function.
In Staying Alive, a book I co-authored with Mike Dorn and Sonayia Shepherd, we talk about how to develop that mindset. We talk about the importance of training, including scenario training. However, it has to be realistic. Active Shooter incidents are very rare. Active Shooter incidents on school buses are even more rare. The various techniques for remaining calm under stress are critical, as is the setting in which these techniques are taught.
In this type of setting the people who are being taught, with no tactical background, will remember the skills learned in the context of an Active Shooter. Thus a similar but markedly different scenario, such as a student holding a gun to his own head, will most likely spark a tactical response not suited to the scenario. Such a reaction may spark a more violent reaction than intended, or wanted.
Active Shooter training sounds 'sexy', but is a very small subset of school violence. As a precursor to further training, training like this can be great. As a way to train people to react in all crises, it's not so good.
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Expert Witnesses: A Current Hot Topic Part II
Further research on the Internet revealed a blog article by Ken Trump, Buyer beware: Risky school safety consultants, expert witnesses. This article provided some relevant info. His first question, "If
a consultant represented himself as having written dozens of “books”
in a short period of time, did he really write “books” or perhaps a
series of short pamphlets or booklets instead of real books?" This question should be
one a school administrator asks when viewing a person's resume.
However, this is clouded by knowing what constitutes a "book." The dictionary tells us that a book is: 1. A set of written, printed, or blank pages fastened along one side and encased between protective covers. 2.a. A printed or written literary work.
There is nothing that mentions length of time between books, or the length of the books. A booklet is a thin book, and a pamphlet is usually just a few pages without binding. What is more important than the length of work is the content of the work. Consider the impact of Thomas Paine's pamphlet Common Sense. So consider the content, not the length of work or other extemporaneous details.
Of more importance is the technical expertise of the expert, and for what particular reason you need this expert. Mr. Trump goes into this a bit as well with his next question, "Did the “expert” actually work in K-12 school settings specifically on
safety, security, and emergency preparedness issues or were they
employed in capacities where, at best, they were remotely involved with
such responsibilities?"
The key here is to ask yourself in what regards do you need this school safety expert, then ask in what capacity that person worked with the schools, and what they accomplished in that position. A security guard may be well grounded in security, and in some aspects of safety, but may not necessarily have a similar background in all matters of safety, or in emergency management. A security guard may have knowledge of emergency management, and if that is what you need the expert in, you would need to ask them about their knowledge of emergency management. An EMA director should have excellent knowledge of emergency management, but they may not know the various issues in implementing such measures in a school setting.
Remember,
often among peers in any line of work, a certain amount of competition
or rivalry develops which can color viewpoints. It's worthwhile to look
to what is fact and what may be nothing more then innuendo. Don't assume
you're getting the correct information until you've done a little
research on your own, to verify the veracity of what you're being told.
The lesson here is caveat emptor, "Let the buyer beware." Mr. Dorn, Mr. Babitsky and Mr. Trump are telling us to look into the backgrounds of people who will be working for us, and to not take anything at face value.
Good advice.
Expert Witnesses: A Current Hot Topic
Shortly after the Henryville tornado in March, I posted a blog entry on possible legal ramifications of the decision made to send the children home early. Because of that, I was very interested in a Campus Safety Magazine article by Mike Dorn, Hiring an Expert Witness? 10 Questions You Should Ask.
It was an informative article, centered on the ten questions. Those ten questions are mainly for school attorneys as they try to find the best expert witness for their purposes. They are also good questions to keep in mind, in case your school or school district faces a lawsuit, something that happens more and more everyday to school districts across the country.
For example, Question #6, "Has the expert ever been litigated or have they litigated a client in relation to their work as a subject matter expert?" This is an important question. If you are going to work with a school safety expert, do you want to work with someone who has sued, or has threatened to sue, the school district that hired them? I wouldn't. A related question is Question #9, "Has the expert filed protests and/or open records requests with campus and government organizations?" As with any other field, working with a person who is an 'expert' is made more difficult if you feel intimidated or coerced into doing what that person says, regardless of your thoughts on the matter. In no other field have I ever heard of an expert engage in such behavior, so I would not expect a school safety expert to do so. If they have, I don't want them working for me.
One reader posted an excellent question, "What does it take to make a person an 'expert'?" Mr. Dorn responded with what I thought was a good answer. But I think this question needs further delving.
For example, in the April issue of Campus Safety Magazine, my article 14 Severe Weather Survival Tips was the cover story, and I was referred to as an 'expert'. The dictionary defines an 'expert' as "a person who has special skill or knowledge in some particular field; specialist; authority: a language expert." I've survived two tornadoes. One as a child while riding a school bus, once as an adult in 2002, an EF3 tornado that devastated the southside of Indianapolis. I am a NWS-trained weather spotter, and have read FEMA documents and NWS Storm Prediction Center research extensively. Yet I would hesitate to call myself an 'expert', as there is so much about tornadoes I don't know. An editor at Campus Safety Magazine thought differently, so it wasn't my call.
In any event, I started doing a search on the Internet on 'How to become an expert witness.' One of the results took me to Steve Babitsky, the founder of a website called SEAK. He addresses this question, "The law says that you
can be qualified by various methods. Most people think that, for
example, you have to be a doctor, or an accountant or something like
that. But the law says that you can be qualified if you have the
education, training, or experience. And it's in the alternative, so that
any one of the three is sufficient. So you can be a doctor and be
qualified to testify about medical issues, you can be an accountant and
testify about financial issues, you also could be a car mechanic to talk
about mechanical auto issues. Even though the car mechanic doesn't have
further education, his experience would qualify him to be an expert.
And there are hundreds of different fields of expertise which people
could be an expert in."
When asked about the skills needed, Mr. Babitsky replied, "Well, first and foremost is your education
and training. Do you have skills? Are you qualified in a particular
area? What is the level of your expertise? And, in addition to that, you
have to be able to articulate your opinions, you have to be able to
speak well and go to court when necessary. You have to be able to write
well in terms of writing up a report. You need to be able to analyze
information, just like they do on CSI or other kinds of forensic shows
on television. You need to be able to look through a whole bunch of
information and see what is legitimate and what isn't, and formulate an
opinion and be prepared to express your opinion in writing - and in
court, if necessary."
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Man on a Mission
I met Michael Dorn at the Indiana School Safety Specialist Academy during Basic Training. He was billed as one of the world's foremost expert on school safety. As he began speaking, the first thing I noticed was his Georgia twang. Just like in the Jeff Foxworthy bit, I instinctively deducted 20 IQ points, but as he continued to talk, I noticed the twang less and less, and his passion for school safety more and more.
Some people work at something because they have to, some work at something because they believe in it. Mike is one of the latter. He is a soft-spoken man, but it is clear that he is passionate about keeping children safe.
After that first presentation, I went up to ask him a question, feeling a bit intimidated (Not an easy thing to do to me!). He was very personable, patient, and seemed genuinely interested in making sure I had an answer to my question. My first impression of Mike was a good one.
Since then, I have seen Mike present on bullying. I consider myself a big, tough Army Infantry grunt, but his description of how he was bullied as a child brought me to tears. No child should have to experience that, or anything close to that. I go to my student's classrooms to talk about bullying, and I share with them my experiences as a victim, but it is Mike's story that I keep in the back of my mind.
When he speaks, his eyes get intense, but he can be funny,and quick-witted. As he talks, he pulls the audience in, and makes them a part of what he is describing. it is easy to see that this is not a job for Mike, this is his calling.
Mike taught me a lot of what I know about facility security assessments, and over the years, he has become a friend to me. I had gone to the International School Safety Convention in Denver, Colorado, where Mike was speaking, and he called me out as a dedicated school safety officer, and I remember being humbled that such an expert in the field would do that. But that is Mike for you. School safety isn't about him, it's about the kids.
A very good lesson to learn.
Some people work at something because they have to, some work at something because they believe in it. Mike is one of the latter. He is a soft-spoken man, but it is clear that he is passionate about keeping children safe.
After that first presentation, I went up to ask him a question, feeling a bit intimidated (Not an easy thing to do to me!). He was very personable, patient, and seemed genuinely interested in making sure I had an answer to my question. My first impression of Mike was a good one.
Since then, I have seen Mike present on bullying. I consider myself a big, tough Army Infantry grunt, but his description of how he was bullied as a child brought me to tears. No child should have to experience that, or anything close to that. I go to my student's classrooms to talk about bullying, and I share with them my experiences as a victim, but it is Mike's story that I keep in the back of my mind.
When he speaks, his eyes get intense, but he can be funny,and quick-witted. As he talks, he pulls the audience in, and makes them a part of what he is describing. it is easy to see that this is not a job for Mike, this is his calling.
Mike taught me a lot of what I know about facility security assessments, and over the years, he has become a friend to me. I had gone to the International School Safety Convention in Denver, Colorado, where Mike was speaking, and he called me out as a dedicated school safety officer, and I remember being humbled that such an expert in the field would do that. But that is Mike for you. School safety isn't about him, it's about the kids.
A very good lesson to learn.
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