I am going to talk about the closed-door policy and how I think it’s good for the school. I will also add how I think students should not be put in the hallway if they’re not behaving appropriately.
The first reason why I think that the rule where we have to keep our classroom door shut is good is because if something were to happen like an unwelcome person came into our school, they can’t just open the door because it’s locked. The L in ALICE procedure stands for lockdown which means move to a secure location, lock the door, and take action, but because the door is already locked that gives us some time. However, that little lock cannot hold for long, so you will still need to put the night lock on and possibly the fire hose.
Another reason I think that the locked door rule is good is because students can’t just come in the room and interrupt class. They have to knock on the door, which would cause some disruption to class, but in my opinion, it causes less disruption than somebody coming into the room. However on the downside it’s bad because if you go to the bathroom you have to knock to get back into class which means somebody will have to get up and open the door for you which would disrupt class. I do think the advantages of keeping the door locked outweighs the disadvantages because safety is our school’s number one priority; this is shown by the door being locked so no one can come in.
The last reason I think that the door being shut is good is because it can help teachers think more clearly in bad situations. This can help because teachers can think clearly and they have a little bit of relief knowing that the doors are locked and that all the people in that classroom are harder targets to get. This would help because normally teachers would run to the door to lock it but it would be ready to be locked so they would have time to think.
CJHS principal Mr. Bennink explained his thoughts on the doors, “Well, I feel that it is necessary here at the Junior High School and in Clarkson because safety remains our top priority and I understand that kids value an open and connected learning environment, but in today’s reality, it requires us to maintain a strict closed and locked door policy because it does save lives in the event that there is a school tragedy. So, during instructional time we want to keep those doors closed and locked and make sure that everybody is safe and being smart. It’s not about restricting kids’ freedom; it’s about ensuring your protection as we look ahead towards our new building hopefully towards the end of next year. I’m excited about the designs that promoted a more open and visible learning environment, helping us feel connected while also being safe.” This shows that it is necessary to keep everyone safe in our world today.
On the other hand, I also asked Mrs. Martin, the CJHS PBIS Coordinator how she feels about the door policy, “While I know that it is a safety precaution, I do not like the doors closed because I believe in a sense of community and when the doors are open, I feel like it is more inclusive and I am able to see more happy and smiling faces.” This shows that Mrs. Martin knows that it is a safety precaution, but she prefers the doors open so she can see more happy and smiling students.
One of the reasons I think that it’s bad to put students out in the hallway is because if there were unwelcome visitors in our school those people in the hall would be one of the first targets because they’re out in the hall not protected at all. Additionally, since the door is locked it would take additional time for them to get back into the classroom to safety.
Another reason that I think you shouldn’t put students out in the hall is because no one’s out there to supervise them. They can just literally leave and wander off into the hallways because all of the teachers would be teaching; you’re not paying attention to what they’re doing in the hall and that could go very badly.
I also understand why you put a student out in the hall because they’re disrupting your teaching and it’s hard to teach when they’re being disruptful to your class, talking, making noise and it’s hard for all of the other students to learn. However, it’s very disruptive and pulls a lot of students attention towards it so the teacher is getting no attention, but I think that it’s unsafe to put students that are not behaving in the hallway.
