Lord of the Flies and lockdown drills: teaching in a time of school shootings

Teachers and students think long and hard about what they would do in a gunman situation – because they have to.

Photo by Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

On 12 June, there were the first signs of a bipartisan deal on some US gun control measures. Two weeks ago, 21 people – including 19 children – were killed in a school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. For teachers, this is an ever-present risk and one for which they have to prepare their students.

VIRGINIA, US – “Hey, Mr Robinson – like, what would you do if we all just got up from our desks and walked out?”