Non-threaded

Forums » The Lounge » Read Thread

A place to sit back, hang out, and make monkey noises about anything you'd like.

Children when it comes to matters of Security

8 years ago

Something strange just happened.

Currently, right now, I watch over some kids in a class for some community service hours, and the oddest thing has been talked about of late. They had an assignment to go and look up a weekly event, but, what they all decided to talk about were acts of terrorism. 

Literally every single one.

In a room of about fifty kids.

Every single one of them seemed almost kinda scared by the idea that someone was going to kill them or bomb them next, even though a lot of the events happened in foreign countries, like Sweden, France, and Syria. What I also noticed, is that a lot of them analyzed the problem being "Not enough security." but I am so often so anti-big brother. 

What do you guys think of this?

Children when it comes to matters of Security

8 years ago

I think these are some of the smartest kids I've ever heard about. I mean usually kids go about life blissfully unaware of their surroundings, but these ones are worried about their security? Man, I think I just got some faith in the younger generation. 

A child's safety is a major priority. Children feeling safe is included in that. I think if a child doesn't feel safe, then there's definitely something wrong. Considering their standards of what's "safe" is pretty low, well, you get the picture (I hope). 

I feel like I'm rambling or not grasping the topic properly, but meh. 

Children when it comes to matters of Security

8 years ago

Yeah, but then this also brings up the deal of "How much security is needed?" I mean, we already have so much, and to be honest, i'm already Paranoid the government is spying on me sometimes :l

It almost seems like a problem exists where the government is looking in the wrong places for the wrong people.

Children when it comes to matters of Security

8 years ago

I see paranoia and groupthink. You're looking at the future of collusion and thoughtless submission.

Children when it comes to matters of Security

8 years ago

I see paranoia, but it isn't from the kids. 

Children when it comes to matters of Security

8 years ago

Is it almost kinda wrong that we have a society in which we have paranoid people at all? I mean, if we're afraid of our own protectors, or of our own attackers, then there must be some type of problem there.

Children when it comes to matters of Security

8 years ago

And I'm probably the only person here who is going to suggest that it isn't just a personal problem.

Most of the people here are painfully liberal in regard to government surveillance.

Children when it comes to matters of Security

8 years ago

Children being afraid of world events is perfectly normal. The world's a frightening place; I don't blame them. 

Children when it comes to matters of Security

8 years ago

...

Children when it comes to matters of Security

8 years ago

 'More security' doesn't address the core issue of 'how did we get in this situation with so many fucked up, evil people in the world in that we suddenly need more security and how do we work towards changing things for the better', but it serves as a band-aid and a comfort for most. It's a shift in the culture, and it's one that's been going on for awhile. Big brother is a reality already in many situations just not as obvious in America yet as in some other countries because people are so resistant to the idea, but that's already changing and I'm sure will be a fact of life by the time the current crop of kids reaches adulthood.

"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.might or might not be as true today as it was in Ben Franklin's time, but if removal of freedom is done subtly enough (or if people are so preoccupied with their jobs/families/entertainments they simply don't have time to notice or care...it's amazing how many people I know who don't keep up with the news at all, beyond whatever headlines pop up on the side when they're checking their email...) it can sneak up on a society. Of course it's natural human instinct to want to stay safe, but the systems they allow put in place while scared of a threat will still be in place and accepted as the norm by the kids who grew up with it long after that threat is gone, and then added to to an even more extreme level to deal with the next thing that comes along a generation or two down the road. That does tend to be one of those things that only becomes clear in the hindsight of history though, while we're all stuck here and reacting to things in the now, just by the usual method of watching shit being thrown at the wall and waiting to see what sticks.

Children when it comes to matters of Security

8 years ago
Technically, the modern world is the most peaceful time in human history. It's just that since technology has come so far and nations are so interconnected, we instantly hear about all the terrible things that are happening all over the planet. News that used to take 1-3 months to travel is sent globally in seconds. Plus, people react so much more strongly when they can see things with video. Look at the NFL and the Ray Rice fiasco. Everyone knew exactly what happened before the video was released. Ray Rice never lied about anything; he punched his fiance in an elevator, which knocked her out. This was all reported and accepted as fact, but the super firestorm didn't start until the video came out and people saw it with their own eyes.

So add this all together, and it doesn't particularly surprise me that people or kids report higher levels of security concern than past generations. I would guess someone in a fancy lab coat would suggest that visual stimuli affects the brain differently.

Children when it comes to matters of Security

8 years ago

What grade were they in or there age group, most of the younger people at my high school  scream allahu Akbar and throw stuff. No one really shows much thought  in my senior class group, they only show immediate concern if there doing a report on if inour English or world history class. Honestly though I prefer comedy over awareness, because that leads to ignorance and assumptions.

Children when it comes to matters of Security

8 years ago

This is off topic a little but I just think this is completely stupid. My sister that is in middle school has a really impractical floor plan if an intruder gets into the building. The middle school literally has no doors to any of the rooms and are only separated by tall book shelves. My sister has told me that for their intruder drills they have to hide behind the book shelves so that the intruder can't see them from the hall.

This is completely unsafe for them especially since the school keeps the gym doors unlocked and propped open most of the time. The school doesn't even have an on campus officer. All the intruder has to do is walk in through the gym, shoot up the school and practically have a bunch of hostages because the kids can't hide or barricade themselves into any rooms. 

Why would the school think that an open concept plan is a good idea? I don't see this being beneficial to their learning or to their safety. 

Children when it comes to matters of Security

8 years ago
Some schools do that (typically junior high) so they can do easy and quick class rotations. The four core subjects are all next to each other in a square, separated by collapsible walls, and the lockers are right out in the main hallway. They cut time sending kids between classes because of the layout. It's a fairly simple plan and pretty cheap.

When I was in junior high, our layout was like this. Since then, that school district spent several million dollars redoing the interior infrastructure of a fairly new junior high building to make actual classrooms instead of the collapsible partitions. They did that to make the junior high experience more similar to the senior high, sending kids all over the building. I thought it was a big waste of money myself. Hiring better teachers would have made more sense to me.

I never felt unsafe in school, but the biggest drawback that I recall from the partition style classrooms was that you could hear another class if they were being really loud. That wasn't a problem too often, but it was annoying if another class was watching a loud movie or doing a 'fun' activity while you were trying to take a test.

The cheap doors that schools put on actual walled-off classrooms would be very easy to break through if someone had the mind to do it, so I don't know that the partitions are significantly less safe. Almost all classroom doors that I've seen have glass too, which can be easily broken itself. And very few schools have more than a very select few empty classrooms at any given time. Picking a classroom at random, you'd have a high probability of finding someone inside it. The partition style classes also have more exit points to escape and entry points for first responders. Unless you jump out a window, most walled classrooms only have the one exit.

Wow, that was far more in depth than I intended.

TLDR: I wouldn't be too concerned about the safety situation of the partitions, but they have flaws like everything else.