Tuff worked at an elementary school outside Atlanta. A gunman entered the school and was ready to start shooting. She did some unexpected things that saved lives.
1. She changed the subject. She tried things that got the gunman thinking about other things. She treated him with respect and called him sir. She made a 911 call as requested (he wanted people to know he was going to kill). She asked if she could go to the bathroom which was unexpected and changed his train of thought. She asked if he was hungry and wanted a pretzel and even offered to feed it to him.
2. She stayed anchored and calm. She talked and reasoned with him to try and snap him out of his anger and even called him sweetheart and showed she cared, as a mother might care about a child.
3. She was open and listened to him and got him talking.
With students, you can discuss how you might deal with a gunman. What are some things you might say or do?
Next, discuss why someone could be upset and want to hurt others.
Finally, match up the things you might say or do with the reasons someone might hurt others. Which things can you do that might stop different types of gunman?
No comments:
Post a Comment