Panic in the Woodshop

At first I didn't even notice the helicopters.  I was busy observing the woodshop class.  They were not allowed on the equipment, so they had bookwork to do and they weren't happy about it.  I was trying to keep things from getting too wild, and for the most part I was succeeding.

Then a student drew my attention to the sound of hovering helicopters.  "We're going to go on lockdown," he informed me.  A couple other students then were sure that we already were on lockdown.  I assured them that we weren't.  They announce these sorts of things.  There had been no announcement.

So, a couple students had to run outside just to see the hovering helicopters.  I had to chase them down.  What were they going to do?  What could they see?  It was just an excuse to run outside (they were bored, and they refused to do the bookwork).

Well, sure enough, the announcement came.  Something about police activity near the school, so we were going on lockdown as a precaution.  I made sure all the students were inside, and I locked the door.  Then the paranoia began.

The first boy (there were no girls in this class) got upset about missing lunch.  Lunch was over a half hour away.  I explained that they would get a full lunch even if it was delayed (I know this from experience), but that only upset him more because that would cut short football practice (I should have known he was a football player, too).  

Then another boy said I needed to do something about the windows.  The windows were all covered.  He was sure that a stray bullet would come through the glass and do some damage.  I reminded him that no intruder was on campus, no guns were involved, and we were on lockdown as a precaution because of something off campus.  He still wasn't satisfied.

I looked back up at the first boy, and he was on his cell phone.  Apparently he called someone who knew what was going on.  Not that he had details after this call, though.  I'm sure he just used it as an excuse to use his cell phone.

Finally, the principal announced that the lockdown was over.  A boy approached me for a restroom pass.  And I noted the time.  We had been on lockdown for ten whole minutes.