Navigating Lockdowns From An Educator’s Perspective

Real Talk for Real Teachers with Dr. Becky Bailey and special guest Tiffany Taylor

You may also be interested in our podcast episodes on navigating lockdowns from a student and parent perspective, from an administrator’s perspective, and from Dr. Bailey’s perspective. 

Episode Summary

School violence leaves teachers and schools with unique challenges in providing for students’ physical and emotional safety. The goal of active shooter drills and school lockdowns is to keep schools safe, but teachers often feel under-equipped to manage the sense of danger, anxiety, uncertainty and stress that occurs during and after these events.

Classroom teachers are charged with unique responsibilities, from physical protector to emotional caregiver for their students—all while experiencing their own fears and feelings. As you plan your classroom’s approach, it is helpful to consider both you and your students’ social-emotional health when practicing, enacting and recovering from lockdowns and drills.

Listen as Kindergarten teacher Tiffany Taylor and 5th grade teacher Kristin Abel share helpful ways they prepare themselves and their students for active shooter and lockdown drills.

Essential Takeaways

• Always relate the procedures back to safety.
• Create and practice visuals for the drill’s steps and procedures.
• Practice your own composure and self-regulation in order to help students do the same.
• Provide time and space for students to talk about their experience after drills, but before returning to learning activities.

Steps For Tomorrow

• Practice your personal composure and rehearse helpful inner speech before, during, and after drills and lockdowns.
• Create and strengthen connections with students.
• Explore more about creating and implementing a Safe Place in your classroom.

Important Links

• ConsciousDiscipline.com
• How to set up a safe place
• Navigating Lockdowns from a Student and Parent Perspective
• Navigating Lockdowns from an Administrator’s Perspective
• Navigating Lockdowns from Dr. Bailey’s Perspective 

Product Mentions

• The NEW Conscious Discipline Book – Expanded & Updated
• Webinars: Understanding Trauma with Dr. Becky Bailey
• Feeling Buddies for Classroom Toolkit

Show Outline

• :19 What is Conscious Discipline?
• 1:44 Definition of trauma
• 3:00 Introduction of Tiffany Taylor, Kindergarten teacher
• 4:11 Monthly lockdown drill procedures with young children
• 5:33 Tiffany’s experience with nearby gunshots and a lockdown during school hours
• 9:20 Suggestions for early childhood teachers
• 9:50 Three specific tips for tomorrow
• 13:50 Introduction of Kristin Abel, K-5 resource teacher and former 5th grade teacher
• 16:32 Lockdown drill procedures at Kristin’s school
• 18:17 Preparing students for drills through procedures and self-regulation
• 20:17 What about classrooms who are not practicing Conscious Discipline?
• 22:42 Kristen’s story of helping a child experiencing high emotions during a lockdown
• 24:19 Reflecting on the lockdown experiences at two different schools
• 27:53 Helpful suggestions for after a lockdown drill
• 28:25 What happens after a real lockdown situation?
• 31:21 Connecting with students who slip into daydream states after lockdowns
• 35:02 Top three things for teachers to know
• 38:10 What’s Becky Bailey up to now?

Thank You for Listening

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On behalf of our Conscious Discipline family, we wish you well.