Bullet-proof backpacks?!
August 13, 2007 by Sherry Osborne
Filed under Parenting
Last week I took my oldest daughter, Hayley, and walked with her to the shopping center. We went to the school supplies aisle and she picked out a backpack for herself since she starts school in two and a half weeks. She’s thrilled with it and can’t wait to take it to school for the first time.
It’s just a plain old red backpack with a place for a water bottle, a zippered pocket inside, and lots of space. About the most high tech part of it is that it has a little compartment for an mp3 player and a slot where you can thread the wire for the earphones. Pretty nifty, that. That’s all though. It’s not a freakin’ bullet-proof backpack!
Seriously. According to the Boston Herald, two fathers who are concerned about school safety since the Columbine massacre went and created a backpack which is bullet-proof and blunts knife attacks. After some testing, the bag has shown that it can stand up to bullets, a machete, a hatchet, and knives.
You know, my kid’s starting school. I’ve seen countless school massacres in the media in my lifetime, including THREE in my own city (none high school level, all college/university). It scares me too to send my children out there where I can’t personally protect them. But I’m not going to buy a $175 bullet-proof backpack for them. Not only do I think it’s going overboard, has no one pointed out to these dads that it would only allegedly protect a child from the back? If someone snaps and shows up with a gun or a knife at school, a backpack isn’t going to help anyone if the person is standing directly in front, you know? So what’s next then, full body armour?
There is no reason to lie back and accept danger and let it go. Be active, be pro-active, get involved in school safety, but not with a backpack. Good lord.
Would you send your child to school with a bulletproof backpack?
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“it would only allegedly protect a child from the back?”
my first thought exactly… their time could have been better spent if they were really concerned about child safety.
No, I won’t send my kids to school with bulletproof backpacks. Nor will I send them to school through metal detectors. And, with apologies to Dr. Suess:
I will not send them with a bully;
I will not send them hear me, fully.
I do not like these schools that fail.
To me, they’re all a lot like jail.
At home and in the neighborhood,
My kids are happy; life is good.
Their social life is fine, not hurried,
Learning is easier when they’re unworried.
I love them more than teachers do,
It’s love that bonds us all like glue.
To segregate kids by age is weird,
And staying inside all day absurd!
For more that might just make you think,
Read John Gatto’s essay by following this link:
http://4brevard.com/choice/Public_Education.htm
Shine On,
Lill Hawkins
for those of us with younger children we can pop over to http://www.bulletproofbaby.net... bullet proof baby stroller anyone?
Would you rather have your kid at school without a bulletproof backpack when a nutcase relentlessly opens fire on a crowd of kids at school, or have them with a bulletproof backpack that they may have a chance to take off their back and shield the head and chest. It’s a no brainer and it’s obvious that some of the commentors kids aren’t worth the $175 of life insurance the backpack may provide.
David,
My kids are worth $35,000, which is what I used to make before I quit my job to stay home and take care of them instead of sending them to school. I figure it was worth giving up cable, new cars, eating out, and all the other pricey toys my salary covered. They think so too.
Shine On,
Lill
You shouldnt critize something just because its beyond your understanding. Take virginia tech incident, when that fool busted into the classroom and began shooting, one could grab the backpack, hold it infront of them while trying to hit the floor, so they can play possum and not be killed. Its not about 100% protection, or circumventing the inevitable, its a means to give someone the opportunity to be able to do something that may save their life. Its not overboard, its simply better than nothing.