Collecting cans of food for America’s hungry has been in effect for years, however schools across the country are beginning to find new uses for the canned goods students bring.
According to techtimes, “a handful of schools across the nation are instituting a new policy that requires students to come to school with a can of food to use to defend themselves.”
W.F. Burns Middle School sent a letter to parents on January 9, asking parents to arm their children with canned food to throw at shooters. The letter states that the cans can be used to possibly stun or knock out an intruder long enough for police to arrive.
CNN reports that school officials are criticized for asking students to bring canned goods to throw at shooters, however the cans are meant to be a small part of the overall training students would receive as part of the ALICE program, which is an acronym for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, and Evacuate.
Kelli Moore Hodge, Chambers County School Superintendent, also encourages students to defend themselves by hiding and barricading themselves in classrooms, planning how to defend themselves should a shooter enter the classroom, and to throw any heavy object that can be found in the classroom such as backpacks, textbooks, and even computers.
Despite the strange method, throwing items at intruders is certainly better than leaving students to cower and hope that a shooter doesn’t enter the classroom. Should schools prepare better options for teachers and students to protect and defend themselves or is throwing canned food a good idea? Tell us your opinions and ideas in the comments below!
For more information on the ALICE program, watch the following video from Auburn University: