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Home > Blogs > Get on the Bus > Archives > 2006 > October > 10 > Entry
Will a thicker wall keep violence out?
(The U.S. consulate in Turkey before 9/11)
(The U.S. consulate in Turkey today)
It’s actually worse than those pictures appear. Last year, while traveling in Istanbul, I lost my passport and had to go to the U.S. Consulate for a replacement. After a half-hour trip out of downtown, we came to the hilltop fortress that is the image of the U.S. in that country. Walls, checkpoints and reinforced concrete everywhere.
A well-traveled friend told me this is a growing trend around the world — U.S. embassies and consulates are being rebuilt into military-style compounds in the name of safety. I understand the need for safety, but have we thought about how this makes us look to the rest of the world?
After a week of violent incidents at schools, I’ve begun to wonder how long before school buildings are remade in much the same way — into your own little neighborhood Fort Knox.
So far, we’ve begun to see mostly subtle changes in school design to add safety features to buildings.
But if violent incidents continue, how long before schools undergo a more radical transformation in the name of safety?
Already, schools, perhaps unintentionally, send signals to parents to keep their distance. My daughter’s kindergarten teacher blocked the classroom door on the first day of school — kids were allowed to pass while parents were shooed away. No pictures were allowed either. (I admit to being one of those who backed down the hallway for a quick first-day-at-school snap shot. Sorry, but that was a keepsake photo I simply had to have).
At the same time, there’s a lot of evidence that the more involved parents are in a school, the better the students perform.
Schools have a difficult balance to strike. They are public by definition and the education process is enhanced when they are more open to the community. At the same time, we all want to guard against those who would hurt our kids.
Can it be done without moats and watchtowers?
(Image credit: www.state.gov, www.state.gov)
Permalink | Comments (2) | Categories: School Violence
Comments
By Mary
October 11, 2006 5:57 PM | Link to this
Well, I just did some air tavel this week and just saw a foreign visitor through security at Dayton Airport. It is always a challenge to balance security, safety, and concern for protection of human life with freedoms and an open society. Remember all the local civilian deaths at two US embassies in Africa a few years ago - I think just before 9-11.By Oldprof
October 11, 2006 4:00 PM | Link to this
Back to medieval castle architecture, are we? It’ll go along nicely with medieval attitudes toward theocracy, human dignity, international relations, and distribution of wealth. Keeping in mind, of course, that having a nicely fortified castle defended the feudal lord from some types of attack, but made others easier; the term “siege mentality” seems descriptive.