What happens when you put police-minded people in charge of schools? Officials take ideas like “bulletproof whiteboards” seriously.

“If you want a safe school, start building a safe school. Start adding layers of protection,” one officer told schools in Cold Springs, Minn.

The lightweight boards are made of body armor and can supposedly be held in front of the body for defense, or, as an officer demonstrates in the video below, used by some improbably bold and apparently trained student or teacher to approach and disarm a gunman.

This kind of fantastical thinking encourages a dangerous and obsessive shift toward an endless series of preventive measures that threaten to consume the time and mental power of students and educators. Such attempts at preparation for any potential event are touted as “empowerment” by their proponents.

Next, officials are going to suggest that a daily class period be devoted to training students in in-school defense tactics.

— Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly.

The Guardian: