A preschool teacher in North Carolina has revealed how she carries a backpack with items to keep her class of young children calm and distracted in the event of a school shooting.
Erica Rogers posted a three-minute video to TikTok in the days after the Nashville shooting at a private Christian elementary school in the city earlier this week.
In a sad indictment of the times, Rodgers explained how the safety of her pupils in the event of a shooting is at the forefront of her mind at all times. As a result, you don’t go anywhere without your backpack.
Rogers shared her concerns while also asking fellow teachers if they had any tips and advice on how to prepare for such horrific emergencies.
Rogers teaches at a Baptist church similar to Target’s in Tennessee, which makes this latest tragedy very close to home.
Erica Rogers, a preschool teacher from North Carolina, posted a video asking other teachers how they prepare for emergencies like a shooting.
Rogers carries a backpack full of supplies including bottled water, candy, a first aid kit and other distractions for the kids including crayons and Play-Doh
“After learning of the shooting on Monday in Nashville, it kind of triggered me,” she said. GMA.
And notice how the school regularly runs active shooting drills and drills.
Rogers reveals that her backpack is still full of supplies including bottled water and even candy, which she hopes will keep the little ones calm.
She explains that keeping three- to four-year-olds calm for long periods of time is difficult, so she has a stash of Dum-Dum lollipops to keep them occupied.
I teach children from three to four years old, so they are very young guys. I can’t necessarily say “sit down and be quiet” and expect them to sit and be quiet for an extended period of time. So I have a bag of suckers,” Rogers said in her video.
It’s just Dum Dum suckers and my idea is I’m going to give them suckers over and over again. I’m not worried about the nutritional value of a snack. It’s something in their mouths. It will keep them occupied for at least a few minutes.
Rogers says she feels it’s important to continue to discuss this issue, because it affects not only the classroom, but also other areas of the school that she and her students may preside over.
Rodgers also explained that crayons and other fidget toys are useful for buying extra minutes of time and being able to distract the class for about 20 minutes.
It may seem like a lot in my purse, but every little thing, if you buy me two minutes at a time, I mean, that’s probably 20 minutes I can keep a kid entertained, if not longer, to keep him entertained,” said Rodgers, herself a mother of two.
Some of those commenting on Rodgers’ post made some suggestions of their own including carrying wasp spray, scissors, and even canned food.
Rogers says she now plans to include a small first aid kit in her backpack.
“The thing that really surprised me was how many saves the video got, people who want to save it, so they can go back and watch it again,” she said. She added, “Hopefully I’ll never need anything from that section of my bag, but if I do, I feel the most prepared, and the best I can do.”
There have been 132 mass shootings reported in 2023 so far, according to the Gun Violence Archivewhich defines a mass shooting as the shooting or killing of four or more people, and does not include the shooter.
There have been 26 elementary, middle and high school shootings this year alone.
Rogers says she feels it’s important to continue to discuss this issue, because it affects not only the classroom, but also other areas of the school that she and her students may preside over.
Rodgers is a mother of one or two children of the same age as those in her class
Rogers teaches at a Baptist church similar to the one targeted in Tennessee this week, which means the whole shooting tragedy seems to be stuck closer to home this time around.
We can go anywhere or we can walk down an aisle and then, ‘Oh, we gotta go to this closet,’ Rodger said. “
You’re going to hear about someone else somewhere and it’s terrifying. This is very scary because you never know where it will be. Even if it isn’t you, it will happen to someone else. And I don’t know how to deal with it.
I told the people at work, this won’t be the last shooting before the end of the school year, I guarantee you. We have 12 weeks left. You’re going to hear about someone else somewhere and it’s terrifying. This is very scary because you never know where it will be. Even if it isn’t you, it will happen to someone else. And I don’t know how to deal with it.