As gangs are committing more shoot-outs during school hours, the curriculum has changed in Mexican schools. Just last week drug gangs protecting established smuggling routes on the Arizona border resulted in 21 people being killed.
Directions on Surviving a Shoot-out has been Added to the Mexican School Curriculum
Drug gangs in Mexico are becoming more powerful each month with bold murders of government leaders and law enforcement. In fact, there is great concern that they will soon control drug cartels throughout the world.
Since Mexico’s corrupt law enforcement and government is not able to control the drug lords, citizens are powerless against such a rogue military power. Each day they send their children to school and pray that there is not a shoot-out near or in their child’s school.
Some Mexican states are now requiring teachers to instruct students on how to survive "shoot-out drills." In the U.S. students practice fire drills and tornado drills regularly. Lock downs are rehearsed in case of a terrorist attack or an armed invader. Mexico has taken drills to a new level.
How to Survive a Shoot-out in Mexican School
All schools in Mexico’s Nuevo Len state will receive a manual on how to survive a shoot-out. The plan to avoid being shot by the drug cartel is:
- A teacher who hears gunshots near the school will immediately order students to lie with their chests to the floor.
- The teacher or nearby classmates will help children with disabilities.
- No one leaves the classroom until authorities arrive or the school administrator gives the all-clear.
- Keep children away from windows.
- Avoid eye contact with the gunmen.
- Do not take videos or photographs of the gunmen, which could provoke them.
Source: School Safety Manual, Nuevo Len Department of Education. [1]
Gang Violence is Frequent Around Schools in Mexico
Drug cartel violence is becoming more emboldened. The cartels are even crossing the American border and having shoot-outs on American soil without regard to owners of the land or border patrol. Schools in Mexico are a soft target throughout the country.
- On March 19th, two college students were killed at Tec de Monterrey University in the north in Monterrey.
- On June 18th in Bellavista, gunbattles broke out near public schools in western Mexico.
- On June 24th in Apodaca in the north, a preschool and two elementary schools were evacuated by police because of drug cartel gunfire nearby.
In 2007, drug-related murders were tallied at 2,275. By July of 2010, there have already been 5,776 killings involving the drug cartels in Mexico with many believing these statistics are greatly under reported. It is evident that Mexico has serious safety concerns and needs to keep schools safe. Some parents oppose the Shoot-out curriculum stating it could frighten children. But school officials counter that concern with the fact that it is their obligation to keep children safe in times they have never seen before.
[1] Hawley, Chris. "Mexico schools teach lessons in survival," USA Today, July 7, 2010.
Barbara Pytel - Email me Experience Although I was never particularly fond of going to school as an ELL student, I ironically became a teacher, ...
