Im thinking this may not be such a great idea! Want to guess why?

[Floyd R. Turbo]

This week, an Alabama school system unveiled Thomas’s new product in two classrooms: a small, bulletproof shelter where students and teachers could hide in the event of a shooting threat.

While the 8-by-8-foot safe rooms are new to West Elementary School in Cullman, Ala., Thomas, 55, hopes to extend the shelters to schools across the United States.



https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/03/16/alabama-schools-shelter-safe-rooms/

[Wounded Bear]

1. Those acoustic ceiling tiles don't appear to be armored...

If a gunman climbs up on the desk/filing cabinet, the "safe room" becomes a "kill zone."

[Effete Snob]

7. But...

...that would require someone being dumb enough to build a staircase out of a desk and a filing cab...

Never mind.

[Marthe48]

14. Hope the safe room is a 6 sided bulletproof cube

Why can't people do the obvious? Get rid of automatic weapons, limit access to guns, stop worshipping the 2nd amendment like it's the 11th commandment.

[patphil]

18. That was my first thought.

When did we accept the inevitability of school massacres and decide the only solution was a safe room?
Get rid of the guns!

[carpetbagger]

2. Is there any right wing trope that they don't enact?

This is the safe room we were told about, no?

[Pobeka]

3. Farts? nt.

[Effete Snob]

4. "it locks from the inside with a key"

If this catches on, we will learn something about low probability events meeting a large number of trials.

[bucolic_frolic]

5. I haven't seen so much technology since Mission: Impossible

[MayReasonRule]

27. That's A High Definition Chalkboard With High Resolution Chalk!!! Cutting Edge!

[Sanity Claws]

6. Blackboards?

I didn't realize that chalk and blackboards were still being used anywhere.

[samnsara]

8. i could see this as being mis-used as a time out room :(

...but if they made it so it was also tornado or hurricane proof too that would be great.

[czarjak]

9. That's the saddest thing I've ever seen.

[Walleye]

10. Maybe the kids will like the teacher or the governor in there

[brewens]

11. I saw this on FB and asked how it has worked in other countries? :) n/t

[blueinredohio]

12. Which kids would get to go in?

I know there's not room for twenty to twenty five kids and a teacher and maybe a helper.

[womanofthehills]

17. I'm sure if there is a shooter, they will all squeeze in.

[bottomofthehill]

21. 8x8 safe room will hold 24 or more adults.

School kids , 30 plus.

Think of it like an elevator with a capacity of 12. You think, how can 12 ever fit. But then you count and there are 13 people jammed in. This is an emergency shelter. It sucks, but it’s an emergency shelter.

[blueinredohio]

23. I never thought that many could fit in that small room

[bottomofthehill]

29. As crazy as it sounds Elevator Math

In an elevator, max capacity is usually 1.6 to 2.2 Squ feet per person. 64 Squ ft room could when filled to capacity hold between 29 and 40 people. Kids in a classroom, lots of room to get them all in

[halfulglas]

13. With cash strapped school systems, this is not an economical solution

To put one in EVERY single classroom. The gunman would scope out ahead of time and know which classrooms do not have them. Who makes the decision as to which classroom gets them? Stupid, stupid, stupid.

[PJMcK]

15. Necessity is the mother of invention

Who would ever have even thought of a safe room in a school?

But in today's America, every school has a bullseye on it. The ridiculous number of mass shootings in our country is not just an embarrassment but the lack of effective gun control is a crime against humanity.

School systems don't have enough money to pay teachers properly and provide supplies but they can spend stupid money on something like this?

What a sad commentary on the state of our country.

[Trenzalore]

16. An 8X8 room isn't going to work in a middle school or high school

You may get 8 students in there.

I guess it will provide a false sense of security.

[sarisataka]

19. High-school kids each need

8 square feet?

[sarisataka]

20. Is it because

You have to sign up to read the full article?

[crickets]

24. No paywall link:

https://archive.ph/LYzc5

[ironman99]

22. Armored classrooms?

What's the difference between an armored classroom and a prison cell?

[crickets]

25. This takes me back to memories of duck and cover.

What a lovely reminder to those kids, the daily view of a room designed to shield from bullets, blood, and death. Maybe. Apparently, getting rid of the bullets and guns is just too hard, so... Ugh.

[inthewind21]

26. Huh

Well, there's this

"He said he used ballistics protection strong enough to stop gunfire from most handguns and rifles."

and this

"Thomas said the rooms cost about $50,000 to construct, but he hopes to receive funding from other states and Alabama districts. He also wants to make some big enough for cafeterias and gyms."

How many 8x8 rooms do you need to protect ALL students in any given school across the country? There were 538 students at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, TX. And that is a SMALL town. If you were able to cram 20 people in each one of these "safe rooms" you'd need 27 of them to have enough room for just the students, not including teachers or staff.
27x 50K = $1,350,000.00 So, do you put in just a few or enough to cover ALL students and staff? And who pays for all that? Maybe there will be "prevent your kids from being shot and killed at school" tax put in place!

[onethatcares]

28. read my lips

"who pays for all that? Maybe there will be "prevent your kids from being shot and killed at school" tax put in place.

No new taxes. What'll happen is public school budgets will be raided to provide charter xian schools with the latest tech.

The public school kids, not so much.