It was a normal day in our second-period Literacy at my first practicum. I was walking around assisting my students wherever I could on their independent projects. All of a sudden, “lockdown” was projected over the announcements. Quickly and Quietly my associate and I gathered the students into the predetermined corner of the room. We waited as 5 minutes passed…. Then 10 minutes…The students started to get restless. A drill had never lasted this long. The floor cleaner we had heard just two minutes before stopped suddenly. I quietly panicked as deathy silence quickly hung over the room. A couple of students asked if this was real. We did not know. All we knew was that now twenty minutes had passed. It was not until 27 minutes had passed until the speaker broke through the quiet like a knife through a slab of meat quickly and harshly. They announced that the code was over. Students ran out of their tightly knit huddle back to their desks. It was a couple of minutes before we realized that literacy was over and it was completely new period math. We guided the students through their quick clean up and back to their table groups for their next lesson, my math lesson
As I looked at the sea of faces I realized that they were not mentally here. They were focused on the lockdown we had just experienced. They were simply not ready to learn. So I quickly adjusted my plan for that period and started it with a breathing exercise. I asked my students to trust me and close their eyes. They all did which sent chills down my spine. They all trusted me to lead them blindly even though they barely knew who I was. After they closed their eyes I asked them all to “take a deep breath in for 1…2…3… and then hold it for 1…2..3… and exhale for 1..2..3.. breath in for 1…2…3…hold for 1…2…3… and exhale for 1…2…3… last time deep breathe in 1…2…3…hold for 1…2…3… and exhale for 1…2…3…” Then they opened their eyes. The panic of the lockdown no longer lingered in the air. Now they were ready to learn.