A new kind of drill

Zach came home today and told me that had an intruder drill today and I have to say it disturbed me. Not just that he lives in an age where intruder drills will be the norm for his school career, but that they didn't even fully explain what an intruder was or why they have the drill. I had to explain to Zach today that an intruder is someone that shouldn't be in the school. I said the intruder might want to hurt someone and that's why they practice the drill: so that they'll know what to do to keep safe if an intruder gets in to the school. He asked why someone would want to hurt people at the school and I didn't know what to say other then I don't know.

What scared me a bit more is that he might actually need to use this drill some day. The drill consists of lock the door and hide with the lights off. How many places in a classroom can one really hide at though? He asked if an intruder ever got in to a school and I just couldn't lie to him. So I told him that the reason they had to practice the drill is because a very very bad man went to a school with a gun and killed some little girls. He was horrified and said that's a very bad man that needs to go to jail and now those girls' mommies and daddies will be so sad without them.

I'm crushed. I was prepared for the drug talk, the sex talk, the alcohol talk, the don't let people touch you etc. I am prepared for all those talks, but what the hell do you say to your kid about people that go in to schools and kill little kids? He's six freakin' years old for pete's sake.