I was reading an article that focuses on school safety in the
state of New Jersey. On March 22nd of this
year a fire at James Monroe Elementary in Edison New Jersey, broke out when a
custodian tossed an unfinished cigarette into a trash can. James Monroe Elementary
School had to shut down due to the damages from this fire. Oddly enough, there were no sprinkler systems
in the building. The reason for no sprinklers is that most schools in New
Jersey were built before the law was written that required schools to have a
sprinkler system, and there is no law that requires
local districts to retrofit their campuses. State Senator
Stephen Sweeney is an advocate of providing
a safe environment for students when being they are at school. Sweeney believes that several
upgrades need to be done to schools throughout New Jersey such as sprinkler
systems and air conditioning.
I personally did not know that by law
school campuses are not required to have sprinkler systems; as a future teacher
this is unsettling. I believe that all schools should
be required to have functioning sprinkler systems throughout their buildings.
As aspiring teachers, how do you feel about this safety issue? How do you think
parents feel about this issue? I am also happy that this issue was brought
to the public’s attention. Do you agree that in order to have an
extended school year, school buildings are going to need upgrades?
Through your field experience can you suggest any other
safety-related necessities that need to be addressed?
