Can there be a “canned” approach to school security? According to Alabama’s W.F. Burns Middle School, yes, the strategy is all about the can…cans of carrots, peas, green beans, chili…any type of canned good you can think of.

Students are trained to block the classroom door with their desks during a lockdown situation; but, what if the intruder is able to get inside the classroom anyway? This is where the “can strategy” comes into play and the students resort to using the cans, throwing them at the intruder.

Parents of Burns Middle School have met this unique security strategy with mixed emotions. One parent fears that students will use the cans on other students to cause harm, while another woman gave her granddaughter aim advice.

“I’ve told her to aim for the face,” explained Deborah Carmichael. “Be sure she has enough behind it to knock somebody out to give her the opportunity to put some space between herself and the intruder.”

The cans will be kept in a special container in each classroom within the school, and students as well as teachers will participate in training to determine the opportune time to use the cans and how to use them effectively.

Whether this is an effective security strategy or not, I can’t help buy conjure up visions of Home Alone where Harry and Marv get hit in the face with paint buckets being thrown off a stairwell.

Image: Radu Bercan / Shutterstock.com