The Safety Kid

Marcus was chosen to be on the school's Safety Patrol.  He thinks it's the greatest thing ever and came down to breakfast the following morning sporting his cool safety belt.  When I was in grade school I wouldn't have been caught dead being on the Safety Patrol but I guess it's pretty cool at his school because a couple of his friends were crying when they didn't get picked.  Marcus's safety patrol assignment: walking kids to their bus lines.
While I'm on the subject of safety, let me give you a little insight into my kids' school.  All classroom doors are closed and locked the entire day of school.  If a student leaves the room the door automatically locks behind him and he has to knock and wait for someone to open the door to get back inside.  All the doors on the outside of the school are locked all day every day.  There is one door visitors are allowed to enter through that is also locked.  After buzzing the bell, looking at the security camera so an office lady can identify you as a parent (not some creep with a gun), you are buzzed in, where you have to walk through the office, sign in, and get a visitor's pass before entering the rest of the school.  Our school has regular lock-down drills where the kids have a designated hiding spot in case there's a shooter. 
In Ethan's words, "We hide behind this little wall thing so if someone comes into the room they can't see any of us and my teacher reads us stories until the coast is clear." 
How disturbing is that?!  It get worse.  The children also have assigned hiding places if they're in the library, gym, or music room.  It's a sad world we live in when things like this are so normal we can casually talk about shooters and hiding places like it's no big deal.
But the big deal to me, is the hoops I have to jump through to pick up my kids from school if I don't want them to ride home on the bus.  I have to go to the school, park my car, go into the lobby and wait in a long line of parents who are also waiting to pick up their children.  The line begins forming fifteen minutes before the bell rings so if you don't get their early you have about a long wait until you reach the front of the line where kids are released one at a time, to their parents, after their parents show some form of identification.  The entire process takes about forty minutes.  I learned this the hard way when I had Landon (shoeless because I had no idea I'd have to go into the school to pick up my kids) and Parker with me, and no ID because I didn't know I needed it.  When I finally made it to the front of the line I practically grabbed my kids and said, "I'm pretty sure my nine-year-old can positively identify me as his mother!" and stormed off.  Just thinking about it makes my blood boil.  Luckily I just discovered there is a way to beat the system.  You can park your car on the other side of the street and let your kids be "walkers".  Walkers get to leave the building and walk home without any parents or ID's involved.  But don't forget to send a note with your child, telling their teacher they have permission to be a "walker".  If not, your child sits in the office until one of the office ladies comes out to your car to get you, telling you your child cannot be released from the school without a signed note.  I'm not even kidding. 
Let me just say that this is the fourth elementary school Marcus has attended and we have never experienced such strict policies, all of which have been in place long before the shooting in CT.  How can I teach my kids to be responsible if they aren't even given the chance to walk out of school and climb into their parents' car?  I could go on and on about this.  Oh wait, I already have.  It sure feels good to get it off my chest though.  I'd be delighted to hear your thoughts on the subject and if you think this isn't extreme, I'm all ears.