Teacher Keeps It So Real , Saying She Did *Not* Sign Up For Active Shooter Drills

One teacher on TikTok kept it so real, voicing her own thoughts on being a teacher in 2025, including a major factor that no teacher should have to even think about: active shooters.

“I know what I signed up for. I know that my job is hard. I know my job is taxing, and I know that my job requires a lot a lot of work. I understand that. I really signed up for it,” TikTok user @downtownmissbrown noted.

“You know what I did not sign up for? I did not sign up for on a Monday morning, during my prep period. I didn’t sign up to make a social story for what my students should do in case someone bad comes into the school building. I did not sign up to teach my five and six year olds that sometimes someone really bad comes into the school, and they want to hurt us.”

She continues, “I didn’t sign up to teach my kids that sometimes when this happens, they need to go and find a safe place quiet dark and not to talk. I literally did not sign up to… risk my life every single day.”

She also begins to question if there any other places of work where people practice active shooter drills.

“Like I’m just wondering are schools the only people who practice lockdown drills? Do banks practice lockdown drills? Do NFL or professional basketball players practice lockdown drills? Are schools the only ones who practice lockdown drills? I’m just wondering…”

She continued in her caption, “I KNOW WHAT I SIGNED UP FOR AS A TEACHER & LOCKDOWN DRILLS IS NOT ONE OF THEM! Lockdown drills are routine in schools—but nowhere else. Kids shouldn’t have to hide from danger, and teachers shouldn’t have to guide them through it. This is NOT normal. This is NOT okay. It’s time we stop pretending this is ever okay. 💔”

I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again, teachers deserve a million dollars a year. I volunteered in my daughter’s kindergarten classroom for 60 minutes last year, and after, I felt the deep desire to run into a sensory deprivation tank for several hours to recalibrate my entire nervous system. Teachers have one of the hardest jobs in the world, and that’s just because of the basics.

Then add in the pressure and stress of the very real threat of an active shooter, and you’re talking about not only one of the most stressful jobs but maybe one of the most dangerous.