Prevention and Intervention

 Who is on first?

The school year is just underway and already the national and international news has called out a few failures in prevention.

"ALEXA told me this morning that PREVENTION means the act of stopping something from happening or effectively hindering it. I asked three time just to be certain!

I then asked her what INTERVENTION means. She said it is the act of stepping in or interferring in to change a situation, often to improve it, or prevent worsening.

PREVENTION is proactive per ALEXA and INTERVENTION is reactive. One is stepping in before, like safety drills, the other involves deployment of resources.

It appears ALEXA and I agree on the definitions.

She compared the two but asked me if I wanted more information on how it applies to healthcare ( with a slant to vaccines?), education and safety.  So I asked about school safety.

Prevention in school safety she said again is proactive. She mentioned, among other things, a trained staff to see warning signs and physical steps like locked doors, behavior programs and regular threat assessment. In the key ingredients she also mentioned community and a supportive school environment for students to report. I would add a safe community environment for teachers to report.

Intervention in school safety per ALEXA involves clear crisis plan, immediate lockdown protocols, counseling, rapid response, securing school doors, and restoring normalcy. These items are not in order and are not exclusive.

There is overlap in prevention and intervention. But prevention does not include rescue and recovery, intervention does.

ALEXA advised, when asked about the most important PREVENTION part of school safety, that it involves staff and students in communicating! She then advised that the "cornerstone" in INTERVENTION is rapid threat assessment that kicks off the school protocol.

So far, one teacher stabbed in a school in Virginia, a school shooting in the Philippines (second in less than two months) and a college that said all clear but later found a suspect hidng in a dorm closet.

Next up Rescue and Recovery.

Does ALEXA know more than you?

ASK about your school at your school!

Asking saves kids.

Marian R. Carlino

Augustc18. 20026

Moving Parts: Have you seen Sheep Detectives?

I have watched the movie twice now. I need to watch movies multiple times, and with closed caption on in order to tune into the details especially with "who dun its?"

In a previous post I recommended the movie. Why? Originally, I tuned in because of the lead, Hugh Jackman. But then, while watching it with the youngest generation, it took on a new meaning.

Concerned at first for the little ones because it is a murder mystery, I watched faces. Interest, concern, tears were all part of the watching process, and that was only me! The children were totally engaged and cared too.

I would not say that the movie has a happy ending, but the mystery is solved and the legacy continues. It is a joyful movie with moving parts.

Did the movie company, by accident, use a Biblical story? I am not sure of that but today at Mass, the opening song inspired me to write this post and made me once again want to discuss the movie's influence, impact or take aways. If you watched it, did you see any connections to commonly known Bible stories?

I had a college professor who would not have liked the personification of animals. She would say that if a story is about humans, use human characters. The metaphors may have been missed if the script writers did not use sheep. We compare humans to animals all the time. I do not remember my professor's take on that.

In the movie, the shepherd loved his sheep and they in turn, loved him. He rescued and protected them from harm. He rescued a black sheep who was willing to lay down his life for his friends. The shepherd left a legacy for others to follow in his footsteps. 

I make connections for life. Lay down and rest. Change some hearts? Take a break from the news. 

The song at Mass:  "I heard the voice of Jesus say":

https://youtu.be/Kh4XxlWZhMs?is=KyF2MDIKO19wAzij

https://youtube.com/shorts/5N7WpgFbILk?is=zmXjdZuHjT-iSDMY

The Sheep Detectives: It will make you laugh cry, and think. Jesus always loved a good story!

https://youtu.be/pyZI5oM6hWk?is=QcJ0nF4aX4qlAok7

This photo copy was given as a gift to my husband ( long before the divorce). I felt so moved by it, that I also got copies. I gave one to a friend at our library so many years ago. She stopped and looked at it intently. Her daughter had just adopted a lamb.

The picture greets people as they enter my apartment. There are millions of words written about a picture such as this. The artist must have been inspired.

Love, 

Marian

August 16, 2026