It seems like there've been school fire drills since they invented schools and fire.  I remember the worst ones being in the middle of winter, though they still gave us a chance to meet up with our friends outside...

You know there are good intentions behind emergency drills – you can never be too rich, good-looking, or safe! – but do they matter to you?

Today, you heard Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff say, "If you're a football team and you never actually play a scrimmage game, you're never going to know what's working and what's not working."  That's true enough for sports, but does the same apply to school drills?  Think about lockdown and tornado drills:  Do you feel more prepared by them, or are they just a chance to get out of class for a few minutes?  ...Or both?