do you think that teachers should be able to carry guns?

Question

A senator in Wisconsin is going to be proposing along with other senators from across the country that teachers should be able to carry handguns on them. He cites security and success with this in other countries. He also says that hey would be required to undergo EXTENSIVE TRAINING AND COUNSELING in order to do so. However, he claims that you can cut down school violence dramatically by doing so. What do you think??

Answer 1

As a teacher for 14 years and the ex-wife of a cop, my answer is ABSOLUTELY NOT. There are so many things that can and would go wrong.

First of all, like everyone else said, there's no way to protect yourself against oncoming bullets unless you wear Kevlar, which is heavy and sweaty and makes you look afraid, defensive and fearful.

As someone else said, we're trained to be educators, not police officers. Many schools now have school police who do carry guns, and from someone who graduated high school 20 years ago, this still shocks me. But it's no longer the same world as when I was in school as a student.

Part of the art of teaching is establishing a rapport with students, which means trust, understanding and nurturing. I am fair, firm and consistent with my students, and they in turn do their work, earn good grades, are responsible to turn assignments in, and occasionally we have treats and a few minutes of free time a week. There is give and take.

This trust, understanding and nurturing would be destroyed if teachers carried guns. Think about how nervous, edgy and weird people act around police. Teachers are also figureheads but without nearly as much force. People sometimes have lifelong issues with figures in authority. I cannot imagine the resentment, acting out, and outright rebellion in the classroom if a teacher wore a gun. Insanity!

This senator is speaking out of fear. It's understandable after the school shootings to be concerned about how to make sure our schools are safe. But this is not the answer. The answer is keeping the perimeter secure through gates; having school police; telephones in classrooms, or making sure that all teachers bring their cell phones with them every day.

And you have to have a no-tolerance policy of expulsion if a child brings a weapon to campus. The child gets in trouble at school, at home, and legally. Parents need to pay a fine, show up in court, and counseling is mandated. The kid and his/her parents need to know that this is serious, and that it will not be tolerated, and that they are putting their future and everyone else's future in danger.

The best thing for teachers, who are on the front line, is to develop that trust and nuture, to give and take, to demand academic and behavioral excellence, and to be fair, firm and consistent... and to watch for students who are slipping between the cracks.

Now, having said all that, it would be a help to me and all teachers if the FBI would profile the type of person who usually goes off the rails. I'd like to know the demographics, behaviors, and I'd like to have a contingency plan in place for what to do if it happens in class, on campus, or in the neighborhood. All of this would mean that individual schools, school boards, states and the government would have to work together to train teachers for possible threats to the classroom. It's an idea anyway.

Cheers, K

Answer 2

Teachers and students alike need to be protected. However i fear arming teachers will only encourage bad students or lunatics to carry guns.

Then if another school shooting incident occurs, it could result in a shoot-out. Teachers are trained to be teachers not police officers.

It sends out the wrong message (especially to young students) that carrying a gun will protect you, when i reality it won't, unless your gun protects you against oncomming bullets.

I do understand what yuo're saying though, there should be a better deterrent, but i think tighter security would be more useful.

Less guns will make the world a safer place, not more. Guns shouldn't be made available to the public in the first place, they have one purpose to kill.

If it's protection we're after, a bullet proof vest would be more useful.

I really do hope these high-school shooting situations don't continue.

Answer 3

It's an interesting thought... however in the end I don't know whether it will cause more harm then good. We all remember that one teacher who never really paid attention or was forgetful, I am worried that should he/she carry a gun they could potentially leave the gun in their desk or some other place where a student could get to it. The potential for a mistake is so great with teachers carrying guns. I would much rather the law to allow for security officers in schools to carry guns (I remember when I was in high school our officers were only allowed to carry a club, what will that do when faced with a gun?).

Answer 4

Two or three years ago I would have said no way. However, in light of recent news, I say go for it. These damned punks will think twice before going into a school and shooting up the place if all of the teachers were carrying guns.

Answer 5

Send that Senator for counseling first.
Can you imagine a teacher being hauled away in cuffs?
"I told the kid to sit down and he didn't. It is barely a flesh wound, anyway. I don't understand why I am being arrested for disciplining my students this way."
the Counseling that is mentioned is called "Postal disorders" by any chance?

A similar question was asked a few days ago with comparisons to Israel. If USA becomes a police state, then armed educators may be more acceptable.

Answer 6

No way i dont think so because what if a kid gets ahold of the gun somehow. Or what if the teacher is bad and decides to do something stupid i mean you never really now. Some teachers dont believe in guns anyways. I think its stupid but i understand why they want to propose that.

Answer 7

Good way to keep the population down, I suppose.

;-)

Do I support it? Of course not.

Will any of the people who think that school shootings cause more deaths than lack of medical care, domestic violence, or car crashes PLEASE get a grip?

Out of tens of millions of school children, a few dozen have been killed in these rampages. (Tragic, but the odds are against it happening to any particular kid, let alone every kid.)

A lot more kids are raped by their peers in school, yet no one seems to even consider punishing the perpetrators. Why not protect school children from the source of 99.999% of school violence, their fellow students?

Answer 8

i heard about this on fm97 yesterday morning
teachers should definatly not have guns, because what if the teacher is crazy or starts to threaten the kids if they don't do their homework that they will get the gun out
if they want more protection in the school they should use security guards and metal detectors at every entrance

Answer 9

I think that the teachers should not have gun in school or in there class rooms. How do they want a teacher to wear a gun and it can be taking from them by a student for that matter. i think its a bad idea.

Answer 10

Don't you think that that will only be asking for more trouble? Teachers with guns will not solve the problem only create new ones.