Arming Teachers Is A Bad Idea - And Response (3)

  • Sunday, January 19, 2020

I read the newspaper account of Sheriff Jim Hammond's suggestion to the school board that arming school staff and/or teachers would be a good idea to reduce the shortage of security officers in the public schools with great concern.  Fortunately, the school board did not agree with Mr. Hammond.

As the parent of a public school teacher, I cannot imagine that my daughter would agree to packing a pistol and learning to use it as a security effort for her classroom.  My daughter felt called to teach students, and she does her best to do so, despite a serious lack of resources and parental support in the Title 1 school in which she teaches. She did not feel called to be a law enforcement officer nor to carry a weapon.  The administration of a school system has the responsibility to provide security and the board has wisely chosen to hire officers to do that. 

Asking a professional educator to serve as an armed security officer is not appropriate nor is it smart.  Does the teacher keep the weapon loaded at all times?  What happens if a student grabs the loaded weapon? Does the teacher keep an unloaded weapon and then hope to grab it and load it to confront an armed intruder?  

As a retired Army officer I know the risks of loaded weapons. These dangerous tools should be handled only by carefully trained and supervised people who use them only as a last resort. 

Tim McDonald

* * *

Mr. McDonald, I appreciate your service to our country but disagree with your opinion.

While your daughter may not wish to be armed there are teachers who would step up and want to be a first line defense to violence. No one is forcing a teacher to carry a weapon.

As a retired officer you said you know the dangers of a loaded weapon. Do you know the dangers of an unloaded weapon or an unarmed person in a violent conflict?

I think the sheriff is 100 percent correct in his opinion. Trained and armed teachers could stop a violent situation well before law enforcement could arrive.

By all means, let’s train and arm the teachers who wish to confront violence if needed.

Mike Cox

* * * 

Mr. Cox, I disagree with you disagreeing with Mr. McDonald. Albeit, for slightly different reason though. 

Mr. Cox, teachers sometimes come in carrying the same baggage that infects and affects the rest of the population. When a teacher can't restrain him/herself or control their emotions to prevent them from slapping a second or third grader upside the head, dragging a second or third grader down a hallway, flat their back by the strap of their backpack. When a sixth grade six-footer teacher can't control his emotions and slams a puny sixth grader up against a set of lockers, lifting that sixth-grader up off the floor by his shirt collar. Knocks school books from the arms of a grade schooler walking down a flight of stairs.  What do you think will prevent those same type teachers with their on issues from drawing a gun on a student? 

When you see two teachers getting into a cat-fight over some dude or dudess they're both dating, you'll appreciate the wisdom of what Mr. McDonald and others are attempting to warn you guns in schools, guns everywhere and all over supporters against. 

Been there. Witnessed that.

Brenda Washington 

* * * 

In general I fall on the side of not arming teachers. Teachers are currently called on not only to educate children but to recognize all kinds of mental and social problems and deal with those as well.

In a time when students bring guns and knives to school, placing a gun in the classroom could have devastating consequences. In addition, the teacher who discharges a weapon is legally responsible for the entire path of the bullet, regardless of who it injures or kills.

I'm convinced that the security of schools should be in the hands of expertly trained personnel and schools built or retrofitted to be safer against those who want to commit mass murder.

The root of the problem is the funds to do what is right. It is similar to a dangerous intersection on a road. When enough people are killed, the road gets a signal light or re-engineering to be safer. It's about money and how many children have to die before proper steps are taken. How many must die before resolution.

In Israel, the schools are guarded by fully suited and armed [fully automatic] military personnel. When a bus goes on a field trip, there is an armed military person on board. We need to look at other countries as well to see their solutions. 

Every time someone suggests making a school more like a prison than a school, the idea is shot down. We certainly don't want to scare the children! What about the trauma of seeing your classmates and or your teacher killed in front of you? It's all about money in the end. Money. How much are our children worth? Evidently not enough.

Ted Ladd


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