One day, one child, one gun, one school. Now, as saddening as it is to admit, we live in a world where school shootings are a part of everyday life, and there is nothing being done to stop them. As most can recognize, most of the media is more focus on what the President is going to say after the shootings happen, rather than focusing on what we as a nation are going to do to stop these tragic events. There have been a few ideas when it comes to solving this issue, and truthfully, most of these ideas will fall flat on their faces; meanwhile, arming teachers seems to be a possible solution. Arming teachers will deter shooters, secure students fears from outside threats, and in the worst case scenario can stop a school shooter before they can commit mass murder. First off, if we arm teachers the likely hood of a school shooter being able to successfully attack a school will be very minimal. Imagine being a school shooter, and seeing a school with perhaps 20 armed personnel, the possibility of …show more content…
If we were to arm teachers, it would make it much more challenging for a school shooter to succeed in killing innocent children. Kasey Hansen is a special needs instructor, and she one among many teachers who conceal carry at school. “I never really thought about it before Sandy Hook,” Hansen said. “It just killed me. It’s something personal when you mess with students or children. It’s as if you were messing with one of your own” (Lestch Corinne). This teacher takes her job very seriously, and when it comes to protecting her students she will do almost anything. In today’s world, we are no longer guaranteed the feeling of safety in our public schools, and if there is anything we can all agree on, is the fact that, we all want safety for our public schools, and it seems apparent that the best possible solution is arming
Violent criminals know that currently schools are gun free zones, and can use this factor to their advantage. Rather than falling victim to an attack on the school; teachers could protect themselves and their students. Students could feel much safer if their teacher was armed. Students would feel more safe if they knew they could be protected from an attack from an intruder or another student. Criminals know that teachers currently are not armed and could potentially see schools as a target.
In today’s society, it seems every time we turn the news on there is another school shooting. From the shooting at Columbine in 1999, to Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook, and the most recent shooting at Umpqua Community College less than a month ago, more than 75 people have died in those four shootings alone. School shootings have become a major issue in the United States in the past few years. The argument over if teachers and principals should be able to conceal and carry weapons is of major controversy amongst politicians, school boards, parents, and the general public. Wouldn’t parents want to know their children are protected while at school by teachers carrying concealed weapons?
So by arming teachers this will give some fear in a potential shooters eyes versus a shooter knowing they can march into any school they want to and kill students and teachers without anyone putting up a fight until first responders getting to the
The shootings that have happened in schools throughout America over the past few months has divided Americans on what they need to do as a nation to stop additional shootings from occouring. Many believe that creating new laws on buying weapons by requiring background checks, holding adults liable for the actions of their kids and requiring safety devices on weapons to stop youngsters will stop these massacres in schools from happening, it 's a step in the right direction, however, it 's not good enough nor is it effective enough, America needs well regulated gun laws and the politicians must understand that the laws should be based on facts, not opinions. There are several problems that need to be looked at in order to determine which laws are necessary. According to a recent study, America has the highest amount gun related deaths every year in the world. “Germany, has 371 gun related deaths, France 255, Canada 165, the united kingdom 68, Australia 65, Japan 39 and America, 11,200”.
Over the past few weeks, arming teachers has been a controversial topic throughout the country. School shootings have taken the lives of many over the past few years, yet they are becoming more and more frequent. In today’s society children shouldn’t have to go to school worried if they are going to be safe that day. If teachers are armed it will add that extra bit of protection to the children. A big question is if arming teachers is even going to matter if an active shooter happens to be in that school.
Lucy Hanson a special needs teacher reported to “F” is for firearm; More teachers authorized to carry weapons in classroom that, “I want to protect my students,I'm going to stand in front of a bullet for any student that is in my protection and so I want another option to defend us”(Hansen). She wants to be able to defend herself and her students, so he needs a firearm. Less than 2% of all youth homicides occur at school(Yurvati). With the teachers to defend the students, that statistic is very true.
A particular school district, Briggsdale School, is now considering the option of arming teachers. One of their reasons of doing this is because of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting which left 20 children and six adults dead (Ferner). Another one of their reasons is that police would have to drive 20 minutes to reach Briggsdale retells Ferner. Rick Mondt, Briggsdale superintendent, relays the message that they do not want to test
Greg Toppo made a unique point: “Just as their grandparents feared polio and their parents feared nuclear war, these young people arrive at school each morning fearing death by high-powered rifle.” School shootings have become more and more typical in modern society. One solution that some propose is giving teachers guns in their classroom, and it has become a hot topic in Washington recently. Teachers in the United States should not have guns in the classroom because students could accidentally get ahold of the gun, teachers have to leave their students in order to find the intruder, and there are already many everyday items that teachers need in their classrooms rather than firearms. Teachers in the United States should not have a gun in class because students could accidentally get ahold of the gun.
Would it be effective to arm teachers in a school and is it possible it would reduce the chance of a school shooting such as Columbine? Arming a teacher may increase the response time for an emergency in a rural school district and would be able to provide safety. Although it can provide safety, it may be still possible that allowing teachers to hold a weapon in school grounds will also cause many risks and be very dangerous to the students or faculty in a school. In an arming teachers program, the teacher will go through 35 hours of training and will be able to maintain five classroom hours a day to gain the knowledge of holding a weapon and be certified. A teacher will be selected and unknown to others in a school district to maintain safety to their identity and safety to the students in the classroom.
I agree with this policy because many shooters give out many signs before they actually perform their act. I believe they should not arm teachers with guns because then what is the difference between a teacher and the law enforcement. I think they should make sure that every classroom door is locked when it is shut, and it should be required for the door to be shut through the class period. Also, instead of giving teachers guns I think they should mount a fire extinguisher under their desk. This gives the teacher something to spray at the shooter and possibly hit them on top the head with it.
But, perhaps arming teachers isn’t the best, safest or only route to a better future and an end to the problem. Having higher budgets for schools to get security, metal detectors and armed policemen and women would do a whole lot more than arming teachers. What is more sacred than the lives of the future? What could be more precious than a child who has yet to see their latter years? Time is already spinning and wasting out.
Unlike professional shooters, teachers must undergo a series of training in order to obtain a gun. Without the proper protection and training, which was not included in the resolution, would guarantee that the weapons would fall under the wrong hands of the students. Everytown Research states, “Among shootings at K-12 schools in which the age of the shooter was known, 56 percent (39 of 70) were perpetrated by minors.” The resolution states that all teachers would be armed, but, if the teachers were to be armed, the teachers would traumatize the students mentally away from them. Hamby, a research professor in the department of education states, “ ...the links between exposure to weapons violence and negative outcomes of trauma in kids (including depression, anxiety and aggression).
Since 2012 there have been around 170 school shootings around the US. December 14 was the massacre of 20 children ranging from the age of 7-8. Many of the teachers on campus did not have a weapon with them and
Hypothetically, a law is passed stating that teachers are allowed to carry guns in school. In a sick twisted world, the teacher becomes the school shooter. Your student is in class and their teacher pulls out their government funded school weapon and starts shooting. How is your child supposed to protect themselves if the approved district teacher starts shooting the students with a malicious intent. Teachers should not be allowed to carry guns at school.
With reaction being defined by Merriam Webster as “to behave or change in a particular way when something happens, is said, etc.” If the police cannot be there to react to an attack that leaves only the school staff, including teachers. The main controversies involving arming teachers are that: 1.) Children will find the guns and think that they are toys and will thus play with them.