My recently divorced History professor seemed to be in an extremely foul mood one dreary Monday morning. Every move and comment the class made seemed to irritate him more and more. Everyone in the room stopped moving and talking in concern for him, everyone except Josh, who is our class clown. He made the decision to make a comment to our teacher that any other day would have broken the ice and class would have resumed. For some reason, on this particular day it was the straw that broke the camel’s back. My professor looked up from the floor and in a matter of seconds had removed a gun provided to him by the school for protection, from under his jacket, and then shot Josh before anyone could do anything to stop him. Although, this is a story of fiction and never really happened, it could become a headline on the six o’clock news if David McGrath gets his way. He is the author of an article that supports teachers being given loaded weapons for protection in the classroom. To me providing teachers with weapons is a drastic move because the epidemic of school shootings is not as big as McGrath makes it out to be and there are many more sensible solutions that have yet to be explored.
In “Vulnerable Schools Need Protection: Guns, Training For Teachers may be the answer”, published in a 2008 edition of the Chicago Tribune, David McGrath argues that some teachers should be allowed to carry a concealed weapon for protection. First, McGrath states that if a random psychotic gunman were searching for someplace to attack, his classroom would make an easy target. He feels that if he was trained and armed, his class would not be trapped without a chance of survival because he would be able to defend against the gunman. Sec...
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Jagdish Khubchandani, et al. "Reducing Firearm-Related Violence on College Campuses—Police Chiefs' Perceptions and Practices." Journal of American College Health 58.3 (2009): 247-254. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 4 Apr. 2011.
Leung, Rebecca. “The Mind Of A School Shooter-48 Hours-CBS News. “Breaking News Headlines:Business,
Entertainment & World News- CBS News.Columbia Broadcasting System, 14 April, 2004. Web. 05 April.
2011.
McGrath, David. “Vulnerable Schools Need Protection: Guns, Training For Teachers May Be The Answer.”
Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 19 Feb, 2008. Web. 9 March, 2010.
.Smith, Lauren. "Major Shootings on American College Campuses." Chronicle of Higher Education 53.34 (2007):
A19. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 31 Mar. 2011.
In “Stop Worrying About Guns in the Classroom. They’re Already here.” the author, Erik Gilbert, argues in favor of the law allowing the concealed carry of firearms in college campuses. Gilbert claims that it’s futile to be “worried by the prospect of having guns in [the] classroom” because he believes that even before the bill was passed, some students and faculty were already carrying firearms to campus (Gilbert). Furthermore, he insinuates that despite the presence of firearms, there were no incidents of student or faculty causing harm. To support his argument, the author provides incidents which have occurred over the last decade at his campus, such as accidental discharge of guns in dorms, firearms in student’s vehicles, and one faculty member who was discovered to be in possession of a gun in an on-campus facility. Considering these incidents and previous knowledge of “prevailing regional attitudes towards guns”, the author assumes that significant numbers of students, and possibly faculty, bring guns on campus regularly (Gilbert). As for those who are afraid due to the new law, he declares to them that firearm permit-holders are not dangerous by comparing the rate of their crimes to that of police officers. He also reasons that permit holders need to be at least 21 to qualify—claiming that the more mature students qualify—and have background checks performed.
Michael Eisinger an eighth grade science teacher says, "If a gunman is going to cause violence in a school, they are going to have the element of surprise," "My guess is that they would still be able to shoot teachers, students or whoever else they wanted before some sort of coherent response materialized. (Huffington Post) Arming teachers isn’t going to solve the problem. We still will end up with deaths in schools. The gunman may decide to take the professors gun as well, which will result in the enemy having another harmful weapon.
One of the biggest debates in education is how to respond to gun violence in schools. According to BBC, “There were 64 school shootings in 2015” (BBC). One response to the rise in gun violence in schools is to arm teachers. Even our President has mentioned “giving a bonus” (Davis 2) to teachers that The fact that the idea of arming teachers is even being discussed is disappointing. Bringing more guns into a school is not the answer to gun violence. Most people that defend the idea that guns will “help” keep schools safe have basically three points: (1) teachers will be trained in gun safety, (2) it helps deter potential school shooters, and (3) it will make the students feel more safe. Even though there is some truth to those points, I think that the cons of arming teachers vastly outweigh the pros of arming teachers.
In America there is 89 firearms per 100 people (Moore) so it is safe to say most people will come in contact with a firearm in their life time. But when you do will you know how to handle the situation? Guns can be deadly when abused and used incorrectly. There is a way to reduce the unnecessary deaths. Firearm safety is the important piece in reducing the deaths and firearm abuse and it should be made mandatory in schools.
The sweat was dripping down my face as I pushed the weights off my chest. Everyone ran towards their bags after a student said there was a gun in school. Twitter was the first source that we checked just to make sure. Boom! The door slammed open as coach Ben yells “Hurry up and get out”. My heart started beating faster and faster. We didn’t know what was going on. As we were running to the gym everyone was panicking and pushing each other. I could feel the burn on my elbow but I didn’t know what it was. When we got to the gym my elbow was covered in blood. We were told to get down and stay quiet. Later on we were told a student brought a gun to school and was planning on committing suicide. That was one of many gun incidents at my high school.
Everyone knows that parents’ first worry is the safety of their children. With the increase of violence in schools, parents have started to wonder if their children are really safe in the school setting. Shootings like Sandy Hook and Columbine left parents, administrators, and educators feeling the need to be proactive towards children’s safety. Reacting to situations like these is not good enough when children’s lives are on the line. Administration has started to brainstorm different ways to help insure the protection of their students. The idea of having teachers carry concealed weapons has been on the front burner for quite some time. As a result of this extreme idea, insurance companies have started to increase or even cancel policies with schools that have armed teachers because of the high risk they are putting themselves at. Parents and administrators also worry about the idea of children getting their hands on one of the teachers’ weapons and injuring themselves or other students. Because this idea seems quite extreme, I believe there are other alternatives that are less dramatic and more positively out looked, such as having armed security guards in schools.
... As a high school student, I don’t take much stock in the safety codes and drills in place to keep students safe in the event of a shooting. I would feel much safer knowing my teacher has the ability to protect the class, rather than hide and lock the door. An educator is responsible for the students in their class. They are responsible for their education and safety while the children are in their classroom.
School shootings have altered American history greatly over the past two decades. From 1997 to 2007, there have been more than 40 school shootings, resulting in over 70 deaths and many more injuries. School shoot-outs have been increasing in number dramatically in the past 20 years. There are no boundaries as to how old the child would be, or how many people they may kill or injure. At Mount Morris Township, Michigan, on February 29th, 2000, there was a 6 year old boy who shot and killed another 6 year old girl at the Buell Elementary School with a .32 caliber pistol. And although many shootings have occurred at High Schools or Middle Schools, having more guns on those campuses would not be a good environment for children to grow up in. However, on a college campus, the pupils attending are not children anymore; the age range is from 17 to mid 20’s. Therefore they understand the consequences associated to the use of weapons and have gained more maturity. In April 16th, 2007, at Blacksburg, Virginia, there was a shooting rampage enacted by Sung-Hui Cho (23 years, from Centreville, VA) who fired over 170 rounds, killing 32 victims, before taking his own life at the Virginia Tech campus. Colleges and Universities would be a much safer place, for student and teacher, if guns were permitted on campus for self-defense purposes.
Shah, Nirvi. "Teachers Already Armed in some Districts." Education Week 32.21 (2013): 1,1, 14, 15. ProQuest. Web. 31 Mar. 2014.
Throughout the years of education, kids go to school to get an education, to hang with friends, to get excise, and many other things. America should have armed officers in in public schools. Since kids are spending a majority of their time throughout the day and year at school, they should feel safe in that environment. That can soon change with school security falling behind with this current growth of school shooting. Schools shootings have begun occurring more often in the United States from elementary schools all the way up to colleges. How should school systems fix this problem? One solution that could be the most effective is having multiple armed officers in schools. Let’s begin with some major school shootings that were lacking armed officers, when the resource officer successfully stopped a potential shooting, and reasons why we should have an armed officer.
In concealed carry classes, teachers are taught several essential gun facts and social facts about carrying concealed firearms: pros and cons of different holsters, places that allow concealed carry and places that do not allow concealed carry, the type of belts that make concealed carry comfortable, what to do when going into “gun-free” zones, the necessity of a first aid kit, various gun myths, ways to talk to the police, and much more (Owens). Other lessons include avoiding accidental discharge, how to draw a weapon correctly in different scenarios, different types of knives, firearm safety rules, close-quarter techniques, how to pie corners, and how to handle more than one assailants (Owens). These lessons, along with carrying a concealed weapon and/or firearm, allow teachers to be ready to defend themselves and their students from any kind of harm, especially a criminal with a gun threatening to kill and wound numerous people: ‘…training weekly and being checked out weekly and knowing how to use that weapon and being willing and able to do it’ (KDVR.com). Why should teachers go through these lessons? The answer is simple: teachers need to be able to protect their students’ lives and their own lives from criminals that wield firearms and other weapons.
Imagine a teacher carrying a handgun, not just any ordinary teacher. The teacher that has antipathy towards you. Will she be willing to cause you harm now that she has a handgun or will she she keep you and the school safe. This is why I think teachers shouldn't carry guns because teachers are in schools to educate. teachers shouldn't carry guns because it makes the problem worse, dangerous and fearful.
In the words of spoken word artist Fatima Tall, she describes her experience as an African-American, presenting images that contrast with the stereotypical barriers that people of African-American descent go through, especially in the inner city. Homicide rates in predominantly black neighborhoods have increased over the years and many believe the accessibility to guns is the reason why. In front of bidding white light, her frame the only thing being visible, she points two fingers at the audience; “Bang I graduated high school!” “Bang I’m going to college!”
know before you go off to college. You parents do the same thing, in a way, so as a parent they want the kids to be safe as much as possible. If the school is that dangerous, just have better security around the school. Have more police than usual guard the school. The kids may still feel uneasy about this, but that is better than having a teacher possessing a gun, because the police are trained with firearms and will make better decisions. They are used to being in chaotic situations, and usually make the right decisions on the fly with things as dangerous as guns and killers. A teacher is not ready for that, a few lives could be taken before the teachers reacts and stops the murder.
Students can get on teachers nerves, a lot. How would teachers deal with this know that they have guns right at their reach. Some teachers could get so aggravated and they could possibly threaten their students with their guns. According to Victoria Barrett of the Chicago Tribune, “4 out of 100 teachers have threatened their students over the student talking back or being rude to the teacher.” If 4% of teachers have threatened their students, who is to say that they wouldn’t use their their gun.