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With all of the school shootings that have happened lately I’m sure that most parents would want their child protected at any cost. As of January 2014, there had been an average of one school shooting every other school day. What are the schools doing to protect our kids when they are away from us at school? What more can be done to protect them? We are not able to be with our kids while they are at school, but we surely want to know that if a gunman does try to enter the school, there are measures in place to protect them. Should teachers be allowed to carry a handgun while in class? In my position argument I will discuss reasons that I feel that teachers should be able to carry while in class. Teachers play a very important role in our kid’s lives on a daily basis. Not only are they there as educators, but they are also there as protectors as well, especially for our younger students. They are not only there to watch over them and make sure that they get home safely, but they are there to protect them from any harm, including a gunman. If a gunman were to enter the school and some if not all of the teachers were licensed to carry, he could be stopped before harming or even killing several people, including our children. I have discussed this argument with several people and most of them are against teachers carrying guns while teaching. One main concern that I have heard is, “what if the teacher is having a bad day”, or “what if they decide to take it out on the students? And then I remind them that teacher’s go through a very rigid background investigation and are trusted individuals! We must trust our teachers and their judgment. If we feel comfortable enough with these teachers to send our kids to them five days a week, f... ... middle of paper ... ..., 12 students and one teacher and both perpetrators. This school shooting is somewhat different because there was one police officer on duty at the school who was carrying a weapon, however not one teacher was licensed to carry. Once again had there been someone physically on the campus that was carrying a handgun there’s a possibility that these two would not have been able to cause so much bloodshed either. Wouldn’t you feel a great sense of relief if you knew that your child was being protected at all cost while at school? Teachers carry a lot of weight on their shoulders just by walking into the classroom daily. This added level of security would not only protect our children but it also protects the teachers and other staff members as well. Teachers being allowed to carry handguns while in class should be a discussion that every parent should have.
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.
When I was in elementary school, I never feared of having an intruder enter my school, nor did we ever prepare for a tragedy such as that. It was not until recent years that school shootings became more of a common and feared issue. As a future educator, it is a terrifying thought that my classroom could be invaded and it would be my responsibility to protect my students. Even with the number of school shootings rising every day, our government has yet to make it legal for teachers in every state and every school to carry a gun in the classroom. This essay will review and analyze the opinions of multiple scholars and their input on the issue of teachers carrying weapons in the classroom and protecting the safety of students. It will discuss
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.
One reason teachers should not be able to carry guns because guns are currently illegal in schools; Guns are illegal because they are dangerous. The Gun Free School Zone Act (GFSZA) is a federal law that was accepted in the United States in 1990. According to the GFSZA, “It shall be unlawful for any individual knowingly to possess a firearm at a place that the individual knows, or has reasonable cause to believe, is a school zone.” In order for teachers to carry guns, we would have to discard this law. Also, the school board would have to create a new policy, allowing teachers to carry guns. Adjusting the rules would be time consuming and confusing. Changing the GFSZA would make students tense and distract children from learning. Citizens from CNN Politics say, “72.4% of educators said they would be unlikely to bring a firearm to school if allowed to do so.” This data shows that the majority of teachers do not even want possession of a gun in the classroom. School officers have the right to carry guns, teachers should just focus on education. Not only does it create a huge responsibility, there would also need to be a large financial investment to supply guns for every school. This money would be hard to come up with, and not everyone is in favor of sacrificing money for firearms.
... 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 their safety while the children are in their classroom. The safety of fifteen or more students would be much more easily secured by one person if that person was armed. Promoting teachers to arm themselves also prevents school shootings; criminals don’t attack a victim that can fight back. At least 60% of school attacks would be prevented with an armed faculty warning sign. School faculty members should be armed to secure the safety of the countries students, and in hand prevent the majority of potential shootings.
One of the most eye opening school shootings was on April 20, 1999 in Littleton, Colorado. Thirteen students were killed and twenty wounded in the middle of the day while attending school at Columbine High School. Two armed students opened fire just outside the building, then moved inside and gunned down more students and faculty members. This rampage lasting for just under 45 minutes. The students then turned the guns on themselves and ended their lives. The police did not show up in a reasonable time, which lead families to file lawsuits against the police department and the school. There was only one resource officer in the high school, during this time. He was located in the parking lot to watch kids drive in and out. One of the parents of the victims said, "There was no one in that school that had a gun other than the two killers, and ...
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...
School shootings are still happening and we have to put a stop to it. We need to have these teachers prepared and ready to fight. Students to deserve to have their lives out to rest knowing something could have been done that’s why we need to have these teachers armed. This is a cold world if someone enters a school with a weapon teachers need to have their weapon ready too for the sack of their children. A school is a fun place to learn but to also keep safe. This is why teachers should be armed.
However, schools could just prevent that my hiring a security guard or have one police officer on campus. This way the parents will be assured that their children are in a safe place and teachers also don’t have to worry about carrying a weapon with them all the time. By provoking teachers to carry concealed weapons, it will also save money for the schools because the teachers won’t have to take special lessons on the weapons and learn how to use
Gun laws are an important key to consider. There are pistols and machine weapons as well. If a teacher were to carry a gun, it would be a handgun type and an attacker could easily carry a machine weapon. A handgun is hardly a legitimate defense mechanism against a machine gun. A machine gun can carry forty five to sixty rounds, whereas a handgun can only carry about nine bullets (Glennon). If a machine gun that an attacker brings has that many bullets and is automatic, a pistol isn’t going to do anything unless shot first. Also the government interferes in the problem of guns because the need for gun control. “Roughly sixteen thousands two hundred and thirty seven murders were committed in the United States in 2008 of these about ten thousand two hundred eighty-eight, or 67% were committed with firearms” (Agresti,Smith). Also the government has right to carry laws which enables citizens the right to carry a firearm if one can pass a background check and a gun safety course. Forty out of the United States fifty states has agreed to let people who meet certain criteria to carry firearms, and the other ten are indecisive or completely disagree (Agresti,Smith). This shows that the population as a whole has the right to carry guns if legally allowed, but not teachers just because s...
Allowing teachers to carry guns could help lower school shootings. “While some believe tighter gun controls are the answer, others believe the best solution comes in giving more people — like teachers and administrators — more training and more access to firearms that can save lives as well as take them away” (Evensen guns and teachers). “Our organization
A gun in the hands of an inexperienced person is almost as dangerous as the shooter him/herself. Yes, we can provide gun courses but that is just more money and time for the school to come up with. For a gun to be available for defense, it needs to be accessible. In order for a gun to be used, it has to be where the teacher can reach it. They will not be able to put it up somewhere safe because they will not be able to get it in time. We can not safely handle or afford to give every teacher a gun.
The objective for students and teachers should not be risking your life to protect other people from active shooters. Public safety on school grounds should be left to professionally qualified campus police officers, not private citizens with little or no expert training. The risk of untrained gun carriers impact the safety of students and staff. Not everyone that conceal carries a gun know the detailed laws and have received proper training.
The issue of school administrators and teachers carrying guns has become an actual controversial topic in our society today. School shootings similar to the ones in Sandy Hook and Florida, has also become common in our society. Arming teachers is only one of the solutions that states are considering and some have already started the process of proposing this to become a law. This issue needs to be thoroughly researched and all aspects need to be considered and evaluated. However, what changes to security measures and policies will be put in place, if teachers are required to be armed will training be provided, and more importantly, will the parents and the teachers have a say in the new policies, will their voices be heard.