Today, we talked a lot about school shootings, and how to a
point we have almost become numb to it. We really have lost the “shock” that
comes from a school shooting. One thing that I was wanting to mention, but
continually forgot to when it came to my mind, was this article from FaceBook a
while back about how teachers in a certain country are trained with firearms in
order to keep their students safe. I can see the benefits, but also the
downsides to this. On one hand we are educating the administration on how to
better protect our children from these threats. But at the same time, one can
argue that they are making it look like the children have a major thing to be
afraid of. It would be like going into a bathroom and having to go through a
metal detector. Something that is stereotypically supposed to be safe, is now
looking more like a prison than a place for learning. The students will be safe
that is correct. But the teachers would be going in to work under the idea that
they are looking for the most dangerous 7th grader in the class. I
feel like this amount of protection does have some beneficial points, but how excessive
the system has to be makes one wonder, if these are the things that help to
foster and create children of violence.
The thing is, at some point schoolchildren are going to become aware of these shooting sprees, through the news or otherwise. Hopefully, the students would actually feel safer knowing that, if some random killer walks in, their instructor will be able to stop that person before victims are gunned down. Moreover, any kids that might have considered bringing a firearm to school, intending to be the next shooter, will have reason to think twice, knowing that they won't simply be able to pull out the gun in class and start killing others with no repercussions! Schools might, on the whole, be safer if they had this measure implemented--how many cases might it prevent from ever happening? And how much safer might the students feel, knowing that they have this safety measure as a deterrent to potential shooters?
ReplyDeleteFighting fire with fire is rarely a valid idea. If the teachers have firearms, students would actually have an easier access to guns. Every year students across the nation break in to their schools for senior pranks, so how hard would it be to break into where they store the weapons. Even if they can't, the point of teachers having firearms would be for them to carry with them in case a shooting does occur, which means eventually a teacher is going to mess up and leave their gun somewhere, or forget to lock it up. While adding guns may "solve" one part of the issue, we aren't necessarily looking for a solution. We should be looking for a prevention. Personally, I would rather not have the crime committed than have it happen yet no one get hurt.
DeleteI remember reading the same article on Facebook a while back and I did not know what to think. I agree with your point that a teacher having a firearm in order to keep their students safe would be beneficial, but there are many downsides to this. Yes, it would make the shooter think twice about bringing a gun to school, but it would not really keep the shooter from carrying out his or her mission. Most, if not all, schools have some sort of campus security and this has not kept any of the school shooters from attacking. I personally believe that a teacher having a firearm in a classroom would be a recipe for a bad disaster. It is possible that the teacher may not be emotionally or mentally sane, and the fact that the firearm could fall into the hands of a student.
ReplyDeleteThe real issue is that school areas are gun free zones and these cowards that shoot innocent people choose the weakest targets available. Why do bullies not pick on people bigger than themselves but go for smaller targets, it is less resistance. What is alarming is that people who are dedicated to committing gun violence will not care if there is a gun free zone sign up or not. The shooting that happened in Chattanooga TN was stopped by a member on base carrying a concealed firearm which was against base regulation but he stopped the shooter who was part of an extremist group. A good proposed suggestion to help with the school shooting problem I have seen online is employ veterans who are unemployed to guard the schools. Veterans would be honored to serve their local community and no matter how hard core a soldier may be, they have a soft spot for kids. They can be employed on college campuses as well. Before anyone freaks out, the veteran will be dressed like a teacher or student, and his firearm your will not be able to see. Almost like the air marshals. Closing point, Chicago has very strict gun laws but there are multiple shooting on a daily basis so how is restricting guns going to solve the problem when there is proof that it does not work.
ReplyDeleteThe real issue is that school areas are gun free zones and these cowards that shoot innocent people choose the weakest targets available. Why do bullies not pick on people bigger than themselves but go for smaller targets, it is less resistance. What is alarming is that people who are dedicated to committing gun violence will not care if there is a gun free zone sign up or not. The shooting that happened in Chattanooga TN was stopped by a member on base carrying a concealed firearm which was against base regulation but he stopped the shooter who was part of an extremist group. A good proposed suggestion to help with the school shooting problem I have seen online is employ veterans who are unemployed to guard the schools. Veterans would be honored to serve their local community and no matter how hard core a soldier may be, they have a soft spot for kids. They can be employed on college campuses as well. Before anyone freaks out, the veteran will be dressed like a teacher or student, and his firearm your will not be able to see. Almost like the air marshals. Closing point, Chicago has very strict gun laws but there are multiple shooting on a daily basis so how is restricting guns going to solve the problem when there is proof that it does not work.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your point about how our society has become numb to school shootings in the last few years. I agree that we have lost the shock of an event and instead left sighing and shaking our heads when these events do occur during the last few years. I have seen that article from Facebook which discusses the idea of training our teachers about how to combat a shooter. While I do believe that some sort of training system would be helpful I do not think that putting a weapon, certainly not a gun in the classroom. I agree with teaching gun safety because I believe it could help anyone both the teachers and students but I don’t agree with putting weapons in the classroom.
ReplyDelete