Teachers allowed to have guns....what do you think?
I'm not sure if anyone has posted about this yet, so forgive me if I missed it. But I'm just sort of flabbergasted at the story in the news about how in Texas they are allowing teachers to carry concealed weapons.
I'm not trying to start a debate over the right to bear arms or gun control. I'm just wondering what others think about this particular situation. I have mixed emotions. Although I think school violence has gotten out of control, it scares me that guns will be so readily available (yes, I'm sure they're going to be kept away safely, theoretically). That part of me thinks we are playing with fire giving a loaded gun to every teacher in a school. They are outnumbered by students, and so many things could go wrong.
If I were a teacher in todays world I'd be so afraid of one of the students stabbing me, or worse. On the other hand I think those incidents are not as common as we think, considering when something does happen the entire nation hears about it. I think having cops posted in schools, perhaps metal detectors at each entrance, both student and teachers, etc.
let's face it, the world is screwed up. When our children are young we are in trouble should we take notion to correct them upside the bottom side! something unheard of when I was a child! When I was a child we could expect a good spanking for things done wrong. But if we can't correct a 4 yr old, how the **** are we going to control an adolescent!?? put on top of that the teachers are even more limited as to how they can control the kids? No wonder our kids are the way they are, they get away with murder!
Tell me, if you don't like the gun in classes, how do you propose to handle the students. Remember, usually a class is 30 to 1 !
I'm not saying I agree with it, I am just saying I wouldn't know what to do!
I remember when I was sent to the principle for skipping school, I used to laugh when given out of school suspension, then they came up with in school suspension, they got wise to me!
If they have to go through as much training as a cop does in order to "conceal and carry," that might change my opinion slightly as to whether it could be a workable option. However, just as a cop in every classroom could address the problem, does it really provide a solution?. Does the presence of a gun in the classroom (or the possibility of a gun being in the classroom) affect the learning (and teaching) process?
The problem is most of these solutions are simply bandaids, we're not addressing why the problem exists in the first place.
As someone training to be a high school teacher, who is aware of all of the potential violence and issues that can occur, I think actually arming teachers and school staff is ridiculous.
Honestly, though violent situations do happen in schools, I agree that they're probably not as common as it might seem, (at least not violence on a scale that would require a teacher to shoot a student).
Also, as someone who will be a teacher some day (hopefully), I wouldn't WANT to have that kind of responsibility -- teacher, counsellor, sole adult role model (oftentimes), and also... police officer, potentially with the power or life and death over my students? No thanks. Also, what happens if a students gets his or her hands on the gun?
Having a police/security presence in schools makes sense to me, but not this.
But my feelings about gun control, etc. in general are a bit different, as those who go out and get the proper training and permits to have a gun are those least likely to use the gun in a criminal way.
Tell me, if you don't like the gun in classes, how do you propose to handle the students. Remember, usually a class is 30 to 1!
What a scary world the media and the right to bear arms has created. If the students are so freakin' dangerous what's to stop the kids from jumping the teacher and taking the gun? Great, now they don't have to smuggle them in, right?
I personally think that is abslutlely ridiculous!!! The students will find out and one of them could get their hands on it. I think that is insane. The shootings are not than common. Im sure you have a better chance of getting killed by a wild goose than your student pulling a gun on you. I would not want my child going to school where the teachers had guns. If the chils really eanted to shoot the teacher they would do it. And if it was concealed well enough they would be either dead or seriously hurt by the time they could get the gun out. Man i just dont get it i suppose
Last edited by CandyKisses0204; 08-21-2008 at 03:50 PM.
I think with so many technological advances, educators have to rething behavior problems in the classroom. In some areas, problem kids are being home schooled - through internet access that the school system pays for. I don't think it's a perfect solution, because it gives an antisocial kid even fewer opportunities to learn social skills. However, it prevents other kids from being victimized by him/her.
It's a complicated problem, and requires complicated solutions. But I think that the school systems need to address problem behavior quickly and thoroughly. The days of letting kids "sort it out themselves," when it comes to bullying and aggression towards each other have to be stopped.
If that means metal detectors at the entrances, I don't have a problem with that - as long as honest mistakes are not treated as felony offenses (someone brings a nail file or crochet hook in their purse, and they're accused of trying to smuggle in a potential weapon).
What a scary world the media and the right to bear arms has created. If the students are so freakin' dangerous what's to stop the kids from jumping the teacher and taking the gun? Great, now they don't have to smuggle them in, right?
See, this is exactly my concern (although I couldn't seem to word it that well, thanks RealCdn ). The 30:1 ratio can be a VERY dangerous thing when all 30 students know where they can get their hands on a gun.
I dont understand how throwing more guns at a problem caused by too many guns will solve the problem.....
This problem wasn't caused by too many guns. It was caused by guns in the hands of the wrong people. Take a look at Chicago - we've had no guns for nearly 30 years now, yet we have one of the highest gun crime rates in the country.
In regards to the topic at hand, I'm indifferent. I'm in favor of concealed carry for any citizen that passes the required tests. If a teacher has a gun at school, so what? Doesn't bother me in the slightest. It sure as heck do more good than all the fabricated security measures that are currently put in place.
I think guns in the classroom is nothing but a tragedy waiting to happen,some of these teen age boys are over six feet tall and weigh over 200 pounds. They could easily overpower the teacher and take away the gun and who knows what they would do with it.
I'm opinionated! I'll say that right up front. OTOH, I respect others who have strong opinions and are willing to voice them as well.
My opinion: there is nothing wrong with a licensed concealed carrier exercising their license, even in schools, which have in the past been a no-gun zone. As my hubby, a licensed carrier himself put it, if a homicidal maniac is looking for a target, a school is going to be the first place he goes, because nobody there will be able to fire back.
Secondly, a concealed handgun license is just that: a license to carry a concealed weapon. The law states that if there is any sign of the handgun, the owner is in violation of the law. My husband is very careful to make sure that there's not even so much as a bulge to give away that he's carrying. Not even I can tell which days he has his pistol and which days he does not. The scenario of the student jumping the teacher for his weapon is not as likely as you might think.
Quote:
Originally Posted by carinna
...That part of me thinks we are playing with fire giving a loaded gun to every teacher in a school. ...
Carinna, I'm sure you didn't mean anything by it, but please be careful with statements like these. Licensing some teachers to carry weapons is not "giving a loaded gun to every teacher in a school" and makes the situation sound much more dangerous than it is.
I know for a fact that two of my teachers in high school carried guns to school with them and wore them during class. Back when I was in high school, that was VERY illegal. We didn't even have conceal/carry permits back then. I was never afraid of those teachers.
Quote:
Originally Posted by twilit tera
Secondly, a concealed handgun license is just that: a license to carry a concealed weapon. The law states that if there is any sign of the handgun, the owner is in violation of the law. My husband is very careful to make sure that there's not even so much as a bulge to give away that he's carrying. Not even I can tell which days he has his pistol and which days he does not. The scenario of the student jumping the teacher for his weapon is not as likely as you might think.
I left the other posters quote above (on purpose). Visible or not, she knew who was carrying. My point is that (especially in small towns) people will eventually know who carries and who doesn't. That's when I'd be concerned about students.
(I say this because although I never bought or sold drugs in high school but everyone knew the narcotics plants.)
I agree with anne. The kids will find out It may be just at that school in texas, but i know that where i went to highschool some looney toon would find i somehow someway. One of these teachers are bound to slip up, either leaving it in the class room or not concealing it well enough and well when opportunity strikes. Yes i admit kids are out of control and getting crazier every day, but if my teacher was carry a gun it would make me feel less safe if anything. Im not sure how long its been for some of you ladies to experience highschool, but its not the same as it was 10, 15 or 20 years ago. If the kis wants to do something they are going to do it. If they plan on bringing a gun to school they will and prolly will shoot and kill the teacher before he or she even has a chance to get the gun out. I suppose i just think it is pointless and causes more of a danger
How about just doing metal detectors to get into the school - then neither kids or teachers have dangerous weapons. I'm totally NOT OK with guns on a school ground (well anywhere for that matter).
Teachers allowed to have guns....what do you think?
opcorn:
). The 30:1 ratio can be a VERY dangerous thing when all 30 students know where they can get their hands on a gun. 
