• Armed teachers could make things harder for first responders: Another argument questioned whether police responding to a school shooting could easily distinguish between gunfire from school shooters and armed staff shooting back, and whether the staff shooting back would be proficient enough not to injure bystanders or first responders. Ken Trump, a consultant with the National School Safety and Security Services firm in Cleveland, countered by saying, "The vast majority of teachers want to be armed with textbooks and computers…to teach in the classroom – not guns. “To even consider teachers having guns in a classroom, you might think it’s a great idea but kids are traumatized by thinking that teachers have guns. Teaching is not only about executing lesson plans and grading homework – it is about devoting your whole life to children. via e-mail. I strongly believe that teachers should carry guns, this is not to say that we should just hand them out to all teachers but if we had 2 or 3 trained and prepared adults watching over and protecting the students from themselves. Other … Then there are the pros and cons of this career to consider. Parents express concern about how the presence of guns will influence the school environment. You will get a lot of … Moreover, not all teachers are reliable. If a teacher has a classroom of 20 students who are trapped with an active shooter at their door, the presence of a firearm can help to save lives. You should be morally, mentally, and physically prepared. President Obama states:"The most recent year of comparable stats is nearly 30 times compared to the numbers in 2012 Reason 1:It would make the parents comfortable. Pros And Cons Of Guns Essay 1351 Words | 6 Pages. People should be free to carry guns and teachers shouldn't be an exception to this. "When you have seconds to act when you hear the code for an active shooter, is a teacher supposed to use those seconds getting her gun instead of getting her students to safety?". We welcome strong opinions and criticism of our work, but we don't want comments to become bogged down with discussions of our policies and we will moderate accordingly. There are both pros and cons to guns in school. We make an effort to protect discussions from repeated comments either by the same reader or different readers. An increase in the frequency and intensity of discipline problems. As you can see, there are a lot of people who claim that arming teachers is a risky chance not worthy to take. President Donald Trump is … President Trump's proposal to arm teachers in response to school shootings has touched off a national debate over whether it was feasible or safe to expect teachers and school staff to act as a deterrent or a first line of defense in the event of an active shooter. We value thoughtful comments representing a range of views that make their point quickly and politely. Teachers SHOULD NOT be armed. A Broward County deputy was on-scene at the South Florida high school during the shooting but never went into the building or confronted the shooter, officials said. Armed police responded in 45 of those incidents, while in seven cases civilians, security guards, or off-duty cops returned fire. There are both pros and cons to guns in school. But advocates of guns in schools should not assume armed security would stop such attacks, said Peter Blair, the author of the ALERRT study. Our goal is to provide substantive commentary for a general readership. Is it good idea for teachers to be armed in order to make school safer? It would make schools feel safe. Well, Let’s look into the logistics of this matter. But if I'm a teacher and I have reason to believe the cops won't intervene in a school shooting, I might want to be armed. " As a group, teachers care deeply about their students’ well-being but they are not aggressive enough to take the fight to the assailant. A post shared by Brittany, Happy Little Hearts (@happy.little.hearts) on Feb 20, 2018 at 10:12pm PST. It would not be unsafe if the teachers carrying the guns were responsible and well-respected teachers who know how to operate a gun. Officials are still discussing the pros and cons of arming school teachers. Many people will argue that teachers carrying guns is just as unsafe. Everybody should know why there are armed officers in the schools and what roles they play. Police officers can take too long to arrive to the site of shooting. Should Teachers be Armed Over the years we have heard that a school has been threatened or an intruder has came in and brought danger to the students, as a teacher they are taught to lock the door and hide in the corner thinking that the intruder won’t see them or won’t come in. If a teacher has a classroom of 20 students who are trapped with an active shooter at their door, the presence of a firearm can help to save lives. Should Teachers And Staff Be Allowed To Carry Concealed? It would make schools feel safe. A CBS News poll showed 44 percent of respondents favored allowing more teachers and school officials to carry guns and 50 percent opposed, though Republicans were more strongly for it and Democrats against it. Sometimes, teachers may be the first to notice a dangerous incident, but they would be too frightened or confused to take action or handle the situation. • Armed staff on-site could respond to a shooter before police: In rural school districts or districts without dedicated school resource officers, police and medics could be responding from a distance, said Pennsylvania State Sen. Don White, R-Indiana County, who proposed a bill that would let school districts and teachers volunteer to be armed. Giving ammunition, weapons, and training to each teacher is indeed very costly. Of course, only responsible educators with proper training should be armed. Most law enforcement experts argue that teachers should not carry guns. In fact, carrying a gun is not for everybody. A lot of people are against such idea but Colorado teachers steadily adhere to their position – a gun is worth it to protect their children. Earlier in the month, both Florida and Texas passed legislation to allow for a greater number of teachers to be armed. A place full of teachers with armed with firearms is not a school, it is a prison. Cons: Most teachers do not have the temperament to be put into the position of protecting students with a firearm. “But it should never be a teacher. Many teachers, school administration, and students can argue that guns will, in fact, save many lives. Nebraska Legislator to Introduce Bill In 2001, an Omaha high school senior killed a vice principal and wounded a principal in his school before committing suicide a few miles from the school's campus, according to the Christian Science Monitor . Many teachers from all over the world faced a threat of school shootings and some of them even experienced such terrible situations with bad consequences. At the heart of this proposal is the recommendation that schools be staffed with armed school resource officers (SROs). There are many pros and cons when it comes to teachers carrying guns, some pros include: [They] don't want that responsibility, that liability, and that's not their professional focus." They are either approved or deleted. A prison where these adults will have to balance the priorities of making sure every single kid gets the education they deserve and being ready to take down a school shooter if the situation arises. The Ohio course, he said, required participating teachers to get better scores on a firing range than police officers. Your email address will not be published. But we all know there is definitely an issue with keeping our schools safe from killers, whether they are armed with a gun or a knife, or whatever. Pros Curbing violent crime . "We surround and protect so much with armed security, while we drop our kids off at schools that are so-called 'gun-free zones. Protection of Children. Cons: Most teachers do not have the temperament to be put into the position of protecting students with a firearm. "I'm not just going to sit and hide and accept waiting, and seeing kids get shot or listening to kids die," said Zilinskas, who worked with White on his bill. Even the knowledge that a teacher might be armed could be enough to stop an uncertain individual from committing an act of … The eruption of the gun debate has erupted nationwide and the decision is up to you! Pros Cons There is a chance that a well-trained, armed teacher could shoot and kill a rampaging shooter, saving lives. A teacher who is armed could get angry at a student for a simple reason and injure them. Civic Florida and Texas both experienced school shootings last year (Majory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, and Santa Fe High School in Texas), leading to debates in both states over whether or not arming teachers could prevent such tragedies. Don't include URLs to Web sites. Copyrights © 2021 Ozzz.org - You'll Definitely Find Your Academic Helper Here.All rights reserved. Teachers tend to get more days off each year than other career options. While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderating decisions are subjective. Teaching requires empathy, a relationship, and the development of a rapport, each of which is inimical to most situations involving an armed party in charge of a roomful of the unarmed. * Attackers don’t know who is armed and who isn’t. A lot of people believe that it would be a right decision to arm teachers so that they would be able to protect students and themselves, lowering the chances of terrible tragedy. https://t.co/nQMK1KA7Vr pic.twitter.com/fnWLlOSzpv. TribLIVE's Daily and Weekly email newsletters deliver the news you want and information you need, right to your inbox. Jonah Goldberg (@JonahNRO) February 22, 2018. They should be able to respond to injuries, provide medical assistance, and use firearms effectively against any threat that can happen. Maree Jones (@mareejones) February 22, 2018. • The guns teachers carry could be taken and turned against them, or used on the wrong people: Having guns in schools or classrooms could lead to them ending up in the wrong hands, said a representative of CeaseFire PA, a gun-control group. Yes. We moderate comments. High school teachers must usually major is a content area, with some states pushing this requirement for fifth grade and higher. Police officers are not always going to be there on time. The Pros And Cons Of Gun Control: Armed Teachers. We cannot trust teachers to take situations into their own hands. The choice to arm our teachers and school staff is quite complex. Now, let’s dive into three different reasons and sources on why these teachers should, and need to be armed. In some emergency situations they are the first to treat victims and stop possible shooters. Pros: * You have someone on hand capable of stopping a shooter or other attacker. > What are the pros and cons of giving teachers guns? Because of the volume of reader comments, we cannot review individual moderation decisions with readers. Many kids, especially boys, learn to handle their problems with … Teachers should be armed for reasons beyond school violence. Which would cause havoc and chaos. We appreciate it when readers and people quoted in articles or blog posts point out errors of fact or emphasis and will investigate all assertions. Terms of Service. With so many massacres happening around the world and in schools especially, there is a large debate upon whether teachers should carry guns or not. > What are the pros and cons of giving teachers guns? Gun Control: Armed Teachers Should teachers be permitted by law to carry a lethal firearm on them in/during school? With armed teachers, actions can be taken against the shooters almost immediately. Police officers can take too lon… Should Teachers be Armed Over the years we have heard that a school has been threatened or an intruder has came in and brought danger to the students, as a teacher they are taught to lock the door and hide in the corner thinking that the intruder won’t see them or won’t come in. You'll Definitely Find Your Academic Helper Here. Teachers in schools across America would be better fitted to take down a shooter in action, if these said teachers are armed. Here is a break down of pros and cons for arming teachers in our schools. Even the knowledge that a teacher might be armed could be enough to stop an uncertain individual from committing an act of … Some students may get curios about the gun. An armed teacher may potentially shoot an unarmed student or a first responder in the chaos of a mass shooting. Cori Sorensen, a fourth grade teacher from Highland Elementary School in Highland, Utah, receives firearms training with a .357 magnum from personal defense instructor Jim McCarthy during concealed weapons training for 200 Utah teachers in 2012. Last week, the NRA released its National School Shield Task Force Proposal. It is said that teaching is one of the hardest occupations in the world. '", 'Our banks, our airports, our NBA games, our NFL games, our office buildings, our movie stars, our politicians, they're all more protected than our children at school...Evil walks among us & God help us if we don't harden our schools & protect our kids' -Wayne LaPierre #NRA #CPAC pic.twitter.com/TaIWqfjy2s, Pres. I do not think teachers should be armed because, well, I have a lot of ideas and it would take to long to wright and I do not have a lot of time. After a gunman at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland Fla. killed 17 people on Valentine's Day, Trump proposed arming "well trained, gun adept" teachers who had special training or military experience — he said his goal was 20 percent or more — and giving them bonuses for carrying guns. A prison where these adults will have to balance the priorities of making sure every single kid gets the education they deserve and being ready to take down a school shooter if the situation arises. © 2021 Trib Total Media | All Rights Reserved. A very small percentage of American teachers should be allowed to be trained and armed. Trump on his position to arm teachers to protect schools, asking to 'harden' schools: 'If you're going to continue with this nonsense about a gun free zone... it is such a target for the killer.' HEADFAKE Background: "The Great Debate" Cons: More Casualties Due to recent events such as the Columbine massacre and Sandy Hook more and more are asking "Should teachers be armed?" Mark Zilinskas, an Indiana Area High School teacher who attended firearms training sessions in Ohio, where armed teachers are allowed, derided the current training that emphasizes locking down, hiding, escaping and using improvised weapons to distract or delay a shooter. Donald Trump has said so – and suggested that those that don't might be inviting attacks on themselves. So, do we have to have arming school teachers? In this case, we may fix spelling and punctuation. Civic A lot of people believe that it would be a right decision to arm teachers so that they would be able to protect students and themselves, lowering the chances of terrible tragedy. List of the Pros of Being a Teacher … Emotional Appeal Video Presentation. We live in dangerous times. Instead, corrections will be made in a blog post or in an article. List of the Pros of Arming Teachers 1. HEADFAKE Background: "The Great Debate" Cons: More Casualties Due to recent events such as the Columbine massacre and Sandy Hook more and more are asking "Should teachers be armed?" Top 10 Benefits of Armed School Security Guards 6. Should teachers be armed with killing machines? A few things we won't tolerate: personal attacks, obscenity, vulgarity, profanity (including expletives and letters followed by dashes), commercial promotion, impersonations, incoherence, proselytizing and SHOUTING. “Teachers have to teach, and that’s what they should be doing,” said Joel Myrick, the former assistant principal at a high school in Mississippi. can cost into the thousands per teacher Guns could be taken away from teachers during an active shooter incident and be used against them or other staff/students CONS of Teachers Carrying Concealed Weapons. The president of the 1.7 million-member American Federation of Teachers, Randi Weingarten, called arming teachers "one of the worst ideas I have heard in a series of really, really, really bad ideas." A place full of teachers with armed with firearms is not a school, it is a prison. According to many, teachers carrying guns is unacceptable. We cannot trust teachers to take situations into their own hands. "Almost any two students could figure out a way to get a gun away from a teacher; one distracts them and the other sneaks or wrestles the gun off of them," said Robert Conroy, organizing director. It's good to throw ideas out on the table for discussion. Anonymous says 2013-05-11T02:20:59.277. Tony Long argues all police should be armed (Image: Birmingham Post and Mail). Reason Two: It would reduce the crime rate. Even for those who would volunteer to carry guns, training and qualifying to be the kind of "experts" Trump wanted to make split-second decisions would take time and effort outside the classroom, and "checking and monitoring and retraining" would be a burden on districts, Avery Gardiner, co-president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, told NBC News . Setting police and outfitted staff nearby could cause understudies to feel awkward. Should modern teachers be armed to protect their students? Most law enforcement experts argue that teachers should not carry guns. An armed teacher may potentially shoot an unarmed student or a first responder in the chaos of a mass shooting. • Teachers want to focus on teaching: "Teachers don't want to be armed, we want to teach. It would save many lives. It gives a classroom a fighting chance during a lockdown situation. I strongly believe that teachers should carry guns, this is not to say that we should just hand them out to all teachers but if we had 2 or 3 trained and prepared adults watching over and protecting the students from themselves. Teachers already have a sense of power over the students and if we give them the right to have a gun, that's giving them even more power. These options offer no protection for them. It is just better to have police on the school property. "Discharging a firearm in a crowded school is an extremely risky action, with consequences that can include the wounding and/or death of innocent victims," Canady said in a statement . 863 Words 4 Pages. By screening submissions, we provide a space where readers can share intelligent and informed commentary that enhances the quality of our news and information. Of course, only responsible educators with proper training should be armed. “The vast majority of teachers want to be armed with textbooks and computers, not guns,” said Kenneth S. Trump, President of National School Safety and Security Services, in response to the national discussion on arming teachers and school staff, and armed volunteers in schools. By allowing the teachers to be armed, they believe that they are able to save time and more importantly, lives. "Law enforcement officers receive training and practice in evaluating quickly the risks of firing. Cons: Training armed teachers is expensive, time consuming, and must be recurring Weapons cost, range fees, ammunition, instructor fees, etc. • Armed staff on-site could respond to a shooter before police: In rural school districts or … We follow the same standards for taste as the daily newspaper. Required fields are marked *. It doesn't make sense. If guns are not allowed on campus, teachers have to leave them at home or in their car. It will just make the situation worse. The parents deserve to feel Agree on a clear memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the district and the police department, spelling out precisely who will make specific kinds of decisions about school safety matters and what laws and regulations will guide the actions of individual officers. For nearly four years, the Clarksville School District -- about 100 miles northwest of … They should be confident to a certain extent in dangerous situations. There are a lot of cases all around the world when teachers harm their students. The world-known school shooting incidents have sent distraught parents and educators on a search for effective preventative measures. The number of violent deaths in London has reached 127 so far this year, surpassing the 2017 total of … It gives a classroom a fighting chance during a lockdown situation. But these suggestions should be sent Teachers SHOULD NOT be armed. Arming teachers won`t solve any problem. Educators should consider themselves as first responders. Kelly Blake, agricultural education teacher at Fleming School, said that she just wants her students to be protected at all times. Some possible consequences are: 1. Matthew Santoni is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Some teachers should be armed with guns. The most powerful reason is the simplest: Teachers exist to teach, a duty which one cannot perform effectively when one views the student as a potential assailant. In communities without local police departments, state police could be their only protection and could take five minutes, 10 minutes or longer to respond to a rural school, White said. According to www.snopes.com, there have been a total of 17 school shootings just in the year 2018 alone. Prominent advices from Steve Jobs that can change your life, Essay on Social Movements and Transformation: Palestine, Argumentative Essay Sample: Lincoln’s Ten Percent Plan, Essay Sample: Personal Development and Professional Development, Essay Sample: A Global Operations Manager. It gives a classroom a fighting chance during a lockdown situation. I understand why people don't like the armed teachers idea. It would only increase a number of school shootings. Security boost (with assistance by teachers) Armed school security guards will work with teachers to boost security in schools. We don't want to be, and would never have the expertise to be, sharp shooters; no amount of training can prepare an armed teacher to go up against an AR-15," Randi Weingarten, president of the National Federation of Teachers, said in a statement responding to Trump's proposal. * Much cheaper than dedicated armed security. Teachers often need to protect themselves as they commute to and from school. But personally, the only con I see is that of students taking the firearms from the teachers in an act of rage. The average police response time in the United States is ten minutes, according to www.creditdonkey.com. If there's a shooting at a school, should educators be prepared to shoot back? Teachers should be able to protect themselves and others; therefore, they should be allowed to carry guns. Mo Canady, executive director of the National Association for School Resource Officers, warned that law enforcement officers might mistake an armed teacher, or anyone else not in uniform, for an adult assailant. That is why teachers should be armed. Pros and Cons of Armed Security in School General News ... Firearms in Schools Pros: Teachers, chairmen, and school staff prepared and entrusted with conveying covered weapons nearby can react a lot quicker than police and other specialists on call. has said that schools should be able to arm teachers “if they choose to use the tool.” ... Greenberg also stressed the danger of having an armed teacher in … • Districts and teachers could have more control and flexibility over their security: Trump indicated he didn't think hiring armed, dedicated guards or police was inefficient and proposed using federal money to train teachers to handle guns. * Attackers don’t know who is armed and who isn’t. Politicians and groups for and against guns quickly took sides on the proposal after Trump sent out a series of tweets adding some detail Thursday morning: • Having more people armed would deter shooters looking for an easy target: National Rifle Association head Wayne LaPierre argued this Thursday in a speech to the Conservative Political Action Committee, and Trump echoed his words closely at a discussion in the White House later that day. But what are the pros and cons of armed patrols? This video from CNN discusses whether teachers should be armed. We will make them as carefully and consistently as we can. Your email address will not be published. The idea of arming teachers—or loosening state restrictions to allow concealed-carry permit holders to bring guns into schools—is often circulated after school attacks. And this talk is necessary. And American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten wrote in a letter to President Donald Trump that schools should be “safe sanctuaries, not armed fortresses.” She added, “The response we have heard is universal, most notably from educators who are gun owners, military veterans and National Rifle Association members: Teachers don’t want to be armed; we want to teach. * Much cheaper than dedicated armed security. An article by Huffington Post suggests that children of the school will be afraid knowing that their teachers are carrying concealed weapons. Do you want to follow in the footsteps of Mrs. Zimmerman and teachers like her one day? Reach him at 724 836 6660, msantoni@tribweb.com or on Twitter @msantoni. Even the knowledge that a teacher might be armed could be enough to stop an uncertain individual from committing an act of violence. To prevent these things from happening to the students If you’re in a rural area with a long response time, it makes sense to me that somebody out to be armed. Students are afraid to go to school,parents are … The current proposal to arm teachers in Pennsylvania included no restrictions on how guns were to be stored on-campus, whether teachers would keep them holstered, in their desks or in gun safes, he said. 98.7% of school shootings world wide are committed by students, that leaves 1.3% caused by teachers, most of which with a war background and not control … A teacher should have the right to keep themselves safe from harm. WASHINGTON — Retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens is calling for the repeal of the Second Amendment to allow for significant gun control legislation.... Western Pennsylvania's trusted news source, A post shared by Brittany, Happy Little Hearts (@happy.little.hearts). I'm not certain right now what we should do. We do not edit comments. Pros And Cons Of Guns Essay 1351 Words | 6 Pages. When an emergency occurs, a quick response by law enforcement professionals is what everybody hopes for. Report Post. Pros: Deterrence to anyone thinking of initiating an active shooter incident in the school; Armed teachers and staff would be readily available to address threats immediately ahead of police arrival But personally, the only con I see is that of students taking the firearms from the teachers in an act of rage. A classroom is a charged place. T he idea of walking into a school where teachers can carry … They hold their fire when the risks to others are too high.". They say that ‘what we really need is less guns’. Which would cause havoc and chaos. Pros: * You have someone on hand capable of stopping a shooter or other attacker. As a teacher, I'd often get annoyed when I would catch students looking through my desk for mints.Replace 'mints' with 'guns', and *there you have it*. " That is why Colorado educators have decided to attend advanced training to be able to protect their students in case of emergency. I think teachers should have guns because parents today are already trusting teachers with their children's lives during school in case something serious happened like a tornado attack, and of course in this case a man breaking into school with a gun. You are solely responsible for your comments and by using TribLive.com you agree to our If a teacher has a classroom of 20 students who are trapped with an active shooter at their door, the presence of a firearm can help to save lives. It would save many lives. What are the odds of survival or success for a teacher armed … They say that it is not a teacher`s job to be armed security staff. Instead, they trained more than a dozen teachers and staff members as armed guards. It doesn't make sense. I'm not saying we should or should not arm teachers. List of the Pros of Arming Teachers 1. To avoid distracting other readers, we won't publish comments that suggest a correction. Guns in schools is a touchy subject, and even some gun owners and 2nd amendment supporters are surprisingly against guns in … List of the Pros of Arming Teachers 1. In the wake of the Florida school shooting, the debate over whether teachers should carry guns in class has intensified. Anonymous says 2013-04-23T17:44:23.373. "Our banks, our airports, our NBA games, our NFL games, our office buildings, our movie stars, our politicians — they're all more protected than our children at school," LaPierre said. Struggling to find some really professional service? Nowadays, some dangerous situations are likely to occur in schools. The main reason that teachers need to be armed is to protect the kids … Teachers, school administrators and politicians across the nation have renewed the discussion of whether teachers should have guns in classrooms since the deadly Parkland, Fla., shooting in February. If there's a shooting at a school, should educators be prepared to shoot back? That is exactly the truth, as teachers are expected to be surrogate parents, true friends, caretakers, and reliable protectors for their students. Teachers already have a sense of power over the students and if we give them the right to have a gun, that's giving them even more power. Report Post. The idea of arming teachers—or loosening state restrictions to allow concealed-carry permit holders to bring guns into schools—is often circulated after school attacks. The NRA’s recommendation was preceded on March 8, 2013 by a South Dakota law that will allow trained teachers to carry weapons at schools.