Can We Talk 2

Arming Teachers

w          I just have to wade into something controversial once in a while. I have mixed feelings on teachers and guns. I don't advise any educator or school employee who's never handled a gun before to rush out and get a license and buy one. There are many issues here, and they all need to be addressed.

         I do believe that teachers, coaches, principals, etc., who are former police officers or military veterans who want to carry a gun should have special permission from the school district to do so. They need to be legal weapons, the license to carry should be current, and gun safety classes should be re-taken every few years. The next question is concealment and storage. If the teacher doesn't wear it in a hidden holster or in a boot, it would need to be in a locked place with the key on the teacher at all times. Students don't need to know which teacher or where the gun is kept. (Another license for a concealed weapon is required.) No one needs to know which teacher or if any teachers have guns, except the particular school principal and vice-principal, any police officers assigned to that school, the head only of HR, and the district superintendent. If the knowledge got out, they would know who leaked it. Some large schools might have 5 or 6 armed instructors, while others in the same district would have none.

         I have believed for a long time that we keep kids in school too long. The world has changed, even before cell phones and PC's. Kids need to be out of school before their senior year. They need to be in vocational school, military, job training, or college prep, or straight to college. In many ways they grow up faster, or at least have more privileges, without the responsibilities, which is an important part of growing up. Right now, by the time they finish school, a large percentage aren't prepared to do anything but be teenagers. They aren't ready to move into their own futures, and it's not the school's job to prepare them. When schools were set up for 12 grades, kids had outside jobs and chores at home.

         I've been an advocate of universal service since I was 18. I know not everyone is physically fit for military service, but there are other ways a person can serve his or her country. As soon as their junior year is up, they opt for a program that suits until one accepts them. It can be military, National Park Service (they'd learn ecology, law enforcement, wildlife management, even maintenance). state museums or libraries (for physically challenged). They'd learn some life skills, might want to continue in that venue, or go on to college, but all would feel they had made a patriotic contribution.

         I agree that teaching how to deal with active shooters is wrong for school age children. I have worked in places that taught that to their employees (teens and up). It was okay for adults. Even high school students could take it. But you don't want to scare kids under 13. They should feel like a school is a safe place.

         I have also felt like parents should be more involved in the schools. Parents should not work in a classroom with their own children, but they could monitor the halls, the cafeteria, playgrounds, stairwells, and all large areas. I'm not saying they should be armed. But their presence could be a deterrent; their alertness and a cell phone could be vital.