Greg Toppo made a unique point: “Just as their grandparents feared polio and their parents feared nuclear war, these young people arrive at school each morning fearing death by high-powered rifle.” School shootings have become more and more typical in modern society. One solution that some propose is giving teachers guns in their classroom, and it has become a hot topic in Washington recently. Teachers in the United States should not have guns in the classroom because students could accidentally get ahold of the gun, teachers have to leave their students in order to find the intruder, and there are already many everyday items that teachers need in their classrooms rather than firearms. Teachers in the United States should not have a gun in class because students could accidentally get ahold of the gun. Maureen S. Rush was quoted saying, “You don’t want to have a gun that’s available to a student or another worker who may have mental health issues.” (Hartocollis) A standard mental health test is not going to find everything that is wrong or even potentially wrong with a person inside their head. They could have mental health issues that they do not know about but surface randomly one day when they get pushed over the edge. If teachers are given guns, “you put a whole mess load of guns close to kids that can be used accidentally.” (Sen. Chris Murphy, qtd. in Chavez) Even when locked in a safe, guns could still be accessed by students. This could happen because teachers have to
If we were to arm teachers, it would make it much more challenging for a school shooter to succeed in killing innocent children. Kasey Hansen is a special needs instructor, and she one among many teachers who conceal carry at school. “I never really thought about it before Sandy Hook,” Hansen said. “It just killed me. It’s something personal when you mess with students or children.
Students today live their day-to-day lives in constant fear of what seems inevitable. The United States has one of the highests rates of school shootings in the world. Society has become so desensitized to these shootings that they are no longer shocked to hear about another school falling victim to it. Even when students take a stand against gun violence, the only solution offered to them is a proposition to arm teachers. However, bringing more guns into a school will only further deteriorate the situation.
It is dangerous to have guns in schools because you can have kids fighting or arguing and then you go to turn around you see someone pulling out a gun to shoot at another student. They can also be playing with the gun thinking its a toy. For example, the parents of the child who brought the gun to school is defending him, saying that the boy found the gun on a bed at home and was trying to keep it away from his 3
Teachers could feel more comfortable in their classrooms if they knew they could protect themselves and their students from violent threats. Schools being a gun free zone are a target for violent
Why Should teachers be able to carry a gun. Reason #1 for teachers being able to carry a gun, protection of students. Imagine being a parent in this day and age were you have to worry about your child going to what was a safe environment in the parents age. What is now a risk for a mentally ill and damaged individual to kill as many innocent people as possible.
Gun Violence and Mental Health: Teachers and Staff Should Not Carry Guns in Schools When people started shooting students and staff at schools nobody knew what to do, but they knew that a change needed to be made. With all of the tragedies that keep happening in school campuses there is a debate on what that changes should be. Some say that teachers and staff should have guns in school premises to protect students from an intruder and prevent another horrible incident like the Columbine, Sandy Hook, and many others. Others say that teachers packing heat is a bad idea and that we should be looking at mental health a little closer.
Over the past few weeks, arming teachers has been a controversial topic throughout the country. School shootings have taken the lives of many over the past few years, yet they are becoming more and more frequent. In today’s society children shouldn’t have to go to school worried if they are going to be safe that day. If teachers are armed it will add that extra bit of protection to the children. A big question is if arming teachers is even going to matter if an active shooter happens to be in that school.
Most critics have thrown out their opinion that having guns in school will do more harm than good. Teacher’s ages can range from surprisingly young to dirt old. I want to put a gun in every teacher's hand. This also applies to your 80 year old English teacher whose hands shake all the time. Critics think that is an absurd idea because they do not believe she could even shoot the gun.
The problem with gun violence in schools has existed for years, and something should be done to eliminate the problem that endangers students who attend schools every day. One recent incident with gun violence in schools occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary School where several young children were killed and many others injured (Elliott 529). Also, a bombing incident in 1927 killed thirty-seven children and was likely the start of school gun violence (Elliott 529). Children, who attend schools, sometimes do not feel safe because of the problem with gun
It’s better to not leave it all up to chance and to stick with the public service of law enforcement, certified protectors, who can truly handle the job. The fight or flight situation, also known as hyperarousal, is a very detrimental affect to authorizing teachers to have firearms. It is a reflex, the go-to response in a stressful situation. And, what can be more stressful than a school shooting or having to shoot someone yourself? In this, giving teachers this responsibility, there is always the
Unlike professional shooters, teachers must undergo a series of training in order to obtain a gun. Without the proper protection and training, which was not included in the resolution, would guarantee that the weapons would fall under the wrong hands of the students. Everytown Research states, “Among shootings at K-12 schools in which the age of the shooter was known, 56 percent (39 of 70) were perpetrated by minors.” The resolution states that all teachers would be armed, but, if the teachers were to be armed, the teachers would traumatize the students mentally away from them. Hamby, a research professor in the department of education states, “ ...the links between exposure to weapons violence and negative outcomes of trauma in kids (including depression, anxiety and aggression).
School shootings are extremely uncommon. A recent U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study found that only one percent of childhood homicides, a majority of which involve guns, occur in schools(Russo,1). If teachers do become armed,should there be selected teachers? Some teachers may not want to be armed and have the extra responsibility. Teachers should not be armed while at school.
Equipping teachers with guns, who are little more than civilians, is absurd. This would not help prevent the type of deadly mass shooting we 've been seeing lately. All that would do is increase the possibility of innocent people getting caught in the crossfire. Instead of training for how to use guns teachers should be taught self defense and how to use items around them as weapons. It would also help if every teacher learned self defense and not just a
Elementary school students meander about in the hallway chattering about the multiplication tables or which guy or girl is the cutest in the grade, meanwhile, a boy around the age of 18 walks up to school, large face trembling, eyes popping out of his sockets, legs shaking like a madman’s, and one hand holding an assault rifle behind his back. Once the viewing of this video scenario was over kids ran home to their parents shouting, “Mom I need a gun to protect myself at school” . Parents obviously seeking only to protect their children will proceed to buy their child an assault rifle as humble means of protection. The problem faced with guns in schools is that not all parents can afford to go out and buy an AR-15 for their
Guns have no role in our country schools. Schools and colleges are places of education. Students should be free to learn in an environment away from every day violence. The catastrophes that took place at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Columbine High School, and Virginia Tech. confirm the penetrating conclusion guns have in our nation’s schools. Violence on campus has Students, Parent, and University Staff all concerned and looking for preventative measures.