Thread: Assault weopen carnage agian?

Originally Posted by scap99

Gun free school zones are targets.
Train and arm the teachers; problem solved.

I don't usually get involved in these kinds of discussions, but as an actual teacher (and gun owner), I think I need to correct some misconceptions here. Frankly, I get tired of hearing simplistic, uninformed opinions about how to fix education from people who haven't been in a classroom in decades; no offense, gentlemen, it's just a touchy issue for me. I teach 90 seniors a day in a very big suburban high school (just like Columbine, really). Many are bigger (and certainly tougher) than me, which I guess is irrelevant when some nut-job brings a gun into the equation. I'm not saying I know what "the answer" is; in any case, out here in the real world these simplistic platitudes never solve ANY of our country's complex and overwhelming problems...

What I DO know is that if you arm teachers, then they are no longer trusted teachers who have earned a child's respect, but more like prison wardens. Arm teachers, and that hard-earned, often grudgingly-given cooperation will change (especially from teenagers), I guarantee you, into a type of rebellious submission based on fear. I can just hear a student saying: "What are you going to do, shoot me?"

The teacher/student relationship is a complex, ever-changing negotiation based on many subtle factors. Speaking from experience (my 1st 3 years in a very tough school), a teacher who tries to play King of the Hill and runs a class based on fear will rarely if ever be successful. Years ago, after reading (and teaching) Sue Monk Kidd's The Secret Life of Bees, I completely changed the way I manage a classroom (and deal with other people) based on a quote from that book which changed my life: "When you really need something from someone, find a way to have that person give it to you." My discipline problems have almost dropped to nothing since. Dedicated, professional teachers spend years gaining classroom management experience and honing their "reps" as the real deal. In my case (and with most teachers I know), students' grudging respect for me is based on them knowing that I am that "real deal" who knows and loves his subject, is ALWAYS honest and fair (but firm) with them, and am enthusiastically dedicated to their success. Most of my colleagues work this way, and I feel that our school's relative lack of discipline issues (in the type of school that should be overwhelmed by them!) is a direct result of that philosophy. You don't need a degree in psychology to know intuitively that a gun on my hip would negate ALL of that dynamic, and reduce it to that. gun. on. my. hip.

I am not a cop, don't try to make me one! God help me, if this ever happens, I am done teaching. I know from discussing this with my colleagues that many great, conscientious teachers would also refuse to do this. I say that as someone who is a pretty good shot, and who would (I hope) be able to perform under fire if I actually were armed-ironic, isn't it? I'm just certain it would end education as we currently know it, and change it into something I wouldn't want to be a part of...

I know this stance doesn't take us one iota closer to solving the problem of school shootings, but I just think that my favorite on-line community of well-intentioned, thoughtful, and compassionate gentlemen needs to hear from teachers how wrong-headed this line of thinking is. Like many of you, I have watched the story unfolding in horror, thinking of my own boys who used to attend the excellent (and safe?) elementary school down the street.

Thanks for indulging the long post, guys, and I hope I didn't offend. I just got my feathers ruffled about a subject that is very important to me personally. May the residents of NewTown, CT find peace and grace, if possible, this Christmas. Aaron