The Importance Of Arming Teachers

Register to read the introduction… With the increase of schools considering arming teachers as protection, prices are likely to pose an issue. According to Scott Whitman, an administrator at Jackson County School district looking into arming teachers in his school, said the cost would be the greatest factor. To arm and train ten teacher would easily exceed $25,000 a year, which both administrators and tax payers believe is an unneeded expense. To add to the already large expense, many teachers will ask to make a higher wage due to the fact that they are taking on more responsibilities (Yaccino, 2013). Teachers may refuse to take the responsibility of carrying guns. This may result in teachers quitting their position which negatively impacts the students as well as the school. Another cost obstacle that arises with teachers carrying concealed weapons is the expense a school would have to pay for insurance each year. Insurance companies are becoming more concerned about problems that could occur in the future to negatively impact children and themselves. Companies like EMC, a company that insures many schools, do not want to deal with the obligations or be liable for any events or accidents that could occur so they withhold coverage from all schools that allow teachers to carry weapons (Yaccino, 2013). If an accident happened that resulted in a student being injured, many parents wouldn’t hesitate to sue the school for the damage. In this situation, the insurance company would be required to financially compensate the family. Insurance providers are in business to make profit and it makes business sense for them to increase or even withdraw their policies. Schools are already hurting enough, they cannot afford to pay more for insurance then they already are. The decision of letting teachers carry weapons could result in another negative possibility: keeping the fire arm out of students’ hands. Due to the style of women’s clothing, it would be more difficult for a female teacher to conceal a weapon. As a result, female teachers would have to place their firearm in a secure safe location. When a teacher exits the classroom, she no longer can supervise the weapon and keep it from the hands of the students. Year after year, young children always locate their Christmas presents, parents’ firearms, and other valuable items in their household. Students could easily discover a firearm in a small classroom, with limited space and no supervision. If safety is the first priority, then arming teachers is putting children in a vulnerable position. A study conducted and published in the journal Pediatrics in 2001, involved twenty-nine groups of two to three boys around the age of ten years old. These boys were told to wait in a room that had a one way mirror and two water pistols and an actual .380 caliber handgun that were partially concealed around the room. The handgun was engineered …show more content…
In order to prevent that, they must undergo many different forms of preparation to ensure that they are prepared and capable to play the role of protecting their students. Teachers would spend on average 60 hours of training to even be able to carry a gun on campus and they have to participate in an active school shooting training session. Involving a dozen of administrators wearing protective gear to act as law enforcement officials. After all the simulations are done, teachers then have to take hours of weapons training, which ensure the teacher’s ability to appreciate and fully understand how to fire their weapon safely (DeMillion …show more content…
Specialists have grasped the concept of becoming proactive instead of reactive to situations where lives are at stake. Professionals believe that arming teachers in school districts can help protect children from the up rise of violence in school. Although this idea may be a headed in the right direction, I feel as if there are more effective procedures. Hiring armed security guards removes the cost a school would have to pay to train teachers. This will also eliminate the risk of schools being dropped from their insurance policies or having to pay more as a result of having armed teachers. Keeping weapons out of the classroom and into professionals’ hands removes the risk of students finding and firing weapons. The evidence is clear that having armed security guards cuts response time and keeps children safe without having the distraction to the teachers inside the