Gun Violence In School Shootings

Introduction At the time of this writing, there has been 144 school shootings since the Sandy Hook massacre. School shootings are becoming an all too-often occurrence and society members are no longer shocked when it happens. It has become a norm in the United States. However, if we were to ask the parents of those lost kindergarteners if this is a problem that needs to be immediately addressed, I am certain they would scream ‘yes’ from the top of their lungs. If I, a middle school teacher, were asked if school gun violence is a national concern, I would also piercingly argue that action must take place before another precious life is lost. One potential solution proposed in the last few years calls for the arming of teachers. The solution …show more content…
In Columbine, armed guards made little to no difference in preventing or slowing down Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. Now, security resource officers may be helpful, but they come at a great cost. If we were to place one SRO in every secondary public school, it would cost $16.3 billion a month! Moreover, there has been little study over the effectiveness of arming teachers and preventing violence. In fact, we know that more guns increase potential for accidents. Everyone makes mistakes, but it would be especially awful if a teacher made a mistake (i.e. falls out of a bag, accidental misfire, magazines could fall out, etc.). That is a liability no one wants to assume. Furthermore, we live in a litigious culture, and the potential lawsuits would be appalling and game changing for the society as a …show more content…
I recently had a professional development session at one of the other middle schools here in town. The classrooms in this building have one wall that is a glass garage door and all the garage doors open to a commons area. While this looks nice, you can see directly into the classroom. Furthermore, I felt compelled to ask if the glass was bullet proof. It’s not. In fact, there were no great places to go in the event of a lockdown. It almost appeared as if everyone was on display. This is great instructionally, but not from a security standpoint. If a teacher had a gun raised in one of these classes, it would be hard for an outsider to know if they were approaching a gunman or if they were the person of interest, as the rooms have great sound barriers in place. This could potentially lead to confusion for local law enforcement. Again, this liability is too much for both the teacher and the district. I have to ask why any district would support this level of liability and risk. Insurance premiums would likely skyrocket and policies would have to be seriously overhauled. Current research in school safety is somewhat limited; therefore, knee-jerk reactions should be avoided at all costs. Arming teachers is just that: a knee-jerk reaction. While I agree that something must be done to stop this insanity in school violence, I do not support that suggestion that arming