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 Gun-Carrying Teachers 
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As many of you know a Texas Public School Board decision allows public school teachers to carry guns into the classroom. I'm not questioning the right or wrong aspect of the decision, but I wanted to speculate on the issue of insecurity in the workplace.
If felt that threatened as a teacher that I needed a gun in my classroom and that my classroom management was that awful, then why am I even in the school system teaching. It seems to be an issue with the teachers who feel the need to carry the gun to feel safe. Shouldn't they take a step back and investigate their methods of teaching? Schools are a safe place for many children and for some the only safe place they know. So when they realize that there needs to be a gun in the classroom for everyone to feel safe, is it really all that safe anymore?

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Lauren Jennings


Wed Sep 17, 2008 2:12 pm
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I think part of these insecurities about whether school is safe or unsafe started after school shootings became so widely publicized. I think that teachers who feel unsafe may think that these occurrences are more prevalent than they actually are. I looked up the information on the likelihood of school shootings each year (http://youthviolence.edschool.virginia. ... tings.html) , and the research reported that a school shooting happens about 9.3 times a year. For a nation like the United States with approximately119, 000 schools this means that a school can expect something like that to happen once in about every 12,800 years. I think that when we look at the facts and not the skewed media observations than we can feel more relaxed about the safety of school. I think that any school’s safety ultimately begins with each teacher and his or her classroom. If each teacher strives to promote safety and a welcoming, accepting atmosphere, then naturally violence in that school will decrease. I think we as teachers have to make the commitment to our children to make school as safe and as welcoming a place as it can be.

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Kerry Crosby Smith


Wed Sep 17, 2008 8:42 pm
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I think it is also very risky for teachers to carry guns in a school. As you both said if a teacher is in charge of their class and connecting with their students the right way then there is no necessity. If the school is feeling that insecure about their safety then yes there is a much deeper problem present. If a teacher is scared enough to bring a gun to school then they probably aren't going to be a very stable figure for students and could use the gun when it wasn't necessary. Their fear at that point could take hold and although you would hope a teacher would only have a gun for emergencies, if they are that worried in the first place about safety then who knows what would trigger them to use it unnecessarily. It all comes down to the fact that a teacher should never have to feel the need to take it to that level to protect themselves and their students, if it does, then that situation needs to be addressed in a better and more effective way.

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Emily Suzanne White


Wed Sep 17, 2008 10:03 pm
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I do not think that teachers should be allowed to carry guns to school. I think that by doing so people are asking for accidents to happen. Just the thought of a child bringing a gun to school is scary enough let alone the fact that a teacher can have one that a student could get a hold of. I do not understand the reasoning behind it anyway. As a teacher would you feel comfortable shooting one of your students to protect others?


Wed Sep 17, 2008 10:37 pm
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I don't agree with teachers carrying guns either, there are just too many "what ifs." I do, however, believe that teachers should have panic buttons in their classrooms. There are so many scenarios that could happen in a classroom that I think teachers should have some sort of direct link to help. Even if a teacher has a good relationship with their students, that doesn't necessarily mean that a fight won't break out between students, an intruder could enter the classroom, or some other sort of emergency won't happen.

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Amanda Klinger


Thu Sep 18, 2008 11:36 am
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Amanda, I found your suggestion for a "panic" button in the classroom very interesting. I have never thought about something like that. I really like how it is a direct connection to help, but it isn't a violent solution, such as carrying a gun in your classroom.

I've been thinking about this teachers carrying weapons in their classroom thing and I have to wonder that if it was allowed, would there be more injuries/fatalities due to accidental use and misuse of the weapon thatn there would be justified, correct uses of the weapon?

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April Wilkinson


Thu Sep 18, 2008 12:12 pm
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I think that teachers carrying guns is a horrible idea. If teachers are carrying guns then it is simply putting guns closer to student hands. If a student went of the deep end and wanted to start shooting people all they would have to do is over take the teacher and get their gun. Not only is it a risk that student would get the gun, but also I don't know how much I can trust a teacher with a gun. If a teacher were to pull a gun on a student all hell would break loose. I simply cant see a teacher carrying a gun as a good thing.


Thu Sep 18, 2008 1:12 pm
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I definately argee with Justin on this issue. If you allow a group of teachers to bring their handguns to school, there is always that chance for the child to get the gun away from the teacher in the instance of a fight. There are far better ways of dealing with school security than allowing teachers to carry lethal weapons on campus. Not only does this approach lend itself to tragedy, but in the very least it could really alienate or scare students. Many students, especially young, shy, or insecure ones are not going to want to say anything in the class room, just because that gun scares them. I personally have no problem with guns, and I own a few myself, but I believe they shouldnt be in the hands of the wrong people or bad things will tend to happen. Who's to say that these teachers have a strong enough mind to bring their guns in a public place anyway? Too many "ifs" if you ask me.

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Ryan Earnhardt


Thu Sep 18, 2008 1:45 pm
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I would first like to say that I am an avid hunter and love shooting. I rarely support Republican legislation, but strongly agree with most of their firearms policies. While I am against strong anti-gun laws, I believe that carrying a gun into the classroom is an absurd idea. Leave it to Texas to even propose the possibility of gun toting teachers. The atmosphere of the classroom would be interrupted by the fact that the teacher is attempting to lead through sheer force. Intimidation is not the answer to reaching the minds of today's youth. This type of legislation shines a bad light on America's entire gun owning population. I have and would like to keep a multitude of firearms and have never felt the need to brandish one in public. In my opinion these types of ideas suggest a lack of confidence.

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Corey J. Tucker


Thu Sep 18, 2008 1:56 pm
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I agree with Corey. I am typically for the more conservative side of gun control, but I just think this seems silly. What are their reasonings behind allowing teachers to carry guns? Are our schools REALLY that unsafe? And who says all teachers are that trustworthy? Also, as Quantina said, a student could easily get hold of a firearm.

At my school, which rarely had serious violence issues other than the occasional fist fight, we had intercoms with buttons to the office, as most schools probably have. If we had an issue in our rooms, the teachers were supposed to page the office and someone would supposedly come right away. However, the secretary on the other end of the intercom rarely answered the first time and the button was in the very back of the classroom near the door. Plus, we had the "boy who cried wolf" thing going on because students would push it all the time just to irritate the secretary. The intercom was a great idea, but poorly executed. I think that if there is a system that goes directly to school security that is in a more practical and safe place, it could be very effective and comforting.

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~~Kari Tatum~~


Thu Sep 18, 2008 2:20 pm
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With teachers carrying firearms, would that not create an overall fear throughout the school? I would hate to have a workplace where I did not feel safe, and felt like I needed to protect myself by carrying a gun. Especially when that fear might be of my own students. What kind of environment is that?

I would be interested to know how well those students do in school or if it even phases them now. I wouldn't be surprised if some students felt suppressed in the classroom and weren't able to reach their full academic potential from fear of upsetting the teacher and being shot at. I'm sure not all teachers are truly trustworthy (like Kari said) of carrying a firearm to school. That could be just as dangerous as a student carrying one.

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Dani Martin


Mon Oct 06, 2008 9:09 am
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I strongly beleive that teachers being allowed to carry guns into their classroom is an absolutely ridiculous idea. I agree with many of the statements above, including if a teacher feels s/he has to carry a gun into the classroom to be safe, they should probably reexamine their teaching methods and classroom management. I also agree with the concept that the classroom is a safe place for many students, the only safe place for some, and if they are aware that the teacher has a gun, this will no longer be a safe place for them. It also causes a dangerous environment for the students, what if another student gets their hands on the gun? You can never be too sure about what could happen, so why even go there? As for an alternative solution, I agree with Amanda's suggestion of having a panic button in the classroom. This would be a great way to help the teacher and the students feel safe, without the idea of teachers carrying guns.

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Dana Currin


Mon Oct 06, 2008 2:06 pm
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This is acually the first time I heard of the gun-carrying policy in Texas. I understand teachers want to feel secure, especially in urban schools full of gangs, etc. However, I agree with a lot of replies already made that this could make schools MORE dangerous instead of less. It provides the weapon right there at school! I'm sure there are other means of protection instead of firearms. For example, if a school has high amounts of threats, why not be equipped with tazors, metal detectors, and extra policemen? This way no one dies, but there is still some protection there. Also, people have been pointing out that it makes the school seem unsafe. Yet, if teachers feel threatened enough to bring guns, I'm sure the students would already feel their school isn't THAT safe. Sometimes, classroom management isn't enough. Students have other influences such as peers and home life. While I believe teachers are a big influence on a child, not EVERY student can be managed through good classroom management skills. There is always that possibility. To be completely safe, other alternatives to protection(Not including firearms) may be necessary to fulfill the safety requirements in CERTAIN schools. I know I would feel safer as a student in a high-violence school with other means of protection.

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Jessica Placke


Mon Oct 13, 2008 11:20 am
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I feel that this is probably not the best idea. I feel that it may be asking for trouble. I think this would turn students away from teachers. They would not trust the teacher. Also, there's the possibility, in the worst of situations, that a student gets a hold of the gun and goes crazy. It could happen.

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Justin McCrary


Tue Oct 14, 2008 1:27 pm
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