Teachers with Guns

Following the tragedy at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, when twenty children and six adults were killed by an intruder armed with an assault weapon, the N.R.A. proposed putting more guns in schools, in the hands of security officers and teachers.



This idea is beyond crazy and the Obama Administrations said as much on Tuesday in much more diplomatic language. The Huffington Post quoted the report:

"If neither running nor hiding is a safe option, as a last resort when confronted by the shooter, adults in immediate danger should consider trying to disrupt or incapacitate the shooter by using aggressive force and items in their environment, such as fire extinguishers, and chairs," the report said. "The possibility of an active shooter situation is not justification for the presence of firearms on campus in the hands of any personnel other than law enforcement officers."

Arming teachers changes the basic relationship between every teacher and every student. Teachers nurture, and develop, and inspire, and when necessary, protect their students. This protection is defensive by nature and says "I will keep you from harm." That is fundamentally different from the offensive stance - "I will hurt those who try to hurt you."

But there are other, more basic, reasons not to ask teachers to raise an armed assault inside a school. Despite the N.R.A proposed training, teachers cannot be ready for the kind of chaos that befell Columbine and Sandy Hook.  And there can be no active chain of command in  place and ready when violence erupts in the middle of a school day. Anyone who has been in a war zone knows this - disciplined, trained soldiers operating under a clear and understood chain of command react in unpredictable ways when violence erupts without warning. Surely, we cannot expect more from classroom teachers.

From teachers to principals to custodians to cafeteria workers, everyone who works in schools carries a deep commitment to protecting children. Putting guns in the hands of teachers is not the way to do that.