Arming Teachers: Three Reasons Why Teachers Should Not Carry Guns in School” by Ken Corbett

Imagine this: you are a teacher at Palmville Middle School and equipped with gun. In a heartbeat, a shooter darts into the classroom. You may think your first instinct is to shoot down the shooter, but in reality, it is different. In the current world with malicious school shootings, there lies the problem of whether teachers should carry guns on campus or not. However, after thorough analyzation of the issue, it is clear teachers should not carry guns. Teachers should be prohibited from carry guns because it sends the wrong message to kids, teachers can’t make life-deciding critical decisions, and teachers will freeze in a life or death situation.

To begin with, teachers should not be permitted to carry guns in class since it sends the wrong message to kids. In an article titled, “Arming Teachers: Three Reasons Why Teachers Should Not Carry Guns in School” by Ken Corbett, Ken claims, “Many kids, especially boys, learn to handle their problems with their hands, not their minds. Hence, the elementary school mantra, ‘Use your words’ ... Children do not live with the same mental boundaries that we adults live with.” Essentially, he is trying to convey that allowing teachers to carry guns teaches children there is nothing wrong with solving problems with violence. The philosophy of having teachers take down shooters works against the common school saying, “Violence is never the answer.” Next, In the same article, it mentions that, “When violent force is upheld as safety, fear and silence creep in … The presence of guns will silence necessary talk of violence, the ups and downs of childhood rivalries, spats[,] and bullying.” Guns cause kids to not open up about issues, also sending the message of fear. This fear creates some controversy that normally would be solved with an adult, such as bullying. However, because of guns, children are afraid. There was once a story of a boy who was scared to talk with his father in the car because his father kept guns in the car. The boy would watch, on guard, even though nothing ever happened.

Secondly, teachers should not carry guns on campus because they are not fit to make life-deciding critical decisions. In an articled named, “Teacher With Guns-Be Scared, Very Scared.” by Harry Widger, when talking about teachers, it states “By defintion, they care about their students, have an emotional investment. Under deadly Survival Stress, a teacher in no way can be expected to be prepared [to shoot down a shooter].” This article implies that teachers do indeed love their students with all their hearts. However, they aren’t ready to pull the trigger on a shooter in a life or death situation. When teachers are asked to carry a guns and take down shooters in the case of an emergency, they are being asked to become policemen. Teachers are normal people, and not all normal people can handle the stress nor make the quick critical decisions that policemen do. Clearly, there is a reason that only certain people can be policemen. Then, in an article named “Guns in School: Ark. district arming more than 20 teachers” by Andrew DeMillio, the author talks about an eighth-grader’s mom. The mom is taking her child out of a school since the school is arming their teachers with guns. She remarked, “I think police are trained to make those decisions, not teachers.” As a normal, overprotective mom, she doesn’t want her child’s life in the hands of a teacher with no experience. Many other moms have the same belief and have trust and safety issues.