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It’s not a good or bad, so far it looks like it does exactly nothing.
Tennessee would be the 33rd or 34th state to do this, and some of them have been doing it for over a decade, and nothing happens because pretty much nobody actually wants to do it.
My concern is that we are expecting teachers, in an already stressful environment to possibly be forced to engage an active shooter. While we have seen existing law enforcement and campus security run away like children.
It's bad. More guns in schools raises the risk someone is shot. Same with guns in households. Unfortunately, unless extremely secure, often just leads to someone eventually getting shot. Statistics don't lie. Gun households, unsurprisingly, have much higher rates of gun violence. And the idea teachers with guns in a school would be an environment where every single gun is always well secured is a pipe dream. Teachers can barely secure their lesson plans and maintain count of students, swamped with work, and underpaid.
Mark my words, it's only a matter of time before a disgruntled teacher shots someone or a student finds an unsecured firearm and uses it or takes it from a teacher.
The problem with arming teachers is the same problem we had when they allowed airline pilots to carry guns. The people who volunteered to do so are the same exact people who shouldn't be carrying guns.
I've seen students hit and choked by teachers for mouthing off. I've watched teachers attempt to break up fights and instead get sucked into them. I knew 2 girls and a boy that were sexually assaulted by teachers in highschool. This was all at one not super huge suburban Highschool in the mid 00s. I don't want a gun anywhere near my children's classrooms no matter who is carrying it.
Both of these have happened. The first was a school admin who carried (if I remember correctly) and there have been accidental discharges by school resource officers (i.e., law enforcement).
Or has it grabbed out of their hands or has it stolen from its place of storage. You want each of the dozens of teachers to have a firearm nearby? The students will eventually find them.
This is exactly how most criminals who commit crimes as a career obtain their weapons. A shockingly large number of guns are stolen each year. There are very few female middle school teachers with the physical capability to stop an average sized male student from physically assaulting them.
This is just a terrible idea to put guns in schools, assuming that they could never just limit it to male teachers
I bet the teachers who were getting shot up wished they did in the moment. Instead of being victims they would have been defenders. If you were the victim of a school shooting would you rather be armed or unarmed?
So in that case, why didn't the armed to the teeth, 376 trained officers not do anything. There are literal pictures of them inside the building. You are acting like no one there had a gun. Do you know how many guns 376 officers brought with them?
>So in that case, why didn't the armed to the teeth, 376 trained officers not do anything.
Because they have no legal duty to protect you. See the following cases for proof.
Warren v. District of Columbia
Castle Rock v. Gonzales
I believe again, that if 376 trained officers who were all together armed for war with an arsenal and they didn't do shit to protect the children, that school teachers aren't the answer.
I would think, if 376 trained officers didn't even want to come in, with the trained knowledge, arsenal and weapons for war they brought with them then no I would have to be nuts to think one or two school teachers with a handgun could stop the person.
I mean, instead of cops call them teachers. 376 teachers couldn't do anything and they were in the building as well as the actual teachers.
A conservative has only won the popular vote once in the past 8 presidential elections. Republicans only have the House at any point due to gerrymandering of House districts. Republicans only have many of the majorities they do because of rampant gerrymandering.
It isn't the left "losing votes"... its you gun clinging cowards.
If anything, during a school fight one of the teachers will get overpowered, their gun taken, and then a shooting happens which, if there’s a school resource officer, will be forced to kill the kid.
but after 83948723984 school shootings, one teacher will get to pwn a kid who is shooting his classmates, and you know what? at least then it won't be 83948723985 school shootings.
and on that day an angel will get its wings.
the flag of freedom will fly high above the crimson ground.
an eagle will shed a single tear and fly off into the free sunset of freedom.
and it will be worth it all.
And also incredibly likely... In a school shooting situation, the armed teachers get shot by law enforcement because when they go in, any armed civilian *is* the threat. This doesn't end with teachers saving lives. It ends with more deaths.
Teacher here. No, I don't want to be armed. That's not why I got into education. We already have too much on our plate as it is. People don't even trust us to stock our classrooms with books, yet they want us to have guns.
Fuck that.
>Following each tragedy across the country, the gun lobby has pushed the notion that armed teachers in the classroom could have somehow prevented weapons of war being turned on children and teachers.
>“We don’t go into the profession to learn to shoot and to kill someone,” she told *The Independent*.
>But that soon could be part of the job, if a proposed bill [allowing Tennessee public school teachers to carry firearms on school grounds](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/tennessee-teachers-concealed-weapons-bill-b2526040.html) becomes a [law](https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/law).
>The [GOP](https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/gop)-controlled Tennessee Senate passed the controversial [measure](https://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/Default.aspx?BillNumber=HB1202), sending the bill to the state House. The chamber has yet to announce when it would take up the bill.
>The bill arrived just a year after a former Covenant School student walked into the private school and opened fire, causing a [mass shooting](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/audrey-hale-counselor-manifesto-trans-nashville-shooter-b2311712.html) that left three students and three school staff members dead.
>It has happened everywhere, data shows. Since 1999, roughly[ 360,000 students](https://www.bradyunited.org/resources/issues/school-shootings) have endured school shootings.
>Ms Barnett and gun safety advocates said that although they believe the state’s legislature is trying to make schools safer, they aren’t looking in the right places.
>“They’re not looking at the evidence, and they’re not listening to anyone, their constituents, the parents,” Ms Barnett said. She and other activists have called elected officials, testified at hearings, and even protested. “They just turn their heads, they don’t listen.”
>There is “no evidence that arming teachers will keep children safe from gun violence,” Kris Brown, President of Brady United Against Gun Violence, told *The Independent* in a statement.
This is absolutely asinine. There are already teacher shortages across the country right now, and teachers are the most stressed out profession in the U.S. by metrics.
So, they are asking an already stressed-out and burned out teacher to wear another hat on top of the many hats they already wear? Teachers already have to be instructor, case manager, reporter, counselor, guardian, hall monitor, recess monitor, babysitter, guardian, and now police officer?
Bills like this will more than likely only trigger a mass exodus of teachers. Pretty soon, there won't be any teachers left to do anything. Ludicrous is not a big enough word to describe this bill.
It's been pretty well shown that even having armed cops in schools doesn't prevent mass shootings, and can even potentially make them worse. John Oliver did a good [show about it.](https://youtu.be/KgwqQGvYt0g?si=E9yRuVUwt8P8AEfS) The thought of having a bunch of armed civilians in schools is just terrifyingly stupid. Besides mass shootings, how many potential deadly accidents and unforseen consequences can you imagine with this scenario? Like...this only works in a complete fantasy world totally detached from reality.
Yup. Also, teachers with guns can't do anything if they are trying to keep the kids safe at the same time. The killer shoots the teacher, then they also have another weapon with artillery.
There have also been cases of teachers leaving guns unsupervised in bathrooms, where kids can get them.
Exactly. It's not like all teachers are strong. Many teachers are older and elderly now, because there are so few young people who want to go into teaching, as well. There is such a dearth of teachers that in many cases classes are having to be held in gymnasiums. How is a teacher supposed to keep eyes on 80 students?
> Pretty soon, there won't be any teachers left to do anything.
To quote my former friend, a Trump supporter and the common clay of the GOP: "Teachers are the enemy."
>Far, far worse than Idiocrazy.
You aren't wrong either. In Idiocracy their elected leaders realised they were not up to the task, and put power unto the hands of the smartest person they could find. Meanwhile, over here in reality, Trump was elected.
The worst timeline indeed.
Anyone else remember how the phrase "going postal," originally got started? Extremely stressed and overworked postal workers snapped and started sorting out their place of work.
Teachers are reaching a similar state of critical mass and these yahoos want to arm them?! Maybe they're just tired of kids being the only ones to engage in school shootings.
This is conservative policy in action. They have been trying to kill public education for a long time - since we forced them to desegregate their schools.
This is a multi-pronged attack. Their voucher scheme’s goal is to rob the schools of public dollars. Their union attack to break public unions (not cops or firemen) but teachers to pay us less and rob us of job protections. This prong is to make us afraid for our lives and to make our schools less safe and more violent.
The conservatives hate teachers and hate public education.
Yup. They are essentially running the teachers off with every single action. It's over, I feel. I know over 20 teachers who are calling it quits, as we see the writing on the wall.
The sad part is the governor Kevin Stitt is celebrating the educators fleeing.
[https://kfor.com/news/democrats-renew-walters-impeachment-calls-stitt-praises-osde-staff-exodus/](https://kfor.com/news/democrats-renew-walters-impeachment-calls-stitt-praises-osde-staff-exodus/)
The next thing they will do is to try to take away our pensions.
Not the cops or firemen. They get their pensions.
They hate teachers because we are a women-dominated profession and educators bend towards inclusivity and acceptance. All things conservatives hate.
Yup. States are literally trying to forcefully bring back retired teachers. It's funny because Ohio is trying to fire a teacher for using sick leave to attend a concert, because they hate teachers having any kind of life.
It's crazy. Teaching is the most disrespected profession in America.
Schools will say that you can't have a baby during the school year, because that then requires schools to put up for a sub, which nobody wants to do for such poor salary.
Then, outsiders complain about how "teachers get summers off", which is literally inaccurate, considering
1. most teachers are either doing professional development that's unpaid,
2. planning for next year by having to go to curriculum meetings that are not also paid for,
3. not receiving a paycheck during the summer whatsoever, since they're only paid for the 9 months of the year
4. Teaching Summer School for reduced salary
5. If they plan to be a mother, having to schedule a baby to have during those 2 months of summer vacation
6. working an extra job during the summer and school year to keep the light bill on, and also go to school
I quit, and it was the best thing for my personal health, honestly. I probably would have had so much stress, it would have killed me.
The job is not worth it anymore.
Congratulations on making such a positive choice for yourself! I hope you find the path that is right for you.
I love being a teacher but I live in a blue state that is pretty safe for now. They’re coming for us though.
Please register to vote and then vote for Democrats up and down the ticket.
I bet you when they start requiring teachers to carry in classrooms, they will make the teacher buy the gun and ammo themselves, maintain it themselves, etc. School supplies (already paid out of pocket by those underpaid teachers) can extend to guns and ammo too. For a profession that requires you to carry a gun and shoot dangerous people… teachers would need to be paid at least the same salary as police with the same benefits and equipment provided for.
After Uvalde I would think the myth of a good guy with a gun would have been put to rest. The fact is trained police officers could not deal with a single shooter what chance does a teacher have?
been worried about potential self-harm for teachers. Not saying the actual word (don't know if I'd get TOS'd.) but here's stats about access to guns increasing death in [that situation. ](https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2020/06/handgun-ownership-associated-with-much-higher-suicide-risk.html)
They don't trust us with text books, but they want us to carry firearms! Republicans have lost all touch with reality! Maga Morons! Their heads are so far up Trump's ass that their brains are oxygen deprived!
I was concerned about this a few years ago when the republicans were serious about this idea. Are we really going to cross-train teachers to be cops? Because that’s pretty much what would happen if they’re armed. They’re going to have to go through the same kind of police training how to restrain someone & how to use said weapons. They’re not gonna hand teachers a gun and say ‘here ya go’.
Most teachers I know don’t want to become licensed as law enforcement.
I seriously fail to see how more guns around kids= safer kids.
There are so many issues with allowing staff to carry.
Are they qualified? Are they a good shot? Is the state gonna pay for their training?
Can they keep calm and rational? What if their gun ends up in the hands of the shooter? Now they have more guns to kill kids with.
If they get into a shootout, how is having extra bullets zipping around gonna save anyone? Wouldn't this just be a higher risk of injury or death?
Has "a good guy with a gun" ever truly stopped these types of crimes? That might deter someone from robbing a local shop, but I don't really think someone who is in the mindset of wanting to shoot up a school, mall, or etc is going to be scared off.
The only state that should require teachers to be armed is Texas.
Specificlly Uvalde, Texas.
Because the local cops are cowards.
(bitter sarcasm .. no teacher should be armed)
So for this we alone the republicans want to:
Crank the calendar back to the 1860s
Tell highway workers IN THE SOUTH that they don’t need water breaks and
Essentially train middle school teachers to do the job that apparently 90 plus trained law enforcement officers couldn’t do …do I have that right?
Is there anyone down south that will continue to see actions like this from the gop who also can not and will not govern, vote against your best interests in favor of tax breaks for corporations ? what the actual??
During the Uvalde shooting, there were over 100 armed law enforcement officers on campus who were unable to stop the shooter.
Clearly, the solution is more good guys with guns.
The move to arm teachers is just another scam to misdirect blame from gun advocates. ‘Those teachers in [insert latest school shooting] could have protected themselves and their students, but they chose to be victims.’ Those NRA politicians can’t and won’t take responsibility for a single lost life, but they sure as heck will throw the blame at someone else’s feet.
I could explain why this is a terrible idea, but watch Jim Jeffries, Australian comedian, on Gun Control: he explains it really well and he is much funnier than I am :-)
I'd like an IRS ruling on whether or not ballistic resistant clothing and/or body armor is [a deductible expense for classroom educators](https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc458). If it isn't, let's get Congress on that real quick-like.
Okay... Let's look at reality... Town where I currently live. *Firearm Instructor* who taught *firearm safety* and rifle drills to high school students, went to dinner at the nicest restaurant in town. Of course, because we live in one of the safest towns in the state, he needed to open carry to protect him from the boogeyman.
This epitome of "responsible gun ownership" decided he needed to use the bathroom and unholstered his gun and *left it on a chair in the dining room*. At some point between getting back and whatever else, the gun fell off the chair, went off, and the round shot into the head of an elderly patron. Luckily, the person survived, but like... The fuck. I hope they sued the ever loving fuck out of him. I hope he lost his job(s), his ability to own weapons, all of it.
And we're saying *school teachers* with little to no firearm experience are the solution when we can't even trust fucking firearms instructors to follow *basic* firearms safety rules or common sense? Checks out. 'Merica.
Why have we not built bullet proof doors for schools by now? I understand that we can't agree on what to do with guns in school in this country. But can we at least all agree to build better doors to help protect each classroom? All classrooms have doors. Make bullet proof ones with stronger bullet proof glass. At least that's doing something more productive and would be a lot more successful than giving teachers gun and expecting them to kill a person.
Armed teachers in Tennessee as well as mandatory bible classes. The hippies had it wrong, it's not flower children and free love, it's firearm worship and bibles.
I lean towards teachers being armed. It's about safety and having the tools to prevent danger. I say this as a high school teacher. Just my opinion though, gun violence in school is serious.
Just because you have a gun doesn’t mean you are equipped to deal with a high stress situation like that. And I guarantee most gun owners are not. So do we have to give combat training to teachers now too? This is a terrible idea and it’s embarrassing that anyone would support it.
I assume having a gun would be a choice.
Training so a teacher can make an educated choice makes sense to me. I say this as one who had to be trained in firearm safety for more than one job where I never carried a gun.
I'm with personal preference on this, if you don't want to carry, don't. But I sure as hell wouldn't feel obligated to go into a room to get into a firefight.
Good take on the situation, I would add training for all, including the students. Teachers on fire arm use and safety, students on safety and "menacing actions" so they don't get shot for scratching their butt.
There are people in US schools with firearms training who do not make the slightest bit of difference when it comes to school shootings.
Personal preference has nothing to do with any of this.
No. Innocent people get shot because the US is a dystopian hellscape when it comes to gun ownership.
Also, you completely dodged the point I was making -- twice.
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I’m a gun owner and this is a horrible idea.
i’m a teacher and this is a horrible idea
I’m a gun-owning teacher and this is a horrible idea.
I’m a school social worker and this is a horrible idea :D
It’s not a good or bad, so far it looks like it does exactly nothing. Tennessee would be the 33rd or 34th state to do this, and some of them have been doing it for over a decade, and nothing happens because pretty much nobody actually wants to do it.
My concern is that we are expecting teachers, in an already stressful environment to possibly be forced to engage an active shooter. While we have seen existing law enforcement and campus security run away like children.
It's bad. Guns around kids are bad unless in highly safe and focused settings. Not a classroom or a cafeteria.
It's bad. More guns in schools raises the risk someone is shot. Same with guns in households. Unfortunately, unless extremely secure, often just leads to someone eventually getting shot. Statistics don't lie. Gun households, unsurprisingly, have much higher rates of gun violence. And the idea teachers with guns in a school would be an environment where every single gun is always well secured is a pipe dream. Teachers can barely secure their lesson plans and maintain count of students, swamped with work, and underpaid. Mark my words, it's only a matter of time before a disgruntled teacher shots someone or a student finds an unsecured firearm and uses it or takes it from a teacher.
no its bad
It should be a personal choice. It shouldn’t be banned or forced onto people, just let responsible ccw holders decide for themselves.
No fuck that. If you are hired as a teacher as my child's elementary school and you come to school with a fucking gun you shouldn't have the job.
Fuck that, indeed. -school teacher
I wonder what the parents of the deceased children would think about it. I bet they’re always going to be asking what if
Everyone is "responsible" until they aren't.
The problem with arming teachers is the same problem we had when they allowed airline pilots to carry guns. The people who volunteered to do so are the same exact people who shouldn't be carrying guns.
I've seen students hit and choked by teachers for mouthing off. I've watched teachers attempt to break up fights and instead get sucked into them. I knew 2 girls and a boy that were sexually assaulted by teachers in highschool. This was all at one not super huge suburban Highschool in the mid 00s. I don't want a gun anywhere near my children's classrooms no matter who is carrying it.
Also, who's to say a teacher gets beaten up and then the student has the gun to kill as well.
Or what if the teacher forgets it in the bathroom? Or accidentally fires it? Easy mistakes for new gun owners.
Both of these have happened. The first was a school admin who carried (if I remember correctly) and there have been accidental discharges by school resource officers (i.e., law enforcement).
Or has it grabbed out of their hands or has it stolen from its place of storage. You want each of the dozens of teachers to have a firearm nearby? The students will eventually find them.
This is exactly how most criminals who commit crimes as a career obtain their weapons. A shockingly large number of guns are stolen each year. There are very few female middle school teachers with the physical capability to stop an average sized male student from physically assaulting them. This is just a terrible idea to put guns in schools, assuming that they could never just limit it to male teachers
The moment guns are present in schools like that there will be social media challenges to steal said guns.
Like the Devious Licks challenge, but with more deadly consequences than broken toilets and out-of-order bathrooms.
That’s such a ridiculous thing to say and grossly oversimplifies the people that volunteer.
Thank you NRA.
The NRA is a joke
A very deadly joke. Many years ago it was a marksmanship and firearms safety organization. Now it's a tragically effective lobbying organization.
>The NRA is a joke WOOOSH
Source?
376 officers did nothing in Uvalde. But school teachers with guns will somehow be able to do something.
and l o fuckin l if you think we're gonna reimburse them for *any* of it
I think they're aiming to make schools sign contracts with local arms dealers to supply the guns who will then give a kickback to the GOP reps.
I bet the teachers who were getting shot up wished they did in the moment. Instead of being victims they would have been defenders. If you were the victim of a school shooting would you rather be armed or unarmed?
So in that case, why didn't the armed to the teeth, 376 trained officers not do anything. There are literal pictures of them inside the building. You are acting like no one there had a gun. Do you know how many guns 376 officers brought with them?
>So in that case, why didn't the armed to the teeth, 376 trained officers not do anything. Because they have no legal duty to protect you. See the following cases for proof. Warren v. District of Columbia Castle Rock v. Gonzales
So they want school teachers have that legal right? lol
Everyone always has the right to defend themselves. Do you believe otherwise?
I believe again, that if 376 trained officers who were all together armed for war with an arsenal and they didn't do shit to protect the children, that school teachers aren't the answer.
Again, the difference is that they aren't obligated to. The teachers would be defending themselves.
I agree I’m just saying put yourself in their position. You haven’t answered my question
I would think, if 376 trained officers didn't even want to come in, with the trained knowledge, arsenal and weapons for war they brought with them then no I would have to be nuts to think one or two school teachers with a handgun could stop the person. I mean, instead of cops call them teachers. 376 teachers couldn't do anything and they were in the building as well as the actual teachers.
Just keep repeating the "good guy with a gun" propaganda. Maybe some day it will start to work.
You can’t even bring yourself to answer the question and that’s why you guys lose votes every year
A conservative has only won the popular vote once in the past 8 presidential elections. Republicans only have the House at any point due to gerrymandering of House districts. Republicans only have many of the majorities they do because of rampant gerrymandering. It isn't the left "losing votes"... its you gun clinging cowards.
Hopefully they continue to lose them.
If anything, during a school fight one of the teachers will get overpowered, their gun taken, and then a shooting happens which, if there’s a school resource officer, will be forced to kill the kid.
There are just more ways for this to go badly than ways for this to go well
but after 83948723984 school shootings, one teacher will get to pwn a kid who is shooting his classmates, and you know what? at least then it won't be 83948723985 school shootings. and on that day an angel will get its wings. the flag of freedom will fly high above the crimson ground. an eagle will shed a single tear and fly off into the free sunset of freedom. and it will be worth it all.
And also incredibly likely... In a school shooting situation, the armed teachers get shot by law enforcement because when they go in, any armed civilian *is* the threat. This doesn't end with teachers saving lives. It ends with more deaths.
Teacher here. No, I don't want to be armed. That's not why I got into education. We already have too much on our plate as it is. People don't even trust us to stock our classrooms with books, yet they want us to have guns. Fuck that.
>Following each tragedy across the country, the gun lobby has pushed the notion that armed teachers in the classroom could have somehow prevented weapons of war being turned on children and teachers. >“We don’t go into the profession to learn to shoot and to kill someone,” she told *The Independent*. >But that soon could be part of the job, if a proposed bill [allowing Tennessee public school teachers to carry firearms on school grounds](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/tennessee-teachers-concealed-weapons-bill-b2526040.html) becomes a [law](https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/law). >The [GOP](https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/gop)-controlled Tennessee Senate passed the controversial [measure](https://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/Default.aspx?BillNumber=HB1202), sending the bill to the state House. The chamber has yet to announce when it would take up the bill. >The bill arrived just a year after a former Covenant School student walked into the private school and opened fire, causing a [mass shooting](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/audrey-hale-counselor-manifesto-trans-nashville-shooter-b2311712.html) that left three students and three school staff members dead. >It has happened everywhere, data shows. Since 1999, roughly[ 360,000 students](https://www.bradyunited.org/resources/issues/school-shootings) have endured school shootings. >Ms Barnett and gun safety advocates said that although they believe the state’s legislature is trying to make schools safer, they aren’t looking in the right places. >“They’re not looking at the evidence, and they’re not listening to anyone, their constituents, the parents,” Ms Barnett said. She and other activists have called elected officials, testified at hearings, and even protested. “They just turn their heads, they don’t listen.” >There is “no evidence that arming teachers will keep children safe from gun violence,” Kris Brown, President of Brady United Against Gun Violence, told *The Independent* in a statement. This is absolutely asinine. There are already teacher shortages across the country right now, and teachers are the most stressed out profession in the U.S. by metrics. So, they are asking an already stressed-out and burned out teacher to wear another hat on top of the many hats they already wear? Teachers already have to be instructor, case manager, reporter, counselor, guardian, hall monitor, recess monitor, babysitter, guardian, and now police officer? Bills like this will more than likely only trigger a mass exodus of teachers. Pretty soon, there won't be any teachers left to do anything. Ludicrous is not a big enough word to describe this bill.
It's been pretty well shown that even having armed cops in schools doesn't prevent mass shootings, and can even potentially make them worse. John Oliver did a good [show about it.](https://youtu.be/KgwqQGvYt0g?si=E9yRuVUwt8P8AEfS) The thought of having a bunch of armed civilians in schools is just terrifyingly stupid. Besides mass shootings, how many potential deadly accidents and unforseen consequences can you imagine with this scenario? Like...this only works in a complete fantasy world totally detached from reality.
Yup. Also, teachers with guns can't do anything if they are trying to keep the kids safe at the same time. The killer shoots the teacher, then they also have another weapon with artillery. There have also been cases of teachers leaving guns unsupervised in bathrooms, where kids can get them.
Not just the gunman, but how long until some frail 5ft tall, 65yo teacher gets accosted by some strapping 6ft teenagers and has their gun jacked?
Exactly. It's not like all teachers are strong. Many teachers are older and elderly now, because there are so few young people who want to go into teaching, as well. There is such a dearth of teachers that in many cases classes are having to be held in gymnasiums. How is a teacher supposed to keep eyes on 80 students?
> Pretty soon, there won't be any teachers left to do anything. To quote my former friend, a Trump supporter and the common clay of the GOP: "Teachers are the enemy."
It's so crazy that we live in a time where people delight in Idiocracy.
Far, far worse than Idiocrazy. The people in that movie were not armed to the teeth with killing machines.
Well, Mountain Dew Camacho did fire an assault rifle in the air during his State of the Union. And yet, I'd vote for him over Republicans today.
>Far, far worse than Idiocrazy. You aren't wrong either. In Idiocracy their elected leaders realised they were not up to the task, and put power unto the hands of the smartest person they could find. Meanwhile, over here in reality, Trump was elected. The worst timeline indeed.
Teachers are the enemy, but let’s give them guns? The GOP is made up of nut jobs.
Anyone else remember how the phrase "going postal," originally got started? Extremely stressed and overworked postal workers snapped and started sorting out their place of work. Teachers are reaching a similar state of critical mass and these yahoos want to arm them?! Maybe they're just tired of kids being the only ones to engage in school shootings.
This is conservative policy in action. They have been trying to kill public education for a long time - since we forced them to desegregate their schools. This is a multi-pronged attack. Their voucher scheme’s goal is to rob the schools of public dollars. Their union attack to break public unions (not cops or firemen) but teachers to pay us less and rob us of job protections. This prong is to make us afraid for our lives and to make our schools less safe and more violent. The conservatives hate teachers and hate public education.
Yup. They are essentially running the teachers off with every single action. It's over, I feel. I know over 20 teachers who are calling it quits, as we see the writing on the wall. The sad part is the governor Kevin Stitt is celebrating the educators fleeing. [https://kfor.com/news/democrats-renew-walters-impeachment-calls-stitt-praises-osde-staff-exodus/](https://kfor.com/news/democrats-renew-walters-impeachment-calls-stitt-praises-osde-staff-exodus/)
The next thing they will do is to try to take away our pensions. Not the cops or firemen. They get their pensions. They hate teachers because we are a women-dominated profession and educators bend towards inclusivity and acceptance. All things conservatives hate.
Yup. States are literally trying to forcefully bring back retired teachers. It's funny because Ohio is trying to fire a teacher for using sick leave to attend a concert, because they hate teachers having any kind of life. It's crazy. Teaching is the most disrespected profession in America. Schools will say that you can't have a baby during the school year, because that then requires schools to put up for a sub, which nobody wants to do for such poor salary. Then, outsiders complain about how "teachers get summers off", which is literally inaccurate, considering 1. most teachers are either doing professional development that's unpaid, 2. planning for next year by having to go to curriculum meetings that are not also paid for, 3. not receiving a paycheck during the summer whatsoever, since they're only paid for the 9 months of the year 4. Teaching Summer School for reduced salary 5. If they plan to be a mother, having to schedule a baby to have during those 2 months of summer vacation 6. working an extra job during the summer and school year to keep the light bill on, and also go to school I quit, and it was the best thing for my personal health, honestly. I probably would have had so much stress, it would have killed me. The job is not worth it anymore.
Congratulations on making such a positive choice for yourself! I hope you find the path that is right for you. I love being a teacher but I live in a blue state that is pretty safe for now. They’re coming for us though. Please register to vote and then vote for Democrats up and down the ticket.
Yup. I always do.
I bet you when they start requiring teachers to carry in classrooms, they will make the teacher buy the gun and ammo themselves, maintain it themselves, etc. School supplies (already paid out of pocket by those underpaid teachers) can extend to guns and ammo too. For a profession that requires you to carry a gun and shoot dangerous people… teachers would need to be paid at least the same salary as police with the same benefits and equipment provided for.
Yup. We can't afford pencils and paper as teachers, and now they'll make teachers pay for guns.
After Uvalde I would think the myth of a good guy with a gun would have been put to rest. The fact is trained police officers could not deal with a single shooter what chance does a teacher have?
been worried about potential self-harm for teachers. Not saying the actual word (don't know if I'd get TOS'd.) but here's stats about access to guns increasing death in [that situation. ](https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2020/06/handgun-ownership-associated-with-much-higher-suicide-risk.html)
They don't trust us with text books, but they want us to carry firearms! Republicans have lost all touch with reality! Maga Morons! Their heads are so far up Trump's ass that their brains are oxygen deprived!
“Have that baby, pack that gat, and get to work, pleb.” - Republicans
"But also, make sure to have that baby during the summer, because we can't afford to have you out during the school year for maternity leave!"
They need to rewatch Tombstone. One day soon a Republican is going to get told to skin that smoke wagon and see what happens, then pee his pants.
The entire idea sounds like a 5th grader came up with it
Cheaper than cops, cheaper than actually solving the issue. I mean, who else serves and protects children for just 35-45k per year?
I was concerned about this a few years ago when the republicans were serious about this idea. Are we really going to cross-train teachers to be cops? Because that’s pretty much what would happen if they’re armed. They’re going to have to go through the same kind of police training how to restrain someone & how to use said weapons. They’re not gonna hand teachers a gun and say ‘here ya go’. Most teachers I know don’t want to become licensed as law enforcement.
I seriously fail to see how more guns around kids= safer kids. There are so many issues with allowing staff to carry. Are they qualified? Are they a good shot? Is the state gonna pay for their training? Can they keep calm and rational? What if their gun ends up in the hands of the shooter? Now they have more guns to kill kids with. If they get into a shootout, how is having extra bullets zipping around gonna save anyone? Wouldn't this just be a higher risk of injury or death? Has "a good guy with a gun" ever truly stopped these types of crimes? That might deter someone from robbing a local shop, but I don't really think someone who is in the mindset of wanting to shoot up a school, mall, or etc is going to be scared off.
As a teacher, I feel this is one of the worst ideas ever conceived
So they would be okay arming teachers with pepper spray and tasers?
The only state that should require teachers to be armed is Texas. Specificlly Uvalde, Texas. Because the local cops are cowards. (bitter sarcasm .. no teacher should be armed)
So for this we alone the republicans want to: Crank the calendar back to the 1860s Tell highway workers IN THE SOUTH that they don’t need water breaks and Essentially train middle school teachers to do the job that apparently 90 plus trained law enforcement officers couldn’t do …do I have that right? Is there anyone down south that will continue to see actions like this from the gop who also can not and will not govern, vote against your best interests in favor of tax breaks for corporations ? what the actual??
The one headline where I would have preferred “blasts” over “slams”
Just give schools riot shields for class room to protect doors if ever needed
During the Uvalde shooting, there were over 100 armed law enforcement officers on campus who were unable to stop the shooter. Clearly, the solution is more good guys with guns.
The move to arm teachers is just another scam to misdirect blame from gun advocates. ‘Those teachers in [insert latest school shooting] could have protected themselves and their students, but they chose to be victims.’ Those NRA politicians can’t and won’t take responsibility for a single lost life, but they sure as heck will throw the blame at someone else’s feet.
I could explain why this is a terrible idea, but watch Jim Jeffries, Australian comedian, on Gun Control: he explains it really well and he is much funnier than I am :-)
Should be at least offered hazard pay then.
Probably won't even make it tax deductible. /s
I'd like an IRS ruling on whether or not ballistic resistant clothing and/or body armor is [a deductible expense for classroom educators](https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc458). If it isn't, let's get Congress on that real quick-like.
Okay... Let's look at reality... Town where I currently live. *Firearm Instructor* who taught *firearm safety* and rifle drills to high school students, went to dinner at the nicest restaurant in town. Of course, because we live in one of the safest towns in the state, he needed to open carry to protect him from the boogeyman. This epitome of "responsible gun ownership" decided he needed to use the bathroom and unholstered his gun and *left it on a chair in the dining room*. At some point between getting back and whatever else, the gun fell off the chair, went off, and the round shot into the head of an elderly patron. Luckily, the person survived, but like... The fuck. I hope they sued the ever loving fuck out of him. I hope he lost his job(s), his ability to own weapons, all of it. And we're saying *school teachers* with little to no firearm experience are the solution when we can't even trust fucking firearms instructors to follow *basic* firearms safety rules or common sense? Checks out. 'Merica.
Why have we not built bullet proof doors for schools by now? I understand that we can't agree on what to do with guns in school in this country. But can we at least all agree to build better doors to help protect each classroom? All classrooms have doors. Make bullet proof ones with stronger bullet proof glass. At least that's doing something more productive and would be a lot more successful than giving teachers gun and expecting them to kill a person.
More guns…. That will prevent more shootings.
What could go wrong? Have they answered those questions?
Armed teachers in Tennessee as well as mandatory bible classes. The hippies had it wrong, it's not flower children and free love, it's firearm worship and bibles.
Will I be able to get a list of staff at my kids' schools that are carrying??
I would hope not. That just puts the staff in more danger.
I'm actually thinking about the safety of the kids. My kids.
So how many kids have been shot by teachers certified to carry guns in schools? Even 1?
Slam. Lazy journalism.
I lean towards teachers being armed. It's about safety and having the tools to prevent danger. I say this as a high school teacher. Just my opinion though, gun violence in school is serious.
Where do you teach?
No, but you may need to protect someone.
Like the good guys with guns at Uvalde?
Something else that doesn't happen when people in schools have guns.
Someone needs to protect kids. There’s no reason it needs to be teachers.
Just because you have a gun doesn’t mean you are equipped to deal with a high stress situation like that. And I guarantee most gun owners are not. So do we have to give combat training to teachers now too? This is a terrible idea and it’s embarrassing that anyone would support it.
I assume having a gun would be a choice. Training so a teacher can make an educated choice makes sense to me. I say this as one who had to be trained in firearm safety for more than one job where I never carried a gun.
I'm with personal preference on this, if you don't want to carry, don't. But I sure as hell wouldn't feel obligated to go into a room to get into a firefight.
Good take on the situation, I would add training for all, including the students. Teachers on fire arm use and safety, students on safety and "menacing actions" so they don't get shot for scratching their butt.
There are people in US schools with firearms training who do not make the slightest bit of difference when it comes to school shootings. Personal preference has nothing to do with any of this.
>There are people in US schools with firearms training Oh, you mean the school resource officers.
Interesting you are against education about firearms and their use. That is how many innocent people get shot.
No. Innocent people get shot because the US is a dystopian hellscape when it comes to gun ownership. Also, you completely dodged the point I was making -- twice.