Shortround6
Major General
There are a lot of teachers ( like there are a lot of other professionals) who should NOT be carrying a gun. There are a lot who could/should be allowed to carry a gun.
The Problem is telling the difference before hand AND setting a reasonable policy. Which, judging by the rather appalling state of education in America should NOT be up to the school administrations or "professional educators" ( those who don't actually teach kids but draw big salaries for telling the teachers how to teach).
I do number more than a few teachers among the members of several gun clubs I have belonged to. A few of them have even won teacher of the year awards from different school districts.
Unfortunately I can just see some boneheaded assignments in the future.
1. " Miss Smith, for the coming 2 weeks you will have morning recess duty, lunch duty on Wednesday and Friday and "gun" duty on Monday and Thursday. Mr. Brown you will have afternoon recess duty, lunch duty on Monday and Thursday and gun duty on Tuesday and Friday. Mrs Purple, you will have ......."
2. Will the "gun duty" come with a stipend, like being an assistant coach? $500.00 a year? How assigned, by seniority?
Don't laugh, one teacher I know caught quite a bit of flack for being the high school rifle team coach because she was a substitute teacher and not full time. The FACT that none of the full time teachers wanted the job didn't stop some of the comments or bitching. She ran a good program that drew more applicants than she had room on the team for and the school won several state championships.
With this tremendous stipend she received, she stored guns and equipment at her house ( a lot of equipment and rifles donated by area shooters) and transported the equipment/rifles in her own vehicle for the duration of the season.
Somehow the mere availability of guns didn't seem to cause wholesale blood in the streets in years gone by. A man who won a silver medal for shooting in the 1948 Olympics recalled traveling around New York City with his high school rifle team in the 1930s by subway with uncased rifles to compete against other schools. Now the sight of 5-6 teenagers sitting quietly in a row with rifles between their knees and muzzles pointed at the ceiling would call for the deployment of multiple SWAT teams if not calling out the National Guard. Back in the 60s and 70s a lot of teams I shot against were based in the basements of older high schools with rifle ranges. I am not going to say there were NO school shootings or accidents but I sure don't recall any mass shootings. Students even in Connecticut's less Urban towns often went hunting either before or after school in the fall and had hunting weapons in their cars without shootings in the parking lots.
I am a life long shooter ( well, practically, started when I was 10), I have worked part time at a commercial range and helped coach several different high school teams. I have also been a public employee ( unions and potential law suits can screw up the best intentions) . I am a life member of the NRA. While "arming"teachers sounds like a good slogan it is near worthless as a practical solution. On the other hand prohibiting a teacher who is licensed from having a firearm either on their person (concealed) or readily accessible (locked case or vehicle in parking lot) seems to have done nothing but make schools a MORE dangerous place. Making schools "Gun Free" zones just guarantees the school shooters a much delayed response to their actions.
Sorting out the the teachers who could carry firearms for the "right" reasons, No Walter Mitty fantasies, no just doing it for an extra 500.00 a year or what ever, no ego boost, etc is a tough job and assigning gun carry as a mandatory duty is worse than useless.
I am a very good shot and was a firefighter for 33 years but I have NO FREAKIN idea how I would respond to a shooting situation in front of me.
The Problem is telling the difference before hand AND setting a reasonable policy. Which, judging by the rather appalling state of education in America should NOT be up to the school administrations or "professional educators" ( those who don't actually teach kids but draw big salaries for telling the teachers how to teach).
I do number more than a few teachers among the members of several gun clubs I have belonged to. A few of them have even won teacher of the year awards from different school districts.
Unfortunately I can just see some boneheaded assignments in the future.
1. " Miss Smith, for the coming 2 weeks you will have morning recess duty, lunch duty on Wednesday and Friday and "gun" duty on Monday and Thursday. Mr. Brown you will have afternoon recess duty, lunch duty on Monday and Thursday and gun duty on Tuesday and Friday. Mrs Purple, you will have ......."
2. Will the "gun duty" come with a stipend, like being an assistant coach? $500.00 a year? How assigned, by seniority?
Don't laugh, one teacher I know caught quite a bit of flack for being the high school rifle team coach because she was a substitute teacher and not full time. The FACT that none of the full time teachers wanted the job didn't stop some of the comments or bitching. She ran a good program that drew more applicants than she had room on the team for and the school won several state championships.
With this tremendous stipend she received, she stored guns and equipment at her house ( a lot of equipment and rifles donated by area shooters) and transported the equipment/rifles in her own vehicle for the duration of the season.
Somehow the mere availability of guns didn't seem to cause wholesale blood in the streets in years gone by. A man who won a silver medal for shooting in the 1948 Olympics recalled traveling around New York City with his high school rifle team in the 1930s by subway with uncased rifles to compete against other schools. Now the sight of 5-6 teenagers sitting quietly in a row with rifles between their knees and muzzles pointed at the ceiling would call for the deployment of multiple SWAT teams if not calling out the National Guard. Back in the 60s and 70s a lot of teams I shot against were based in the basements of older high schools with rifle ranges. I am not going to say there were NO school shootings or accidents but I sure don't recall any mass shootings. Students even in Connecticut's less Urban towns often went hunting either before or after school in the fall and had hunting weapons in their cars without shootings in the parking lots.
I am a life long shooter ( well, practically, started when I was 10), I have worked part time at a commercial range and helped coach several different high school teams. I have also been a public employee ( unions and potential law suits can screw up the best intentions) . I am a life member of the NRA. While "arming"teachers sounds like a good slogan it is near worthless as a practical solution. On the other hand prohibiting a teacher who is licensed from having a firearm either on their person (concealed) or readily accessible (locked case or vehicle in parking lot) seems to have done nothing but make schools a MORE dangerous place. Making schools "Gun Free" zones just guarantees the school shooters a much delayed response to their actions.
Sorting out the the teachers who could carry firearms for the "right" reasons, No Walter Mitty fantasies, no just doing it for an extra 500.00 a year or what ever, no ego boost, etc is a tough job and assigning gun carry as a mandatory duty is worse than useless.
I am a very good shot and was a firefighter for 33 years but I have NO FREAKIN idea how I would respond to a shooting situation in front of me.