From: Cathy Caldie
Columbus
As a parent and educator, I offer another perspective on the suggestions for armed security guards at entryways and metal detectors in our schools. Where else do we see this in our society? Jails and courthouses come to mind. Should our schools mirror prisons? Is this the feel and look we want for our children when in a learning environment?
Each school already has a sign-in sheet for visitors and locked doors. Do you know how many doors are at each school? School systems already cannot afford counselors, nurses, educational materials, supplies, adequate pay for teachers and assistance and supplies in each building, yet we now want to hire at least a dozen law enforcement personnel and equipment for each school? Arming teachers is definitely not the answer as education is their profession.
My opinion is that the rifle or gun is the issue. Look at the statistics for mass school shootings in Sweden, Japan, Australia and other countries that have better gun control. They also have people with mental health issues, but mass shootings are not the case as here in the United States. A gun for hunting or protection is one thing, but AR-15 military style weapons are meant to kill people — just ask a soldier.
Family members of the victims in Parkland, Florida and Newtown, Connecticut, and other places probably wish the shooter had knives instead of an AR-15. Imagine if the Las Vegas shooter did not have a military style weapon but was armed with knives instead? Fewer people would have died because as we are finding out that with more guns come more deaths.
Let’s compare the privilege of owning a gun to owning a car where some safeguards are in place. One needs to register a car, goes through training to know how to properly and safely use it, gets insurance so accidental or inappropriate actions are financially covered, pays for a license (the money generated could be used to install bulletproof glass in our classrooms and safety doors), and there are rules of the road to assure wrongdoing is prosecuted (maybe compare to guns and domestic violence).
I am sure that many do not agree with my analogy, but hopefully it is food for thought. All teachers and parents want children to be in a safe learning environment, one that nurtures their creativity and higher thinking, one where people care about their well-being and that helps them grow into caring, involved, and knowledgeable young adults. Our schools should not be like jails, they should be places that support a love of learning.
