"Armed Educators" article

[Gibbs]

Lengthy article in Education Week :

"Armed Educators a reality in Some Schools"

...Southland Superintendent Toby Miller said his district considered all of that. School officials kept coming to the same conclusion: “We are the first responders.”

 

[coxfam413]

As a teacher, I hope this idea really takes off. We are the first response when it comes to your child's safety and I will do everything in my power to ensure that nothing happens to your children.

 

[That Guy]

I hope the idea takes off too, but obviously I'm not going to hold my breath for MA to adopt such policies. Maybe if other states have these policies in place for a few decades and the world doesn't come to an end then people will understand that the consequences of more law abiding people carrying guns is positive, not negative.

 

[Picton]

Amen. I'm a teacher too, and to me this is a no-brainer for willing, trained teachers. There are a lot more of those than many folks realize, even in MA.

 

[center442]

Amen. I'm a teacher too, and to me this is a no-brainer for willing, trained teachers. There are a lot more of those than many folks realize, even in MA.

Yes, there are. Although some are now retired.

 

[That Guy]

Honestly, if I were a teacher, unless I worked at a school where they had metal detectors, I'd probably carry anyway. Do a proper job of CCW and nobody would ever know until it was needed. Then all would probably be forgiven. Even if it wasn't, I think I could live with myself if I got fired after using my gun to stop a violent act.

I know teachers aren't going to publicly say they carry when they aren't supposed to (I would hope not, from a common sense perspective), but my guess is there are still quite a few who carry at school.

 

[Business]

I hope the idea takes off too, but obviously I'm not going to hold my breath for MA to adopt such policies. Maybe if other states have these policies in place for a few decades and the world doesn't come to an end then people will understand that the consequences of more law abiding people carrying guns is positive, not negative.

In Utah, school employees have been able to carry concealed weapons onto campus for about a decade

sombody get some utah school violence stats over the last 10 years, any thwarted attempts by staff?

 

[That Guy]

sombody get some utah school violence stats over the last 10 years, any thwarted attempts by staff?

The problem is, it's trying to measure a negative. How do you prove that you stopped a "mass shooter" if you disarm him before he kills 10 people? If he is subdued by a teacher with a gun before he kills anyone or even if he's killed one person, nobody is going to say he was a mass killer regardless of what it looks like his intentions were.

 

[spcantwell]

I would love to see armed teachers, but the least they can do is allow teachers less-lethal stuff like pepper spray and tazers. Someone comes bargeing into a room and getting a face full of mace... I doupt that they will be able to shoot strait no matter what.

 

[That Guy]

In MA, a teacher with an FID and a legal can of OC on her keychain can't even carry that on school grounds. That's one of those things that makes me shake my head and wonder how I ever came to live in MA. Oh well - 13 more years till retirement, then it's back to Maine where I grew up.

 

[spcantwell]

In MA, a teacher with an FID and a legal can of OC on her keychain can't even carry that on school grounds. That's one of those things that makes me shake my head and wonder how I ever came to live in MA. Oh well - 13 more years till retirement, then it's back to Maine where I grew up.

I keep hopeing that some school administrators realise that mace isnt going to go off by itself and kill and kids but it could SAVE the children... If the admin OK's it its even legal to Carry in the 'gun free' zones. Its just that few if any will ever OK carrying anything much less a real firearm.

 

[Picton]

Liability-wise, there's a lot of downside and no upside for an administrator to authorize carry in schools. I hate that our society has come to make these decisions based on the advice of lawyers rather than on logic and reason, but it's hard to blame administrators for simply following the law. Even when the law is a bad one. The odds of an administrator getting sued for something are infinitely higher than the odds of a shooter coming into a school; indeed, many administrators get sued several times a year. Why would they open themselves up to more liability?