Arming Teachers
MarAfter the Robb Elementary Spree Shooting that left 18 children and two adults dead, the debate about arming teachers rears its ugly, stupid head once again, and I want to share my perspective as someone with more than a decade of experience on the teaching side of public education. So the basic idea is that schools are inadequately prepared to defend themselves should a spree shooter enter the building. The idea often floated to teachers--one that I've been hearing for nearly two decades now--is that they should carry guns, so that they're prepared to shoot an assailant immediately. Let me first point out that these crimes are rare; most schools will never experience a spree shooting. However, every child at every school will experience any hardening measures we deploy every single day. If you arm teachers, they will be armed every single day, but will likely go their entire career without ever needing to draw their weapons. You might say “so? That’s also true of defibri