The students in Florida have announced a walkout to demonstrate for gun control on April 20th. I don't believe for a second that most students are walking out on 4/20 for gun rights. This is clever on the part of gun grabbers, because when all of the stoners leave for the day to go get high, the anti gunners will cheer at how socially aware these children are.
Anyway, as a part of this, our Principal has told the teachers to sit down and have a conversation with their students about the issues at hand so that the students feel like their concerns are being heard. So, sit down with them I did. We had a discussion about all of the issues surrounding campus security. After about a 10 minute discussion, they were assigned to write a paper informing the reader of three to five things that we could change about school that would make them feel safer.
There were 118 papers turned in to me. Of those:
92 of them said that arming teachers to defend themselves would make them feel safer. Some suggested that the teacher actually carry, and about a third suggested that the teacher's weapon be kept in a biometric safe that would open only to an authorized teacher's fingerprint. Opening the safe would set off an alarm in the office. Some suggested that it only be teachers who were veterans, or retired police.
Ten said we should have more SRO's. One of those ten admitted it would be expensive and potentially cost millions, but further stated that price should be no object when it comes to safety. He also suggested raising taxes to cover it.
There were another six who were opposed to arming teachers, with two saying that teachers might become angry with students and shoot them for acting out in class or not doing their homework. Interestingly, both of these students were black, and in two different class periods.
98 of them felt that the schools should be fenced with access control. 15 of them were opposed to fences, saying that they did not want their schools to look like a prison. Three of them wanted to surround the schools with electric fences.
Two students felt that students with firearms experience should be permitted to be armed.
What does all of this mean? Teens are not as unified in demanding gun control as the press and politicians would have you believe.
Things may have changed in the 200 years (... OK, 45) since I was in high school, but 95% of us would have taken any excuse for a day off in April.
ReplyDeleteThe thought of school shootings never occurred to me, but I always thought the teachers would defend us no matter what.
Meant to add that they sound pretty rational, with the exception of the two who thought a teacher would murder them for acting up. Obviously just responding to the story they're being fed.
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