Lets Talk
The question that I am proposing to you, the audience, is not whether or not the solution to keeping schools safe is to arm teachers or not to arm teachers. In fact the question I am proposing is actually what is being done to talk about finding this solution. This topic of arming or not arming teachers has been raging on since the rate of school related threats has escalated in the previous years. News reporters capturing the shocking scenes of teenagers and school staff running from buildings amidst the screams and terror has become the new's top stories far too often. However, the ongoing argument of "How do we keep our children safer" only seems to surface after a major event such as Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Sandy Hook Elementary School, and Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School cover the news feed for days on end. After the uproar dies down, so does the conversation on what needs to happen for schools to be safe for the children of America.
This website does not take a stance on the issue. There will be information that both supports and does not support the movement to arm teachers in the classroom. Instead, this website was created to jump start the conversation and find a solution. There will be images, videos, websites, facts, and quotes, posted in favor of each side of the argument.
Do It
The movement to arm teachers and coaches during school hours is one that is slowly taking the country by storm. The idea of arming teachers or granting permission to allow concealed-carry permit holders to bring guns into schools comes up after major school attacks. Despite being one of the movements that parents, teachers, students, and school staff advertise to protect against possible school threats. It first gained attention in the wake of the terror that took place at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012 and has kept growing until the recent mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida in 2018.
This movement to carry guns on school grounds is to help ensure the safety of students, and staff, throughout the day to day life in school. There is talk of a program that will teach certain teachers who are comfortable carrying guns how to properly conceal a weapon and handle said weapon during an emergency.
Current articles that support arming teachers:
Arming Schoolteachers: What do we know? Where do we go from here?
AJPH a Publication of the American Public Health Association
Sonali Rajan EdD, MS, and Charles C. Branas PhD
Published Online: June 06, 2018
From the Editorial Board: On Arming k-12 Teachers
Project Muse: The High School Board
Lana M. Minshew
(no date)
Trump wants to arm teachers. These schools already do.
New York Times
Erica L. Green and Manny Fernandez
March 1, 2018
Trump tweets support for arming teachers after denying he said ‘give teachers guns’
CNBC: Politics
Mike Calia
February 22, 2018
"Trump supports arming teachers with guns"
CNN - YouTube
February 21, 2018
"DeVos says arming teachers should be an option"
AP Archive - YouTube
March 12, 2018
Armed Teachers | Jessica Howard | TEDxPascoCountySchools
TEDxTalks - YouTube
May 23, 2017
Don't Do It
The hashtag #ArmMeWith was a movement created to counter the argument that teachers should be armed while on school grounds. The idea behind this hashtag being to "arm teachers with books" or other items that are being argued as more important that guns in schools. However, the largest argument against arming teachers in schools is that the school will be more unsafe with armed teachers than it would be without the armed teachers. Many people argue that the threat of an armed teacher will cause stressful and unproductive work environments for students and untimely hinder the learned process.
This argument, similar to its counterpart, only comes out during the wake of a major school shooting or school threat event. There have been numerous protest and social media outburst movements under the hashtag #ArmMeWith in order to connect more people to the "cause."
Current articles that do not support arming teachers:
Arming Teachers Introduces New Risks into Schools
"Every Town for Gun Safety"
(no author listed)
(no date)
Arming Teachers is Not the Answer
Cindy Long and Tim Walker
March 5, 2018
Gun Violence Policy Against Arming of Teachers
American Bar Associations
(no author)
April 1, 2019
Parkland Pushes Back Against Arming Teachers
VOA Student Union
Esha Sarai
Janurary 16, 2019
Parents Sue Over District's Policy to Arm Teachers
AP Archive - YouTube
January 9, 2019
Florida School Supt. Against Arming Teachers
AP Archive - YouTube
February 28, 2018
