Boots & Sabers

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Owen

Everything but tech support.
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0633, 26 Feb 18

Should We Arm Teachers?

I’ll be on Wisconsin Public Radio at 0700 to discuss whether or not Wisconsin should allow teachers to arm themselves. Tune in!

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0633, 26 February 2018

14 Comments

  1. jonnyv

    Just curious to the thought behind an armed teacher. What will their responsibility be if an incident happens? Should they be defensive and stay in their room to protect themselves and students? Should they be aggressive and seek out the shooter? Does it change if they have no students to protect.

  2. billphoto

    One could assume a teacher’s role would be set at the local level. Presumably their role would not standing outside with law enforcement.

  3. jonnyv

    billphoto, I don’t know what you mean? Am I assuming you mean just to stay in their room and protect and NOT try to engage the shooter. So, a defensive position we could say until the proper authorities arrive.

  4. billphoto

    a teacher’s role would be set at the local level.

  5. Pat

    Would it be mandatory or voluntary? If voluntary, what if no one volunteers?

  6. dad29

    Voluntary, of course.

    If no volunteers, then the children will push the teachers into the line of fire so the children can escape.  /sarc

  7. jjf

    The cognitive dissonance must be difficult. One minute the teachers are lousy union slugs, the next you expect them to add weapons training – and be good at it – for no extra pay.

  8. Pat

    I’m sure the money will be available. After all, it’s for the kids.

  9. jonnyv

    I am always curious about the logistics on how it will work. If we are assuming that we arm teachers:

    1. Where is the gun kept? Desk drawer, gun safe in classroom, sidearm strapped to the teacher?

    2. I think if it were in a safe it could be secure. But if not, do we force trigger locks on them?

    3. How do we make sure some punk kid doesn’t get a hold of one and yet make it accessible in case of emergency?

    I would love an honest poll to see how many teachers would actually take advantage of this. My wife was a teacher for 15 years, so I know a fair amount and none of them have expressed any interest publicly or privately.

  10. MjM

    (Sorry to have missed it, Owen.   Audio anywhere?)

    JV asks: Should they be defensive and stay in their room to protect themselves and students?

    Yes.

    JV asks:  Should they be aggressive and seek out the shooter?

    Yes.  Those with more guts than your typical Broward Country Sheriff Deputy probably will.

    JV asks:  Does it change if they have no students to protect.

    wut?

    JV sez: I would love an honest poll to see how many teachers would actually take advantage of this

    Not a poll, but certainly an indication…

    (CNN) Hundreds of teachers and school employees in an Ohio county have signed up for a [free] concealed weapons class their sheriff offered in response to last week’s deadly shooting at a Parkland, Florida, high school.  -https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/20/us/ohio-concealed-weapons-sheriff/index.html

  11. jjf

    I guess we can wait to see what the insurance companies will say to these school districts.  Do you think they’ll drop their rates if there are more guns on the grounds?

  12. jonnyv

    MjM. My comment about “not having students to protect”. Not every teacher has students in their classroom all the time. Does that change the expectation if you are one of the teachers that have a weapon on premise. So do me a favor, if you don’t understand, maybe respond with something more intelligent than, “wut”.

    A teacher that leaves a room full of kids runs the risk of leaving THOSE kids in danger. So it has nothing to do with “guts”, it has to do with planning and training. And the thought of having an untrained person in a chaotic environment like that is scary. Because all the CC training in the world doesn’t prepare you for that, it is what the police & SWAT are specifically trained for. My personal thought, if teachers are armed, they STAY in the classroom and defend.

    Of course, arming teachers is going to do nothing to dissuade someone coming into a school. At BEST you reduce the number of casualties. But that is a different argument.

  13. Pat

    Personally I think it’s up to law enforcement to protect our schools, not teachers.

  14. MjM

    JV sez: My personal thought, if teachers are armed, they STAY in the classroom and defend.

    …while kids in the classrooms next door left and right get shot to hell.   Yeah, makes sense to me.

    My personal thought:  if you haven’t got the guts to go on the offensive, and yes that takes guts whether you are trained in SWAT tactics or not, do not even think of being armed.  You will ADD to the problem at hand,  you will most likely die, and those you pretend to protect will die around you.  This isn’t a “defensive” situation in any sense.  Do you understand why?  Have you ever heard the term, “Kill, or be killed” ?

    JV sez:  “Of course, arming teachers is going to do nothing to dissuade someone coming into a school.”

    Question:  What is the best deterrent to speeding on I-94?

     

    Pat sez: Personally I think it’s up to law enforcement to protect our schools, not teachers.

    In this type of situation, law enforcement is reactionary, after the fact.

     

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