Arming teachers could solve the issue of violence in schools

Ben Blanton

Bjb158@txstate.edu

Becky Joelle Dragseth
Photo by Ben Blanton

SAN MARCOS, Texas – School shootings have become more of a problem in America. The most recent school shooting occurred in Florida at Parkland High School, there were 17 confirmed deaths. This sparked a debate whether teachers should be armed.

Arming teachers is a controversial subject, according to a NBC NEWS /SurveyMonkey poll, 56 percent of the individuals surveyed were against arming teachers. Students and residents of San Marcos gave their thoughts.

Many people had different opinions on the matter. Texas State student, Becky Joelle Dragseth, said that she is a big believer that teachers should be armed.

“I feel like if anybody is in charge of children whether that be a babysitter, a teacher or sending a kid to a friend’s house, those people should be able to protect those children. I believe that it is adults’ job to protect children in any situation,” said Dragseth.

 

Jacob Seabolt
Photo by Hallie Colbert

Jacob Seabolt, studying criminal justice at Texas State, said that any adult including teachers, should be allowed to carry a gun.

“I think any adult should be able to walk around with any with any gun with they want to. So if a teacher chooses to they should be able to without any kind of rule stopping them,” Seabolt said.

While there are people who think that arming teachers is a good idea, others are adamantly opposed. Texas State student Beverly Holt is among those against it. Holt said there is no logic in giving teachers guns.

Beverly Holt
Photo by Katie Irvin

“I don’t think teachers should be armed because imagine you’re a firefighter trying to put out a fire, you wouldn’t use more fire to put it out. With that logic, why would we add more guns to teachers when there’s professionals who already have guns?” said Holt.

The ultimate goal of arming K-12 teachers is to keep schools safe. Adrian Gonzalez, concrete industry management major at Texas State, said he saw a tweet that changed his views.

“I saw a tweet about the world’s safest school. In the tweet teachers have necklaces with buttons you can press to show that you’re in danger. They also have buttons within the class that a teacher can press to show that they are in danger,” Gonzalez said.

 

Adrian Gonzalez
Photo by Ben Blanton

Kingsley Onyirioha, business major at Texas State, said it’s a bad idea for young kids in the first or second grade to be around guns. Onyirioha said there are other ways schools can keep students safe.

“More security around schools. They can do training for teachers on what they should be doing in situations that has gun problems. I think the training should like really help in the situation that teachers would know what to do instead of like panicking and they could help more people be safe,” Onyirioha said.

Kingsley Onyirioha
Photo by Nellie Perry

Overall, most of the residents and students of San Marcos were against the notion of giving teachers guns. Even other teachers didn’t like the idea. Dr. Donald S. Inbody, lecturer for the department of political science, said he did not think it’s a good idea to have guns in the classroom. Inbody, who is highly trained in military weapons with 28 years of experience, said teachers would generally lack sufficient experience to safely bring a gun into the classroom.

“Well, fundamentally I think it’s a bad idea because they are not well trained using firearms. I mean I spent 28 years in the Navy, I know what it takes to use a weapon correctly and safely and under a high-stress situation and I don’t think the average elementary and secondary school teacher has the training necessary to use it safely and accurately and well,” Inbody said.

School shootings are happening more frequently than ever and there is constant debate about what the nation can do to stop it. Gun control is a big issue in America. learn more about gun control by visiting the NRA website.

 

Dr. Donald S. Inbody
Photo by Sarah Atterbury