Time to drop the idea of arming teachers
Another day, another school shooting. And after so many years and so many deaths, some think they have come up with the perfect solution – arm teachers.
Here is the reality of how this cruel and illogical plan would play out: teachers spend months, even years, developing relationships with students. They see the emotional scars the students carry from bad relationships at home and at school. They work to get them to a place where they can overcome those challenges.
But as a designated protector, those teachers would be expected to have the same emotional detachment that a military sniper must have. How will they cope with the emotional aftermath of having killed or injured the very children they have dedicated their lives to teaching? And if they fail, how do they cope with the guilt?
This is not simply a mental health issue, nor is it a problem caused by depictions of violence in movies and video games. We need our politicians to start doing their jobs – enact the laws that the majority of Americans want, reasonable gun management that restricts the sale of assault rifles and a background check and registry system that is grounded in 21st century technology.