Introduction
Schools are public areas that can be dangerously deadly. Teachers in the United States may be armed to protect themselves from violent attacks such as the one that occurred at a high school in the tiny town of Parkland, Florida. On February 14, 2018, Nikolas Cruz, 19, entered Stoneman Douglas High School, from which he had been expelled for ‘defiant behavior,’ with a backpack full of guns and the assistance of security staff (News 1).
Despite his mental health issues and a relative’s warning to the FBI about his “potential danger,” the young man massacred 17 people – students and teachers – using legally obtained semi-automatic rifles (News 1). This is why teachers should not be prevented from carrying guns for self-defense, as it can help in the event of a school shooting. Banning guns will only affect ordinary people, while criminals will find the means to commit murder. This essay will focus on a literature review of the topic of arming teachers and school safety. Thus, teachers should be given guns to protect themselves and students in case of deadly danger.
Literature Review
History
The US is the country where the problem of school shootings is the most severe in the world. A school shooting is an armed attack by a student or bystander on school children inside an educational institution. Cases of school shootings have been known since the early 20th century (Reyes 7). In the United States in 1927, 44 people were murdered, and 58 were critically injured as a consequence of a mass shooting at a school in the city of Bath (Reyes 7). Similar occurrences have since gained prominence worldwide.
Another high-profile incident recalled by the writers is the 1999 shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado, which witnessed the most notorious armed attack by teenagers on their peers, killing 13 people (Reyes 8). Unfortunately, the adolescents who organized the school shooting spawned a cult of followers who went on to commit similar atrocities. Since teenagers are the most susceptible to peer pressure, they often exhibit behaviors similar to those they read about in books, magazines, or hear about on the Internet.
Motivation
There are both external and internal causes that motivate youngsters to engage in school shootings. Among the external variables are the parents’ lack of attention to the child, family feuds, the child’s difficulty connecting with friends, confrontations with them, and conflicts with teachers. Bullying – aggressive persecution of one of the members of a collective (particularly schoolchildren and students) by other members of the collective or a part of it – is also highlighted by the writers. Other reasons include the death of family and friends, a child’s access to firearms and edged weapons in the household, a child’s interest in computer games with violent imagery, and their access to Internet sites and organizations that promote the concept of school shootings. Internal issues such as the child’s depressed mood, suggestibility, and controllability, as well as mental abnormalities, should all be considered.
International Experiences
Some countries confront the same difficulty as the United States. In France, for example, school security has been prioritized as a result of the country’s recent terrorist attacks and the persistent Islamist threat. Educational institutions and the surrounding region have been investigated, and restrictions have been reinforced at all access points and at the main entrance. Attendants have been permitted to inspect the bags and backpacks of all students entering the school.
Outsiders, including parents, are only permitted with the consent of the principal’s office. Each building features a safe space where instructors and children can seek refuge if needed. A national crisis center has been formed, including officials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Education. Crisis cells have been established in cities and agencies to coordinate emergency measures. Teachers and pupils are given regular updates. They are taught how to react in the event of an assault without panicking. This is done by both instructors who have undergone specific training and police officers.
Furthermore, teachers now have “emergency” phone numbers for the police and gendarmerie that they may call in an emergency. These precautions appear to have saved many lives in the town of Grasse in 2017 when a 17-year-old teenager showed up at school with a hunting rifle. The headmaster was able to phone the number, and the police arrived ten minutes later, apprehending the raider.
Arming School Staff as a Solution
Lobbying groups representing the organization have advocated for the presence of armed guards in schools and the right of teachers to carry firearms. Attempts to arm teachers and school personnel began in 2012, following the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy in Connecticut, in which murdered 20 students and six educators were murdered. The National Rifle Association of the United States then vigorously promoted the concept that teachers should be permitted to carry firearms. “A bad guy with a gun can only be stopped by a good guy with a gun,” stated Wayne LaPierre, vice president of the group at the time (Rowhani-Rahbar and Caitlin Moe 683). That motto has subsequently become the strong organization’s official policy. Over the last two to three years, the public has witnessed a surge in legislative bills aimed at repealing the restriction on firearms in schools.
Moreover, they are not just suggesting that firearms should be permitted in schools for safety; they are saying that carrying guns should be allowed everywhere – on city streets, in parks, and even in government offices. Supporters of abolishing gun laws argue that only such legislation will safeguard schools from similar incidents (Baranauskas 1347). They devote special attention to schools located in rural areas. Places where weapons are prohibited become easy targets for criminals.
Giving teachers firearms can also be an effective way to combat school insecurity. Experts contend that limits on the legal circulation of firearms have little effect on the incidence of school shootings because criminals use the black market(Baranauskas 1342). It will only worsen in the near future due to the ongoing wars. However, experts believe that established psychological support for students can effectively address the problem (Baranauskas 1342). It is insufficient for schools to have only one psychologist on staff to address the needs of children adequately. The authors also believe that every person recruited to work at a school should be taught “What to do in case of an armed attack,” and that he should store all “alarm buttons and hotlines” in his smartphone (Curran et al. 8). Once every six months or quarter, ‘drill alarms’ should be organized, or even a stranger could be sent into the property to test attentiveness by leaving a suspicious object, such as a bag or luggage, on the premises or in the building.
Carrying hidden firearms is one extreme solution to this problem. At least 14 states in the United States have schools with instructors who are authorized to carry weapons (Curran et al. 8). Teachers must complete additional training to carry a firearm in the classroom. This program has not yet found widespread application in the United States, although instructors from schools located distant from large cities have told us about it.
In an emergency, the police will not be able to reach them for some time; therefore, carrying a pistol appears to be their only option. According to analysts, the fundamental concern on the subject of unfettered gun trafficking in America is whether Donald Trump can “compromise” his connection with the National Rifle Association and truly clean up the system of approving gun sales in the United States (Curran et al. 10). Otherwise, he risks alienating the next generation of Americans, whose representatives he visited with at the White House.
If teachers had access to firearms, they could protect themselves and maybe reduce the number of deaths. Experts frequently cite examples of armed bystanders intervening to prevent shootings abroad (Curran et al. 7). Furthermore, arming teachers can act as a deterrent: if potential shooters knew that instructors were armed, they would be less inclined to attack.
Counterargument
However, it is essential to note that many people believe that permitting teachers to carry weapons is a horrible idea. To begin with, every teacher would be required to practice at least once a week at the school shooting range to shoot to kill. This adds more responsibility, and some instructors may not take the matter seriously. The second concern is the storage of firearms in the workplace. After all, the firearm is supplied with the intent of being used in an emergency; therefore, it must be readily available.
Therefore, a teacher cannot place it on the table and stand quietly on the blackboard, teaching new information – the item is harmful. This poses a risk that the weapon could fall into the wrong hands. Some pupils may steal the weapon and utilize it for personal gain. These goals might be for fun or for a more serious reason. However, even when playing, pupils may injure each other or themselves, endangering their lives.
The authors also contend that carrying weapons by teachers can result in a pupil being hurt as a result of a teacher’s conduct (Baranauskas 1342). A teacher, for example, may misunderstand a pupil’s behavior and inflict physical or psychological harm on the student. Nevertheless, these problems can be avoided with frequent assemblies and preventive conversations with teachers and students.
Conclusion
Thus, allowing teachers to keep guns would help solve the problem of insecurity in schools. The proposed thesis will help researchers determine whether to legalize guns for teachers. The information gathered from the literature will help evaluate the pros and cons of this action. Additionally, considering the counterarguments will help build the most effective strategy to solve this problem.
Thus, researchers and activists in the field should take the seriousness of this decision into consideration. They should consider the fact that guns in the possession of teachers may pose a danger to students and teachers. To minimize it, schools should develop a strategy to introduce this action. They should organize to develop special courses to train teachers in shooting and safe interaction with guns. Also, schools should conduct preventive talks to inform students and teachers about safety rules.
Works Cited
Reyes, Jocelyn A. Mass Shootings & Fear of Crime: A Content Analysis on Academic Literature. Diss. Southeast Missouri State University, 2023.
Annotated Bibliography
Baranauskas, Andrew J. “Public Opinion on Support for Arming Teachers with Guns in The United States.” Justice Quarterly 38.7, 2021, pp. 1342-1362.
Based on several theoretical perspectives, this study aims to determine the reasons why Americans may favor the notion of arming teachers. As a consequence of their research, the authors argue that conservative respondents are more likely to support arming teachers, but black respondents and those who are better educated and have higher incomes are less likely to support arming teachers (Baranauskas 1342). The authors also presented contradictory data on the effect of views towards law enforcement on the topic of arming teachers (Baranauskas 1342).
This study is intensive, as it relies on a vast body of literature. This article has limitations, including its failure to consider the professors’ personal opinions on the issue. This might have a substantial impact on the results and conclusions. Since it is trustworthy and relevant, this study helps to bolster my counter-arguments.
Curran, F. Chris, Benjamin W. Fisher, and Samantha L. Viano. “Mass School Shootings and the Short-Run Impacts on Use of School Security Measures and Practices: National Evidence from the Columbine Tragedy.” Journal of School Violence 19.1, 2020, pp. 6-19.
This research looks at how school-level safety measures and practices were altered in the aftermath of the Columbine High School massacre in 1999. The authors analyzed data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, which included a nationally representative sample of 810 elementary school administrators (Curran et al. 6). They used regression analysis to compare the implementation of seven safety measures and practices before and after the Columbine massacre, based on changes in the time of questionnaire completion relative to the Columbine shooting. As a result, elementary schools were 16 percentage points more likely than secondary schools to lock entrances following the event and to implement a visitor check-in method over time (Curran et al. 6). The racial/ethnic composition of the school had a moderating influence on specific models.
This article is reliable because the authors used the correct research method. It has limitations, such as a weak consideration of what other security practices might help with the problem of school shootings. I can use this article to support my arguments because it provides information on the events and how school security measures have been affected.
Rowhani-Rahbar, Ali, and Caitlin Moe. “School Shootings in the US: What is the State of Evidence?” Journal of Adolescent Health 64.6, 2019, pp. 683-684.
The authors of this edition of the journal describe the features of school shootings in the United States. They mention multiple incidents, including the shootings at Columbine High School, Sandy Hook Elementary School, and Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Even when population size is taken into consideration, the authors contend that the number of school shootings in the United States greatly outnumbers that of numerous other high-income nations (Rowhani-Rahbar and Moe 683).
This article has a problem in that the information supplied on the classification of school shootings may be incomplete. The writers do not thoroughly cover the matter of safety precautions, which is critical. This study will help me understand how and why shootings occur.
News, VOA. “Florida School Shooting Suspect Was Troubled, Expelled from School.” Voice of America, Voice of America (VOA News), 2018.
This news article describes the shooting incident committed by Nikolas Cruz. The article provides the number of victims and basic information about the perpetrator, including photos (News 1). This article is credible, as the news portal is generally reliable, and the information is sourced from credible sources.
I can use this article to support my arguments. It will also help to give an example of how school shootings happen and how they affect society. It will help build a general understanding of the problem based on real facts. Additionally, incorporating support from a reputable news source in my essay will help underscore the reality and significance of the issue.