I am a 16-year veteran of elementary education. It was with great interest that I read the Tuesday letter suggesting that we arm our teachers to protect against school shootings. Before becoming a teacher, I grew up in a household full of guns. We were collectors, hunters and NRA Junior Riflemen. I proudly competed on the range with my team and against my brothers whenever possible. My background as a shooter gives me a unique perspective on this topic.
The suggestion that we arm school teachers is wrong on so many levels; where do I begin?
* Firearms in the classroom are much like guns in the nightstand at home. How often do we read about deadly accidents occurring when kids get access to guns the adults purchased for protection? There is no guarantee those tragedies would not occur in our schools if teachers had weapons.
* For the most part, we are teachers first, not military police. Even with the training the writer speaks of, most teachers come to work each day to educate, not kill.
* The presence of weapons in a classroom would change the entire atmosphere and relationship between teacher and student. Most of us work hard each day to promote an atmosphere of mutual respect and learning; guns would skew that greatly.
I do not have the answer to school shootings, but arming teachers is not it. A gun in the classroom would not have prevented the bloodshed at my own Fergus High School in Lewistown, Mont., in 1986, but it likely would have contributed to more deaths. I don’t think that should be our goal.
The day I am asked to carry a gun in my classroom is the day I hand in my keys and move on from the most amazing profession in our country.
Claire Baker
Everett
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
