Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire How should teachers be armed?

While I find that level of security great, that can't possibly transfer into a doable scenario for small towns with little tax base.

But we can sure harden what's there.

Some Arkansas school districts have paid the tuition for willing staff to attend the training to become licensed armed security. I think it is something like 60-80 hours of training and instruction. The district then pays them a stipend for pistol and appropriate holster.

The problem is that an armed teacher is only effective after the perp has gained entry into the school. I teach HS and it is very difficult to make a school completely secure. My school has automatic locks on the doors that engage 1 minute after every passing period and if someone wants to come in the school when the doors are locked then they have to come through the main office. Teachers have magnetic strips on their IDs that open the door and some like myself also have keys. On paper that sounds effective, but in reality it isn't. These are the things I see every day:

1) Doors propped open because people are too lazy to use their IDs when they have to make several trips.
2) Kids text other kids to let them in (even though phones are supposed to be off) and these students tell a teacher they need to "go to the bathroom" after getting the text and let their friends in.
3) Parents doing the same thing as #2
4) Students placing something in the magnetic locks so the door seems locked but isn't.
5) Electrical issues that can override the lock system.
6) Coaches leaving everything wide open so players can come and go for practice, weight training, sports medicine etc...

Students at the schools learn real quick how to get around the locked doors and we find former students every week roaming the halls to visit their friends. If you want to make the schools safe then they need to be treated as fortresses and when you try to do that you get irate parents or the teachers union calling and raising hell and the school board backs down.

No one will be forced to carry if they don't think they'd be helpful with their firearm.

As was said, in a way they are confident.

I think if a shooter knew he was walking into an armed school, there would be few, if any shootings.

The problem is complacency.

No matter who you arm, or how tight you lock down, after a couple of years, people and procedures will be loose with complacency.

The odds of an attack on a particular school are astronomical, when you figure there's about 100k different schools in the US, ad each school has students about 180 days in a year...

To have every single fail-safe work at the exact time it's needed, won't happen. But we need to harden schools and adopt a standard procedure for every school.

Agree 100% . Mousey women are boring.

Absolutely. I once made a mistake while fueling a race car. Highly volatile fuel, something happened and I jerked the fuel spout back covering my left side with fuel and at the same time knocked a battery charger lead off the battery. Whooomph, I lit up like a roman candle. My wife was there, immediately got the 5lb fire extinguisher, ordered me "down" and put out the flame - and then drove me to the hospital. I've seen her in many stressful situations. She is a very nice person, but is all steel inside.

I like that sign.

I'm in education, retired Army, Coached Rifle Team (air rifle) This discussion has come up before, Principal said if approved, he'd want me armed. My job covers several schools thus I'd have to be approved by each Principal or by the District by the Superintendent.

Because I'm not on campus all the time, I wouldn't be a real good choice.

Take trained vets, and retired cops and post them around campus,

Issues parents were concerned with having guns in school, what if a student got a hold of it (?) What if the teacher went postal (?) etc.....

We did improve locks and visitors, but still, if someone is determined to enter a campus and shoot, then quickest and best response is to shoot first, then you have the community to deal with about what a good boy he was, etc...

I think anyone willing and properly trained should be armed, open or concealed. Kids should be taught not to fear firearms but respect them.

When my kids were little they were exposed to firearms constantly and they never freaked out. They rarely gave one a second look if I had a rifle or handgun out of the safe. Matter of fact I had to beg them to go shooting. Remove the mystery and they will move on to something else.

Every man and some of the women if they are capable.

That's who should be armed.

In Utah teachers can carry if they choose to. Some of the local sheriffs offices even give them free training if and when they need it for free. I think it's a good idea

The district I worked for had their own force, armed former police officers, one at each elementary, two at secondary schools. You didn’t get in unless you went through a metal detector, eyeballed by the cop, expensive I’m sure.

I have a neighbor who is a sweet, pleasantly plump recently retired school teacher. She is also an NRA Distinguished Expert with a handgun. That woman can decide which of your earlobes to blow off next.

. Stop it Paul if you were a volunteer at a school you would ending banging one or several of the female teachers there. Then come on here and start a new thread about pussy

I think it's an outstanding idea.

It's free.

Nobody has to carry.

Nobody has to know who carries.

Anybody who tries to shoot up a school doesn't know whether the English teacher or the custodian might pop a cap on them.

It's been that way for several years, and so far zero problems except for one negligent discharge in a restroom a few years back.

reminds me of the newspaper comic about airplane travel

Passengers are handed pistols getting on a plane.
Hijacker pulls a pistol
Passengers pull their pistols.
hijacker and passengers are all back in their seats.

BS.

Man or woman has nothing to do with it.

Hell, there's some "men" here on the Fire who shouldn't be armed.