Last month our nation was rocked by another school shooting that left seventeen students dead at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Since then, many of the students from that school have  been speaking out and advocating gun control, a topic that is usually deemed “too soon” after a shooting. President Trump recently suggested that arming select teachers with guns would be a helpful solution to preventing school shootings. And the media has had a field day with this–whether for or against it. The thing is, though, I don’t see a lot of people asking the very people affected by this proposal–THE TEACHERS.

It may come as a surprise to you that before I moved to NYC, I was actually studying to be a music teacher. I have a lot of contacts from that time of my life who are now seasoned teachers in classrooms. I decided to reach out to some of them to see how they feel about gun violence in schools and the proposal to arm teachers. Because when you don’t live it, you don’t know it. I found some of the answers really surprising, and think they’re worth reading. After all, these are the people who are in charge of teaching, nurturing, and shaping the lives of children, as well as keeping them safe.

How has last month’s shooting in Florida affected your students? How has it affected you as a teacher?

“Honestly… I don’t know if it has, really. They don’t talk about it. The general consensus I’ve gotten is that they think it is sad, and are praying, but ‘that will never happen here.’ A large majority of our students are farmers and hunters, and they figure that everyone here knows correct gun usage and also subscribes to small town naivety. As a teacher, I find myself looking around the room more, paying more attention to what kids are saying to me, hugging them a little tighter… but if I’m being honest, that has an expiration and all will go back to our daily norm very soon.” ⎯Amanda R., K-12 Music & Choir Teacher

“Sadly I have not heard my students bring it up once.  Our basketball team has made it to a sub-state basketball game, and that has been the only talk.  I think they are very distant from this incident because it hasn’t hit home for them.  When one teacher brought it up, a student asked, “how many days do you get off for a school shooting?”.  I think it takes a personal connection for these students to realize it could and can happen anywhere to anyone.  As a teacher when this happens, you look at students who might be going through difficult things a little differently.  I personally take more time to make sure I say hello to every student as they walk in my room and try to maintain a personal connection to every student daily.”  ⎯Matt B., Director of Bands

Are you concerned about a shooting happening in your school?

“While I’m not naive enough to think that this can’t happen anywhere, my hope is that since we are a tiny, private school, tucked away in a smaller suburb, no one would think to hunt us down. Several months ago I had a nightmare that we were in an all-school assembly and someone came in and started shooting. I woke up sweating and screaming. This shouldn’t have to be a real fear for teachers and parents.” ⎯Amy R., 2nd Grade Teacher

“I think you would have to be naive to think this couldn’t happen anywhere in America.  And recent history and proven just that.  Our school has not brought this up in a conversation and I’m not sure if this was done on purpose.  Anderson Cooper stated in a previous shooting that he refused to name the shooter; he didn’t want to give any notoriety to the shooter.  This might be what some administration members think is best.  I know that in many schools suicide is a domino effect.  When it happens once, there seems to be a string of them.  Is not talking about it the best way to go about it?  I personally don’t think so but I don’t have any data to back up my opinion.” ⎯Matt B., Director of Bands

What do you think about President Trump’s idea to have 20% of teachers in schools armed with guns? Is this something you would want or want to do yourself?

“Many will disagree with me, but I think it’s outrageous to think teachers should now be armed. If you’re going to have someone in a building who is armed, put guards with military training in the schools. I do not and will not take the responsibility of having a gun. I know I could never pull that trigger. I would be too worried about hitting someone completely innocent. If the intruder is a student or former student I could never bring myself to shoot another human being.” ⎯Amy R., 2nd Grade Teacher

“I think President Trump needs to actually spend one full week in an elementary school and tell me he would want to have a gun there. Adding MORE guns won’t fix the gun problem. I think it is a crazy idea. What happens when police show up and a teacher has a gun, but the police don’t know that’s a teacher? What happens when a HS student overpowers a teacher or sneaks the gun away? Who is responsible? And… if a student were the shooter… would the teacher be able to shoot their student? No, I don’t think this is the answer. It is an idea born in ignorance. I do not support it and want no part of it.” ⎯Amanda R., K-12 Music & Choir Teacher

“I do not agree with President Trump’s plan to arm teachers.  The surprise value will still be there if a student wants to shoot someone, so arming a teacher might reduce the number of victims, but it won’t make it stop.  There are other resources this money should go towards such as increasing staff to increase visibility, promoting mental health classes or increasing security measures to enter a school. My current school has no security system and anyone can walk in at anytime.  And if it came down to requiring staff members to be armed, yes, I would like that responsibility because I am a level-headed person and I trust myself.  But I would never want it to get to the point where we would have to choose a staff member.” ⎯Matt B., Director of Bands

Do you think having you or your coworkers armed would keep the students safer?

“Yes, twice a year.” ⎯Amy R., 2nd Grade Teacher

“Yes…ish. We have lockdown drills where we lock the door, turn off the lights, and hide. You know, sitting-in-the-dark-waiting-to find-out-if-you-die-or-not practice.”  ⎯Amanda R., K-12 Music & Choir Teacher

“We started A.L.I.C.E. (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate) drills about three years ago.  We went through a full training with the staff where a sheriff came in and used a nerf gun.  We practiced barricading, running, using the intercom system and anything we could to get information out and stay safe.  However, this information was provided to students in a powerpoint by our assistant principal that made jokes throughout the presentation to try to keep students engaged.  Many of the staff members were upset about making a laughing matter on a very serious topic.  We have not talked about ALICE or any other security measures this year.  In the rural town I work in people truly have this mentality that it won’t happen here, until it does.”  ⎯Matt B., Director of Bands

Given the current gun laws, do you feel safe in the classroom? What would make you feel safer? 

“The current gun laws have no effect on my feelings of safety, honestly. I feel safe because of the nature of the people and kids I am surrounded by. We are rural, small, old-fashioned, etc… That is the extent of my safety. Safer? No automatic weapons out there for anyone who thinks “they’re fun to shoot” or any other reason. And if every person who owned a gun had to pass a class, test, and background check (like a driver’s license).” ⎯Amanda R., K-12 Music & Choir Teacher

“I feel safe in my classroom, but that has absolutely nothing to do with current gun laws.  If anything, that would be the opposite.  Guns and hunting are a prevalent topic of discussion and something many of my students participate in.  I feel safe because I have built relations with my students and built an environment where they feel safe to be who they are.  This may be the small town mentality coming out in me, though.  That’s not to say I don’t think about it.  I think often about what my escape route would be and how I could keep myself and my students safe.  One thing that would make me feel safe would be stronger security systems: possibly cameras, locked doors or even a metal detector.  That won’t stop everything, but I believe that can be another variable to help.” ⎯Matt B., Director of Bands

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