Quote:
Originally Posted by Boomer
You have made an excellent point about bullying in schools. Bullying is as old ascave kids learning to write on cave walls, but that does not excuse it. Bullying in schools has to be worse now as we see more and more hateful people of all ages. I am retired now but when I taught we were required to be standing in our doorways during class-change time and we were on rotation for the dreaded “potty patrol.” The presence of adults in the area of the restrooms and hallways cannot prevent bullying but it can help.
Also, awareness and concern and kind interaction with students who are hurting is something that should come naturally to a teacher but it does not always work that way. We are educated in child and adolescent psych as undergrads but I think more is needed.
“Teaching to the State Test” takes priority now. Teachers have less and less time to create a welcoming, interactive classroom atmosphere where students can get to know each other on a level beyond meeting the sterile standardized test requirements.
And while I am typing away here, I might as well say that I agree with Carl about “hardening the target” with metal detectors and guards at the entry, etc. But I do not agree with arming teachers.
Carl knows security. But I know teachers. The dynamics of schools would change, not for the better. Such an idea would grow arms and legs — all over the place. Would hiring sharpshooters take precedence over educating kids?
I do not think teachers should be armed. (And, btw, I do not think public librarians should have to administer Narcan to heroin addicts who choose public places to shoot up so that they can be rescued. That is happening in some of our cities now.) Such things are not what we dedicated to education types signed on to do.
Meanwhile, I continue to root for those Florida students who are standing up and making their voices heard.
(I cannot figure out why intelligent, law-abiding people cannot see that nobody is going to take their guns. How could that happen? It would be impossible. We are being pitted against each other. Classic Divide and Conquer tactics. And I cannot believe how easy, and fast, that has been to pull off. Where have all the moderates gone?)
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I repeat what I wrote before about a faucet leaking a flooding your house. Would you not use every tool and trick to stop this deluge? Does not matter if the tool is painted blue, white or red.
There is a very serious problem with kids being murdered by other kids. Anything that works should be attempted.
Arming teachers sounds like a bad idea as how can you teach them to take a life which is what would be required of them.
Volunteer ex military maybe but there might be bad eggs among them as well. No solution is going to be perfect. An armed forced of enough men and women could even take the White House like in the War of 1812 to refer to Carl in Tampa's post(s). A plane came close on 9/11 but for the bravery of a group of passengers who brought it down.
I do not remember ever worrying about someone coming into our school with a gun and shooting it up when I was growing up. And Reno, Nevada was full of hunters and gun enthusiasts. I had a pellet gun which was as powerful as a 22 when I was about 10. And soon had some shotguns and 22s by age 14 or so. But I still do not get why anyone would need a weapon that just sprays bullets at a very fast rate of speed.