I just get all sputtering and what-the-fucky when discussing the idea that teachers should be armed. It’s such a horrible idea, I can’t even comprehend where it’s coming from. Fortunately, Aphra Behn over at Shakesville has an amazing post on the subject.
Unlike the jackasses in Oklahoma, Texas, and Virginia, who apparently think that any old person can do what a SWAT team does, I actually have respect for law enforcement. I understand that it takes a lot of training, and a particular set of aptitudes, in order to do that kind of work. I understand that what they do is not a matter of attending a training session or two. I also understand that they get paid to be alert to danger, and to proactively respond to it. That’s their job, and I respect that. I even understand that not all law enforcement and security forces have the same training, that some are very specially trained to handle things like hostage situations or gunmen who threaten large crowds.
But that is not my job. My job involves things like palaeography and reading microfilm, or grading papers, or going to yet another meeting about campus recycling. Nor is it the job of teachers at the elementary and secondary level.Their jobs are focused more on teaching and service than mine, and their training is a little different from mine–they take classes on their subject area and on the actual craft of educating, rather than focusing on how to produce scholarship. But you know what they don’t take classes on? How to take down an armed gunman without shooting innocent civilians. At least, they don’t teach that at my university’s College of Education.
