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Upon graduating with my Master of Education degree in Guidance and Counseling, my desired educational position would be working as a middle school or high school counselor.

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Step 2: Exploration Option 2- American School Counselor Association (ASCA) Legal and Ethical Issues.

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Step 2: Exploration Option 2- American School Counselor Association (ASCA) Legal and Ethical Issues.

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An issue identified on the ASCA website is that of using federal education funds to purchase firearms to arm educators.  ASCA issued a statement adamantly opposing any proposal directing funds away from programs that directly help improve student learning and academic achievement.

Another issue ASCA has issued a position on is school counselors' legal, ethical, and moral responsibility to report child abuse and neglect.  Per the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) of 1974, School counselors are mandated to report suspected abuse and neglect to proper authorities and are critical in the early detection and recognition of these issues. According to ASCA, It is the absolute responsibility of school counselors to serve as child advocates.

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Step 2: Exploration Option 2- American American Council on Education (ACE) Legal and Ethical Issues.

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Step 2: Exploration Option 2- American American Council on Education (ACE) Legal and Ethical Issues.

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The American Council on Education has issued a report entitled

Supporting the Culminating Stages of Faculty Careers: Legal Issues (2011), which focuses on the major legal issues concerning the areas of civil rights, contract, and tax law associated with faculty retirement incentives.

A second legal issue identified on the ACE website is one concerning Dreamers, undocumented immigrants brought here as children and covered under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.  The legal issue is centered around President Trump’s decision in September 2017 to rescind the DACA program.  Thus far, federal courts have blocked the rescission allowing for DACA renewals but not new registrations. Additionally, while there is widespread support for permanent legal protection for Dreamers, Congress has also failed to act despite bipartisan support.

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Mass shootings on school campuses has raised the issue of arming educators in order to protect students and staff should any future events happen.  There are proponents for and opponents against this idea and numerous legal issues surrounding this proposal.

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Step 4: Psychology Today- Arming Teachers: Good or Bad Idea?

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Step 4: Psychology Today- Arming Teachers: Good or Bad Idea?

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Explores the issue of arming teachers as a solution to mass shooters in schools.

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Most of us can reflect back and remember teachers who made a difference in our lives-teachers who taught us to read, to think, to play, and to be contributing members of our communities. In school, my first teacher was Miss Childs. I fondly remember my kindergarten class where we built large block forts, listened to stories, colored pictures, snacked on sliced oranges, and made friends. I wanted to be the first child on the school bus each morning, as I loved her class. Miss Childs was a graying older woman, slightly bent from age but always quick with wit and warmth. She exuded kindness, joy, and love. What I don't remember is her ever carrying a weapon. Moreover, I cannot envision her ever taking up a gun to potentially shoot another child, a young adult, or any other person. How many of us can picture our beloved teachers from years past as individuals prepared to kill other human beings?

Following the shooting at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, politician, pundits, and representatives of the National Rifle Association (NRA) have called for arming teachers. President Trump has stated, ""A teacher would've shot the hell out of him," Why? A "gun adept" teacher would best be able to respond as, "The teachers love their children. They love their pupils and students."

So is this idea productive? Does it answer the problems of school shootings? What are the ramifications of armed teachers? There may be some teachers (e.g., ex-military or police) who may be well suited to protect their young charges. However, as noted in many news articles, arming teachers presents a number of problems placing students, teachers, and first responders at risk. For example:

An armed teacher may potentially shoot an unarmed student or a first responder in the chaos of a mass shooting.

What are the odds of survival or success for a teacher armed with a handgun against a shooter carrying an AR-15, who is also wearing body armor?

Where would a teacher store his or her gun? If in a secured location, how will the teacher access that gun during a mass shooting? If in their classroom, even if in a locked drawer, could it be easily stolen? If on their person, does that gun increase risk to students from an accidental discharge? What if the stressed teacher accidentally leaves it sitting on their desk?

Who would pay for the gun and training? Right now, many teachers are struggling to pay for basic school supplies such as crayons and books. Who is going to pay for and provide the ongoing training needed to turn teachers into professional security forces?

Beyond the practical concerns, there are even more serious psychological challenges concerning the proposal to arm teachers.

Not Easy to Kill: Too often movies and television portray shooting and killing other human beings as easy and inconsequential. Yet, for most humans, it is disturbing, difficult, and immensely painful to kill another individual. During World War II, it became evident than many soldiers were missing their targets-they were aiming above the heads of the enemy. Hence, training was changed so that soldiers practiced shooting at human figures as opposed to bulls-eye targets and drills were intensified and routinized to facilitate the killing process. Much has been written about the extensive education and training provided to soldiers and police officers to prepare them for shooting at and potentially killing another human being (see, for example, Grossman, 1996). Even with such ongoing instruction and drills, killing is difficult and a second's hesitation may mean the difference between going home or to the morgue. We should never underestimate the amount of skill and discipline that goes into being and remaining a good police officer or soldier.

So what is the impact for armed teachers? There appears to be the idea that with just a little bit of training and the provision of a handgun, teachers will be able to do the job of the police, specifically SWAT, or military. It is assumed that a teacher whose job is imbued with love for children and the community will somehow be able to take on the calculating persona needed to track and shoot another human being. It is assumed that in the blink of an eye during an incredibly stressful, noisy, chaotic environment that a teacher will be able to instantly transition from reading haikus to become a skilled security force and killer. These are unrealistic assumptions. In Parkland, an armed security guard and perhaps other police deputies didn't set foot in the school while the shooter was active. Yet, we would ask more from our teachers? The argument is that they could do it because they "love their students." However, what if the shooter is one of those students or a former student that they loved? If the face of the enemy looks to be a monster, then that person might be easier to kill. However, if the face of the enemy looks like a kid or Bobby from last year or my student Jimmy, how many teachers would be able to shoot "the hell out of him"?

Weapons Focus Effect: When facing down the barrel of a gun, one tends to focus on the gun and not other features of the situation. Witnesses to crimes remember less about a perpetrator due to the weapon's focus effect (Fawcett, Peace, & Greve, 2016).

So what is the impact for armed teachers? First, a teacher holding a handgun during a school shooting is much more likely to be shot by a first responder. If SWAT enters a classroom, they are looking to see who is armed and who needs to be brought to safety. Stress, fear, and rapid decisions may leave an armed teacher at extreme risk, as the focus would be on the hand with a gun and not the entire context. The situation becomes worse if that teacher confuses the armor-clad officer entering the room with the shooter. Moreover, how does the teacher in a school hallway know not to shoot another armed teacher if the cognitive focus falls largely on the weapon? One sees the gun coming around the corner, shoots first, and then examines who is the holder of the gun second. Teachers at least may recognize each other or a student in the chaos but certainly first responders will not know who is a potential victim and who is a perpetrator. The more untrained personnel carrying guns, the more likely a tragic scenario occurs in which innocents are killed.

Weapons Effect: When guns are introduced into almost any context, the potential for aggression increases. As discussed by Benjamin and Bushman (2018), "exposure to weapons increases aggressive thoughts and hostile appraisals, thus explaining why weapons facilitate aggressive behavior" (p. 93).

So what is the impact of armed teachers? First, anyone who has ever taught a class of students has had moments of anger, stress, and frustration. The research suggests that if one adds a gun to the mixture, then that anger, stress, and frustration may also escalate to violence. Recently in Georgia, a teacher barricaded himself in his classroom and shot a handgun out the window. Fortunately, no student was injured or killed but his breakdown would have been far less destructive had he not had a weapon. Additionally, teachers are often called upon to break up fights. If a teacher is carrying a weapon, there is little to keep that teacher from being overpowered. A simple fight may go from bad to worse. Sadly, the mere presence of a gun may serve as the ignition and fuel for a school shooting.

Bottom line: It is doubtful that more guns in schools will act as deterrence. Most school shooters don't expect to survive and can do significant harm prior to being shot themselves. Even on military bases such as Fort Hood, the site of two mass shootings, increased weaponry did not act as deterrence. As I have written previously, we need to approach school shootings from a multifaceted perspective but most importantly, we need to begin enacting serious common sense gun ownership reforms now (See Mass Shootings: What Role Do Guns Play?).

The answer to gun violence is not to arm teachers but rather to reduce accessibility to guns, particularly large capacity, semi-automatic weapons such as the AR-15. We cannot aim simply to "harden" schools and weaponize faculty. Bulletproof windows, metal detectors, and teachers with concealed weapons are illusions of safety. Moreover, children cannot simply be locked inside. Children should be able to play on the playground. Children should be able to go outside to participate in soccer, football, tennis, or track. Students should be able to go on field trips to museums and parks. Students still need to find their way in and out of school. Our children are vulnerable targets to other children and adults armed with guns both within and outside the school building. The answer is not to lock away our children but rather lock away the weapons killing our children.

It is time to enact sensible gun reforms so that a student's memory of school will not be of gun violence or a locked-down, armed fortress. Rather, we want their memories to be of school environments devoted to exploration and education inhabited by teachers such as Miss Childs.

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Most of us can reflect back and remember teachers who made a difference in our lives-teachers who taught us to read, to think, to play, and to be contributing members of our communities. In school, my first teacher was Miss Childs.

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According to the research I conducted online, since the Columbine High School shooting in 1999, the first recognized incident of a mass school shooting, there have been twelve mass school shootings in which four or more individuals have died.  In total, there has been more than 200 students and staff members killed or injured. It goes without saying that twelve shootings in twenty years does not bode well statistically, especially with the majority (7) happening within the last ten years.

There are many who feel that arming educators is a direct way to deal with the issue of school safety.  Proponents for this measure also feel that arming educators could potentially deter future school shootings.  Their ideology is that properly trained men and women could more readily and in a more timely way address a school shooter or intervene in a school shooting situation.  This could possibly prevent the loss of students' or staffs' lives.  Furthermore, supporters for arming educators believe that doing so could deter individuals from following through with a school shooting knowing that an unknown number of educators would be armed to try and stop them.

There are many more who feel that arming educators is not the best approach to dealing with school safety or school shootings.  Opponents to arming educators cite a number of reasons for being against this measure.  One reason is it's not easy to kill someone.  Soldiers and police officers go through extensive education and training to prepare them for shooting at and potentially killing another human being.  According to Woolf (2018), "We should never underestimate the amount of skill and discipline that goes into being and remaining a good police officer or soldier" (para. 5).  Educators may not have access to the same level training or education.  A second opposition to arming educators is the weapons focus effect- when facing down the barrel of a gun, one tends to focus on the gun and not other features of the situation (Woolf, 2018, para. 7).  In a school shooting situation, the focus of responders may be on a hand holding a gun and not the entire context of the situation.  Conversely, an educator may mistake a responder or another educator for the shooter.  A third reason for opposition to arming educators is the effect weapons have when introduced into almost any context.  The potential for aggression rises, which could include an educator having a moment of anger, stress, and frustration lead to violence or a student in a fight trying to overpower a educator carrying a gun (Woolf, 2018).

In the end, any school system's decision on arming educators will have individuals for and against it, to include educators themselves.

Reference
Woolf, L. M. (2018, March 4). Arming teachers: Good or bad idea? Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-fight-against-hate/201803/arming-teachers-good-or-bad-idea.

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Arming School Teachers: What Do We Know? Where Do We Go From Here?

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Angelo State University - Library Online Resources

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