Why should we not arm our educators? Buck Fever

There has been a debate among my teacher friends recently about ALICE training and the like.

Some say it is "necessary". So we will know "what to do". A lot of second guessing is stated as facts from previous school shootings, especially Columbine. "The ones in the library could have gotten out while the shooters were in the cafeteria."

I'm calling BULLSHIT.

"It's not a matter of if, but when."

Um. Bullshit AGAIN.

We are not fed this line of reasoning for fire or tornado drills.

My opinion, no, that's too weak. My BELIEF is that teachers in schools in the United States of America DO NOT HAVE TO EVEN THINK ABOUT WHETHER THEY SHOULD CARRY A GUN IN THEIR CLASSROOM. PERIOD.

This is not a solution. It will not make school safer. It is not a clever play on piece=peace.

I have been around guns. I have shot guns. I know that every year, hunters die because of a psychological phenomenon known as "buck fever". Even in blaze orange, adrenaline makes a two-legged man look just like a deer.

More training and simulations and fake blood and shooting blanks is not going to solve ANYTHING.

My school life is lived in a room with a rickety door lock, a bag of golf balls, and one bandage. And a class full of adorable, lovable, trusting children who I would willingly die to protect.

But i would not feel ONE BIT SAFER if I went to school every day with a Glock strapped to my hip.

And I would indeed feel even less safe if my coworkers had the same.

Why?

Buck fever.

If someone slams a locker and is holding a pencil, how long until an innocent kid gets shot?

Buck fever. Looked just like a shooter.

If there is a fire drill, like in the Florida massacre, will all the teachers evacuate with guns drawn?

What if a car backfires outside the building?

Fireworks?

Buck fever, buck fever, buck fever.

The DIFFERENCE is that, in the woods, there aren't a bunch of rooms filled with little people.

So there are accidents, in the woods, and probably many close calls that we never find out about, but they are scattered.

In most cases of active shooters, the good guy with a gun never materializes or gets fired because he didn't rush in and sacrifice himself. (Florida).

It is JUST PLAIN STUPID to think that arming teachers is a simple cure for school shootings.

What we need is to IDENTIFY shooters before they shoot.

We need mental health care available.

We need someone to monitor the cyber groups that fan the flames of hatred and turn sick people into despicable murderers.

We need better security in our schools. At least as much as we provide in other public places. Or airports.

I don't want any more ALICE training because I feel the effects of trauma on MYSELF.

And no, it is not a matter of WHEN. Stop saying that. My odds of dying in my car are way higher than dying of a school shooter.

I think this ALICE training or whatever acronym du jour they are calling it now is really just a display of machismo and I don't want any more of it. IF the time comes, I will do what I can. Until then, leave me alone and let me teach.

Jackie Conrad - Ohio BAT