Teachers Debate Carrying Guns to Protect Students in US Schools
2022-06-08
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1The recent mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, has brought new attention to the issue of how to keep children in American schools safe.
2The attack by a teenaged gunman on May 24 killed 19 students and two teachers.
3Many details remain unclear.
4Many measures have been proposed to prevent gun violence at schools in America.
5Democratic Party lawmakers have called for banning some kinds of guns, increased security investigations of gun buyers and other measures.
6Republican Party lawmakers have supported increased security for schools including permitting volunteer teachers to carry weapons.
7Many years ago, Wayne LaPierre, the head of the National Rifle Association, a gun rights group, spoke in support of more guns.
8He said: "the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun."
9Many teachers, however, do not support the idea of being armed.
10A 2018 opinion study by the Gallup organization found that 73 percent of American teachers did not want to carry guns in school.
11A.J. Allegra has been a public school teacher in the city of New Orleans for 15 years.
12He said: "Children, teachers and education belong in schools - not guns.
13Imagine your oldest teacher when you were in school firing a gun several times within feet of 25 kids.
14The image is as preposterous as the idea."
15Jenna Whitesell Carson has worked at a public high school in South Carolina for four years.
16She said she was appalled by the idea of arming teachers to prevent future school shootings.
17"My first thought was that this is not at all what I signed up for," Carson told VOA.
18"I became a school librarian to educate young minds, not to carry a gun."
19She added: "My second thought was that they definitely don't pay us enough for this."
20Some teachers see the issue differently.
21Jason Winder is a history teacher who carries a legal, concealed firearm, or gun, at school.
22He said: "It's not about seeking out an active shooter.
23 It's about giving me the best tools to keep my students and myself safe.
24 I can't speak for everyone, but a firearm in my hand will be a lot more effective at stopping someone trying to harm my kids than us hiding in a corner."
25Some teachers say attention should be placed on other answers.
26They call for better mental health care and keeping school buildings safe.
27Many schools already have armed workers, known as resource officers.
28This was the case in the Parkland, Florida shooting in 2018 in which the officer failed to prevent the attack.
29"The resource officer is the first line of defense," said Keith Mott.
30He is an officer of the Los Angeles Police Department.
31Mott said: "Teachers, on the other hand, have enough to do just trying to educate our children. That's their goal, and there's no reason they should be armed..."
32Teachers do not agree on the answers, but most share a goal.
33Angelica Garcia teaches English to children who do not speak it as their first language (ESL) at schools in Saginaw County, Michigan.
34"The goal is to make sure our children feel safe, but also to ensure they are safe," said Garcia.
35"At the end of the day, we all just want to go home to our families, for our families to come home to us, and for us all to live to see another day," she added.
36I'm Gregory Stachel.
1The recent mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, has brought new attention to the issue of how to keep children in American schools safe. 2The attack by a teenaged gunman on May 24 killed 19 students and two teachers. Many details remain unclear. 3Many measures have been proposed to prevent gun violence at schools in America. Democratic Party lawmakers have called for banning some kinds of guns, increased security investigations of gun buyers and other measures. Republican Party lawmakers have supported increased security for schools including permitting volunteer teachers to carry weapons. 4Many years ago, Wayne LaPierre, the head of the National Rifle Association, a gun rights group, spoke in support of more guns. He said: "the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun." 5Many teachers, however, do not support the idea of being armed. A 2018 opinion study by the Gallup organization found that 73 percent of American teachers did not want to carry guns in school. 6A.J. Allegra has been a public school teacher in the city of New Orleans for 15 years. He said: "Children, teachers and education belong in schools - not guns. Imagine your oldest teacher when you were in school firing a gun several times within feet of 25 kids. The image is as preposterous as the idea." 7Jenna Whitesell Carson has worked at a public high school in South Carolina for four years. She said she was appalled by the idea of arming teachers to prevent future school shootings. 8"My first thought was that this is not at all what I signed up for," Carson told VOA. "I became a school librarian to educate young minds, not to carry a gun." 9She added: "My second thought was that they definitely don't pay us enough for this." 10Some teachers see the issue differently. 11Jason Winder is a history teacher who carries a legal, concealed firearm, or gun, at school. 12He said: "It's not about seeking out an active shooter. It's about giving me the best tools to keep my students and myself safe. I can't speak for everyone, but a firearm in my hand will be a lot more effective at stopping someone trying to harm my kids than us hiding in a corner." 13Some teachers say attention should be placed on other answers. They call for better mental health care and keeping school buildings safe. 14Many schools already have armed workers, known as resource officers. This was the case in the Parkland, Florida shooting in 2018 in which the officer failed to prevent the attack. 15"The resource officer is the first line of defense," said Keith Mott. He is an officer of the Los Angeles Police Department. Mott said: "Teachers, on the other hand, have enough to do just trying to educate our children. That's their goal, and there's no reason they should be armed..." 16Teachers do not agree on the answers, but most share a goal. 17Angelica Garcia teaches English to children who do not speak it as their first language (ESL) at schools in Saginaw County, Michigan. 18"The goal is to make sure our children feel safe, but also to ensure they are safe," said Garcia. "At the end of the day, we all just want to go home to our families, for our families to come home to us, and for us all to live to see another day," she added. 19I'm Gregory Stachel. 20Matt Haines reported this story for VOA News. Matthew Caputo adapted it for VOA Learning English. 21___________________________________________________________________ 22Words in This Story 23librarian - n. a person who works in a library 24appall - v. to cause (someone) to feel fear, shock, or disgust 25preposterous - adj. very foolish or silly 26conceal - v. to hide (something or someone) from sight 27ensure - v. to make (something) sure, certain, or safe 28What do you think of arming teachers? Do you think school faculty should carry firearms? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.