Retired Akron teacher: Putting guns in Ohio classrooms will get people killed
Irresponsible.
Irresponsible and dangerous.
Irresponsible and dangerous and potentially deadly.
The Youngstown Vindicator editorial published June 22 in the Beacon Journal ("Authorize teachers to be trained and armed if they wish") is all of the above. It is virtually inconceivable that advocating the arming of Ohio teachers in the classroom could be the position of a news organization. The fact that it is sends shivers down my spine.
Who am I to voice such an opinion? I am a retired teacher. I retired in 2016 as a teacher of eighth graders in the Akron Public Schools after 27 years of service. I worked solely in inner-city schools.
In all my years of service, I never came across an idea as harebrained as putting a deadly weapon in a classroom setting. I am left with the impression that advocates of this editorial simply have no idea what a teacher really does. In none of my years of service did I ever wish for a gun in the classroom. This idea will get people killed.
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Let's take a little trip down memory lane. Think about all the teachers you had in your educational career. Now, which teachers that you experienced would you like to see armed? Which would you not like to see with a gun in the classroom? Guess which group is going to end up armed. Scary thought, right?
Do a little research about law enforcement. Find out how many police officers lose or misplace their guns in any given year. Now, think about a teacher having to manage a weapon along with lesson plans, graded papers, extra duty schedules, etc. All this with a whole 24 hours of training.
If you were a teacher, where would you keep your loaded weapon? The very nature of the threat means the gun must be loaded, otherwise it is useless.
I don't think you have the least idea of the things kids can get into in a classroom. I once found my gradebook half-flushed in the bathroom across the hall.
I know Gov. Mike DeWine signed this into law. I remain horrified. Question: Will you allow your children, grandchildren or other relative to be taught in a classroom where the teacher has an easily accessible gun?
All this because of a slavish devotion to the gun lobby. I don't know about you but I went to school at a time when school shootings weren't even dreamed of. (Thermonuclear war is another story.)
Stop making the nation's children suffer through active shooter drills. Show some humanity, please.
Robin Clark is a Mogadore resident.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Retired teacher opposes Ohio law allowing armed educators
