Armed Teachers in America

By: Marsha Rusli

Edited by: Fiorina Siamir

In response to the recent mass school shootings that have happened in the United States, recent social discourse has focused on whether teachers in the States should be armed or not.

We may be familiar with one of the most recent school shootings where many were affected; the heartbreaking shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas was known to be one of the most fatal incidents that have occured in the US where 19 students and 2 adults were killed together with an additional 17 people injured. Hearing about the occurrence has made many wonder if teachers, adults who spend most of their time with children, should be carrying guns with them. Several states have already permitted school employees to carry firearms with them on school grounds and more states are considering this option.

Schools are now allowing teachers to carry guns on them with the intention of increasing the safety of the school, particularly when it comes to protecting themselves from school mass shootings. This has sparked controversy on whether this is the right decision to make. On one hand, there are people who are in favor of this act as teachers would then be able to defend themselves as well as their students against shooters. Knowing teachers are armed, potential shooters may be less likely to attack schools. However, on the other hand, bringing weapons in school can lead to more dangerous situations. For example, the weapon may get into the wrong hands and an innocent bystander may be injured. Moreover, with the ongoing prejudice against people of color in the United States, the safety of the non-white population may be questioned. Aside from injuries that may arise from this situation, there is also concern that the training for teachers to use guns may take away the funds used for school activities or resources that may benefit students academically. Students may also be distracted from their studies and pay more attention to the fact that their teachers are armed. As for the parents of these students, imagine sending your child to school every weekday knowing that the people who take care of them are armed. Any parent would feel uneasy and worried about their beloved children. This would affect the daily lives of these parents as they will not be able to focus on the commitments aside from their children. 

Expanding on the ways armed teachers could have a serious effect on the growth of students, do we really want them to be confronted with the threat of violence everyday? Some students may not be living in ideal living conditions at home so school would be a safe place where they can escape from problems at home and enjoy their time with their friends. However, arming teachers with firearms may pollute their safe space and force them to grow up with violence. This may cause children to develop anxiety and emotional distress as well as limit their opportunities in the future.

Looking at this issue from a teacher or a school employee’s point of view, we may be wasting their potential. Teachers in the United States need to go through four years of undergraduate professional training and maybe even an additional two-year Master’s degree. If teachers are now to receive weapon training and target practice constantly, it is uncertain that they will have the time to receive training in the field of education. Moreover, schools may also need to give up the funds that were supposedly used for educational training. In addition to this, we may sometimes forget that teachers have families too. When signing up to be a teacher, they knew that at times, they may need to act as a pseudo-parent or a coach. However, they definitely did not sign up to be a martyr. They did not sign up to be human shields who are ready to sacrifice their lives for their students and leave their own families behind. Teachers are already spending much time away from their own families and children. We should not be expecting them to make such an ultimate sacrifice. 

In a 2019 survey of more than 2900 teachers in the US conducted by a researcher at California State University, Northridge, it was found that 95.3% of school employees believed that teachers should not be armed on school grounds. Several have also brought to attention that if introducing more guns to citizens is the correct call to action for the United States, it would be considered one of the safest countries. However, as most of us know, the States is known to have the highest amount of gun violence. 

Nevertheless, although arming teachers may be seen as an act to protect themselves and their students, it is not the best option to increase safety standards in school. Teachers with access to firearms may trouble not only themselves but their families, students and the families of their students. It is not an ideal situation and students should not be surrounded by dangerous weapons during elementary, middle or high school. Furthermore, opportunities for a tragic incident should not be invited into anyone’s lives.

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