StudentsFirst has decided to remain neutral on a bill just passed by the Michigan legislature to allow concealed guns in schools.
Most of the candidates supported by StudentsFirst in the recent election voted for the legislation.
“Asked about its stance, StudentsFirst spokeswoman Ileana Wachtel said, ‘StudentsFirst believes that schools have to be a safe haven for kids. It is incumbent upon our elected officials to ensure that every single child is protected, particularly those under the care and direction of our public schools.'”
Most of the legislators supported by Michelle Rhee’s group are far-right Republicans. Their idea of making schools safe is to make sure that the principals and teachers are carrying guns.
Where will they keep them? In a holster at their waist? Locked in a drawer? Strapped to their ankles?
But wait! The intruder in Newtown had an assault weapon, a semi-automatic that fired six bullets a second. Shouldn’t principals, custodians, security guards, and teachers have the same weapons? This sets the stage for universal home-schooling, where of course every family would be suitably armed to prevent home invasions.
How crazy can we be?
What happens in a society when no one trusts anyone les?
What kind of world do you want to live in?
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Well, arming teachers might just even the odds in collective bargaining.
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Behave yourself!
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How crazy can we be? Crazy enough that our children are far more likely to die in a gun related incident (be it a school shooting, a home dispute, or an accident) than they are from any terrorist threat. We’re so crazy, we don’t need any enemies but ourselves.
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The same dynamics drives the personal arms race as drives the international arms race, and that is the money, money, money that arms dealers hope to make from universal armament at every micro and macro level. They buy our politicians and our supposed representatives end up acting as sales reps for them.
Mark Blumenthal asks the question, “Could Sandy Hook Shooting Shift Support for Gun Control?”
The answer is —
It will only happen if people become more important than money.
In the mean time, your friendly neighborhood and national brand arms dealers are laughing all the way to the bank, dealing arms to every side in the ever-escalating personal arms race, rolling in dough from the cycle of fear and periodic slaughter.
We are passing from a country ruled by people to a country ruled by money, a country where money is the only power and the only value, where human life pales in significance.
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I imagine sales of those semi-automatics are quite brisk since last Friday.
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Since higher ed is the next focus of Duncan/DoE, as well as state legislatures, under pressure from corporate “reformers,” it will be interesting to see how they say that gun handling, gun safety and human target practice should be added to and supervised in Teacher Ed and Ed Admin, including in their prized online prep programs –beyond shooting games/apps…
One would have expected intelligence to have evolved past living in yesterday’s vigilante Wild West, but I think we may be talking about more legislators who believe that people lived alongside dinosaurs.
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What else would you expect out of Michelle Rhee and “Students Last?” After all she gave up custody of her own children and promotes ALEC legislation while she calls herself a democrat. I guess she is probably in the DFER also. You can watch Rhee’s complete presentation in L.A. and Gloria Romero who is the California head of the DFER on my You Tube channel at George1la. Go listen to the uncut version. Listen to the stumbling answers of the DFER and Gloria Romero when we ask her real questions. Think about who they really are.
As a friend of mines grandfather taught him “I hear real good, but I see a whole lot better.”
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Aw heck, why stop with arming teachers? If we can afford laptops/Ipads for all students, certainly we can afford semi-automatic weapons for them all? We could add target practice to the P.E. curriculum. In fact, maybe the shooting range could be housed in the gym, since many of them aren’t being used anyway.
This would be an especially useful program in Chicago Public Schools, since Rahm assures us that 25% of them won’t amount to anything anyway. We can just figure it as career training.
/sarcasm
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Let’s give every teacher, employee and student fully automatic weapons with back to back 50 or more shot clips just in case. Then let us change the laws in every state to allow the Shoot First and ask Questions Later laws if you think someone will look at you wrong. Why not? We will be safer won’t we?????????
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Here’s my take: http://waynegersen.com/2012/12/18/what-we-teach-when-we-lock-the-door/
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The potential for awful accidents far outwieghs the possibility of repelling an armed attack, if guns are present in schools. Bad idea. Not to mention that turning schools into doomsday bunkers is not what I would consider to be pleasant or intellectually nourishing atmosphere.
However I can’t help but wonder what those slain teachers would have given for some means of defense at that horrible moment.
Maybe something like tasers or bear spray in cabinets like the fire extinguishers or defibrillators?
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Somehow, I would be surprised to hear that it even crossed their minds. They only had time to think about the children.
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I heard on the news this morning that a sheriff in the Cincinnati area says that every school should have an armed police officer, or professionally train a principals or teachers to handle fire arms. All I could think was this: Yep, let’s teach our children to fight violence with violence.
I understand the idea of defending oneself. I, personally though, don’t know that this is the “best” way to do that. In fact, I believe this is a much bigger issue than gun control. I remember after Columbine going into my classroom and figuring out where I could have students “hide” in order to offer some protection (being a science teacher, I had lab tables and cabinets).
As an fyi–there appears to be a nation-wide, virtual town hall meeting scheduled for Thursday evening at 7 pm. Here is the link for our local news station. You may want to check this out in your local area.
http://www.local12.com/news/local/story/Town-Hall-Discussion-on-Gun-Control-on-Local12-com/E7-J1KPLY0GEMgm2WMcpxg.cspx
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If teachers and principals have guns then when the bad guy comes in blazing they can start shooting too. So there will be twice as many bullets flying through the school room. Now that will be an improvement.
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Guns are the problem and having a gun is the real danger – I believe the number is 40,000+ accidents and suicides per year. I think the following pledge might be an appropriate response:
The debate on gun rights has gone on too long. While there may be legal rights to gun ownership that does not apply to my private life. I pledge:
– Not to enter a residence or vehicle where I know there are guns, regardless of who owns them.
– Not to allow anyone into my residence, vehicle or business (assuming I am the owner) who I know is carrying a gun, regardless of who owns them.
– To apply the standards above to my under age children.
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StudentsFirst™ is a public policy vending machine. They do have a certain number of brands to maintain, but as a rule they don’t really know what they believe or what policies to dispense until some funder inserts the requisite coin and pushes the button of choice.
In a few days, they will find out who is going to pay them the most to say what, and then they will alert the media.
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Detroit News • Sponsor: Snyder to Veto Concealed Weapons Bill
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I work in a middle school. From time to time students have successfully opened locked desk drawers, closets, and cabinets to steal money, candy, or electronics. There is no way to securely store a gun in a school.
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Will Michigan pay for the teachers guns, licenses and training to use fire arms as well as accept the liability for any accidents or deaths resulting from the gun being in the school? Or are the teachers expected not only to supply the security at the school but pay for it as well. If someone does come in and kills students will it now be the teachers fault for not stopping them?
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