David Berliner issued the following call for a national teachers’ strike on May 1. Teachers are now first responders, trained to protect their students if a shooter gets in the building. Some have given their lives for their students. Parents should join teachers. Enough is enough.
Berliner writes:
”It is way past time. Between now and May 1st teachers have to agree on the gun legislation they want. They can consult with Giffords and Kelly, and others who have suffered, such as the parents who have already lost children to this horrible characteristic of our culture. If by May 1st they have not received assurance that their legislation for sanity in gun ownership will be acted on soon, they need to walk out of our schools. It would be May Day, when workers should exert their strength.
“Our country’s legislators, and the voters who send them to make our laws, can then choose: Teachers and (most) parents for sane gun laws, or, the NRA that provides our legislators money to avoid making the laws that could reduce the carnage we see too frequently.
“Almost all of America’s 3 million teachers— nurturers and guardians of our youth– want sensible gun laws. They deserve that. But they have to be ready to exert the power they have by walking out of their schools if they do not get what they want. They have to exert the reputational power that 3 million of our most admired voters have. Neither the NRA nor their legislative puppets will be able stand up to that. My advice is to start meeting now, write model legislation, submit it to state and federal legislators, and if rebuffed, close down our schools until you get what you (and the rest of us) deserve.”
Save our children.
PS: There is no link. He sent this message to me. We are in despair.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Thank you, David Berliner, Diane, and all teachers. I agree. Together, we do have a voice. Teachers are first responders.
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I agree, too. Teachers need to use our voice collectively, once and for all, to stand up to this madness. We are first and foremost, protectors.
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It may make people listen!!
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That is a great plan No one is going to help us, it is on all of us to save our children Please share with everyone
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I am a teacher and former Broward County teacher. Three friends of mine work at Stoneman Douglas. I am done having to entertain the idea of admin myself or anyone else at the school! Or have us continue to bury our babies and good people simply because the NRA has such a hold on the government!
I have started a Facebook group about this. I think a more fitting day is April 20th, the anniversary of our first mass shooting, Columbine. Here is the link to Citizens Ready for Change! : https://m.facebook.com/groups/240431729831906
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Arming myself, not admin.
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could you go to our FB group Charleston Area Community Voice for Education, join the group, and post away.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/cvedu2020/
Let start something
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Actually, this was the FIRST school shooting:The Stockton schoolyard shooting occurred on January 17, 1989, at Cleveland Elementary School at 20 East Fulton Street in Stockton, California, United States. The gunman, Patrick Purdy, who had a long criminal history, shot and killed five schoolchildren and wounded 32 others before committing suicide.
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Really? Tell that to the parents of all the kids who were shot in that Connecticut schoolroom.
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No there was one back in the 70’s. A female suffering from mental illness. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleveland_Elementary_School_shooting_(San_Diego)
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There are recorded school shootings all the way back to the 1700s in the US.
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I support your ideas. However, you may want to reconsider April 20th as a target date as there is already a lot of media coverage of marijuana “smoke-outs” and initiatives annually on that date.
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May 1 is International Workers Day. It is a day of multiple demonstrations related to eorkers’ Rights. That has been the case for many years.
The best date for our National Action to Protect Students and Schools from Gun Violence is April 20, because that was the date of the Columbine Massacre.
There will be conflicts with every possible day we can think of.
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Given that the national women’s group “Women’s march” has called for a nation wide action on March 14, that action might be seen as building towards an April 20 event? (https://www.facebook.com/events/1767175080245694/?active_tab=about)
Considering comments about 4/20 and 5/1 being problematic, maybe a little intersectionality is a good idea?
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We are working together with everyone who shares our goals of protecting students and staff from gun violence.
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“May Day” was an international distress signal. It would be hard to choose a date of a shooting in deference to all the others. I like May 1st.
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It’s a great idea. I wish something like this could/would happen. Somebody has to stand up to the NRA since Congress has been bought off.
It is illegal for teachers to strike in Indiana. It’s also a very, very, very red state. Where else could a kook like Pence come from? Should we all ‘hail’ to our former governor who worked so hard to destroy public schools? The ‘religious’ right can stand proud. Guns, babies and Jesus for everyone.
Did you know that there is a TV program called. “Our Cartoon President”? It is a half hour long program that makes fun of Trump and all that he does. I watched a few minutes of it but couldn’t stand the cartoon version any more than the real nut.
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We need a broad spectrum of support in order to make this work. Alienating good people of faith isn’t going to help. Let’s leave the stereotypes at home and work together to fix this problem.
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Yes, it is illegal for teachers to strike in Indiana which presents a real quandary for us. I strongly believe that we DO need to do something though. What if we all called in sick. When the police do this it’s called the “Blue Flu”. Could we have a “Red Flu”? Since Trump has cut funding to the CDC in the middle of the current flu epidemic, isn’t it possible?
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While I understand it illegal for teachers to strike in many states. If millions of teachers around the nation strike at the same time and day…What the H*LL can they do about it?! I would spend a few days in jail to help end this murderous spree that has engulfed our nation.
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In New Hampshire we could start by passing a law that allows local school boards to enact policies that restrict weapons in schools. Incredibly, our State’s AG Office has ruled that schools cannot enact firearms bans, except for students and staff. And we could then repeal the first piece of legislation our newly elected Governor Chris Sununu signed into law was a bill that did away with licensing requirements for carrying a concealed handgun in New Hampshire.
Thus a former student, a parent, or a spectator at a sporting event or school play could show up with an open or concealed weapon that could be acquired without any kind of screening. I recently did some research on gun legislation and was astonished to find that during the 1970s, there were only two mass shootings at public schools, But this was an era when common sense prevailed in terms of weapons in school, an era when Ronald Reagan saw “no reason why on the street today a citizen should be carrying loaded weapons” and said that guns were a “ridiculous way to solve problems that have to be solved among people of good will.” It was an era when there was bi-partisan political support and NRA support for federal gun control. It was an era when the NRA was still focused on sportsmen, hunters and target shooters, and was not actively engaged in opposing gun control.
Politicians have changed their thinking since then… in part because the context has changed. The bi-partisan federal gun control act of 1968 which the NRA supported was passed in response to the Kennedy assassination. Ronald Reagan’s quotes supporting gun control came in 1967 when, as Governor of California, he signed the Mulford Act which forbid the public carrying of loaded firearms, a law he believed “would work no hardship on the honest citizen”. California’s Mulford Act was introduced in 1967 in response to the Black Panther Party’s decision to conduct armed patrols of Oakland neighborhoods.
So now we find ourselves in a world where anyone can acquire a gun of any kind and anyone can bring that gun into a school. We find ourselves in a world where school districts have responded by increasing their spending on surveillance equipment, on sophisticated door locks, and on the hiring of SROs to assist in monitoring schools. We find ourselves in a world where schools are expected to spend $1.1 billion on physical security in 2018. And… we find ourselves in a world where school shootings are on the increase: 297 school students were killed in 137 school shootings between 1980 and 2013 and 94 students killed in 200 school shooting incidents in the three year period following the Sandy Hook incident at the end of 2013…. and that was before the carnage in Florida this week.
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I am not a teacher but had the idea last night that there should be a national school boycott day initiated by parents. This would protect teachers from repurcussion and be in the spirit of the question, how can we go on sending our children to school?
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Great idea, Elizabeth.
Instead of “take your daughter to work” day, make it “boycott school to protest guns”
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Excellent. I am not an experienced activist but am wondering how to move this forward. I have reached out to Moms Demand Action and Everytown for Gun Control for input.
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that would hurt the schools financially, not the government, but something drastic has to be done, so boycotting and striking are better ideas than teachers carrying guns, for sure! I’m a former teacher, and I would not agree to teachers being armed
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@dianeravitch…this is NOT a replacement for take our daughters to work day, for god sake you rant and rave about all the horrible things that are happening in schools,USE your influence to mobilize teacher UNIONS to allow the boycotts to happen without repercussions!!!!
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PTO/PTAa maybe?
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I love this idea!!!
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I also love this idea. Perhaps it could be initiated and circulated through facebook, as news travels very fast that way. However, let’s not make the mistake of calling Columbine the first mass shooting. It goes back further than this. Maybe Columbine was the first mass shooting perpetrated by a student in his own school, but I remember a school shooting in Stockton, CA way back in the 1980’s by a disturbed young man, not a student. I cannot recall for certain, but I think he used an SAR also:
http://www.sactownmag.com/December-January-2014/Trigger-Effect/
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I love this idea. Parents should be the ones to keep children home. It’s a safety issue we want fixed! Simple as that. No contract or union trouble for our teachers. We need to speak to every family to join… no one wants their child to not return home one day.
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I had the same idea. Not an experienced activist either. Parents can protest the danger.
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This is a wonderful idea! Teachers and parents could meet after school, and together, support our children. ❤
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What do our national unions say about this proposed National Day of Action by teachers? If our unions will lead, we will activate the teachers across this land, from sea to shining sea, to stand up for our children, for public safety, and for common sense legislation to protect the innocents.
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Unions, for the most part, get fined if they engage in strikes.
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Absolutely we must stop the bloodshed
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posted at https://www.opednews.com/Quicklink/David-Berliner-Calls-for-a-in-Best_Web_OpEds-Diane-Ravitch_NRA_National-Security-180215-574.html#comment689916
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and But very little research has been done about the victims who survive, and that lack of knowledge could prevent Americans from fully understanding the profound effects of gun violence.
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/12/guns-nonfatal-shooting-newtown-las-vegas/548372/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=atlantic-daily-newsletter&utm_content=20180214&silverid=MzM0NTY0NzMyNzIyS0
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It’s a good idea in theory (May Day should be a national strike, not just teachers), but he does understand that a lot of teachers are right-wing, Trump supporting anti gun control people, right?
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This right here.
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Great idea
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But instead of a strike which is illegal in some states, and many would say teachers are shirking their duties, it would gain more positive media coverage and more widespread attention if teachers merely walked out of their schools for one hour, with their students, carrying signs calling for Congress to act. Parents could join them as well, outside the school.
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We can’t really walk our once students are in the building. I think the power is in parents/workers not being able to go to work themselves because schools are not opened. All other corporations and organizations will be affected. We have a lot of power in that way.
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We can’t really walk out once students are in the building. I think the power is in parents/workers not being able to go to work themselves because schools are not opened. All other corporations and organizations will be affected. We have a lot of power in that way.
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Someone mentioned calling in sick—a better ploy than a strike if it is illegal in some states. I agree with A that is has to be all day in order to affect business and industry. It worked for the Icelandic women in 1975 (90% of women refused to any of their daily obligations. Instead they gathered and made speeches.) as it affected all of life for a day. This would only succeed if it was backed by the parents. They would have to be willing to call in and say they couldn’t make it to work because they had no place to leave their child/children for the day.
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No calling in sick. Be there. Join hands. April 20. Details to follow.
More ways to protest than a strike. Be creative.
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In the California public school district where I taught for thirty years (1975 – 2005), the teachers would walk the picket line after school after the school day ended.
After the final bell, most if not all of the teachers walked out of their classrooms to the sidewalk outside the school fence where the posters were stacked and we walked along the busiest street for two or more hours. We didn’t do this every year, only when it was called for.
Many of our students joined us after school too. And as the traffic raced by, many of the cars honked their support.
And right before the strike vote, if the district still had not budged (Trump would have been proud of that districts micromanaging administration that ruled by intimidation and through fear when they could get away with it), there was one last protest outside of the district office where hundreds of teachers came from all the schools in that district to walk the picket line once again on the public sidewalk.
Some students and parents joined the teachers outside the district office. That protest was held the same day that the community based, democratically elected school board met and when the meeting ended, all the picketers flooded the boardroom as a show of strength.
That was always when the district administration caved in and met the teachers’ demands, and we never went on strike.
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National Teacher Student Family Sit In For Gun Safety. That way everyone is invited. Where it is illegal to “strike” there is no problem. Speakers can be scheduled and these should not be “experts” but survivors. Sit-in can be day long, in a building or outside on the campus or on an adjacent street corner or park. Maybe Walmart would like to participate since they sell so many guns and did help to shelter some of the students who fled the FL high school under fire.
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I was just starting a FB group to ask for a walk out of all ‘work’ places! I am a retired educator and everyone of these school shooting shake me to the core. I think we should expand this movement though- to all people who want congress to pass one sensible gun bill – I am willing to help with this!! Please feel free to contact me.
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Lois,
Education orgs are talking to agree on a date and a plan. Watch here.
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I commend their ‘talking’, however doubt that they will endorse a work stoppage. I also doubt that they will choose May Day. Too much symbolism and putting them too close to former blue collar types.
Remember, by far the biggest teachers’ ‘union’ has always characterized itself as an ‘organization’. And, in most States, it’s not all that organized.
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About time Education Orgs get engaged in these school killings and MORE. There’s a SICKNESS shrouding this country and its getting worse on all fronts. Thanks, Diane.
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Elizabeth Topitzer, above, has a good idea. I’m a teacher, and I will participate in any and all general strikes to protest this ongoing horror.
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So proud to know David Berliner. His book, “The Manufactured Crisis” (1995) is my all time favorite public education book.
Teachers take back the profession. MayDay.
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Proud to know David Berliner. His book ” The Manufactured Crisis” (1995) was one of the most influential works at the time and endures today. Teachers take back the profession. MayDay.
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Very good idea. I am retired but once a teacher, always a teacher. I will stand/walk in solidarity with other teachers. Let’s do this!
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Count me in!
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High school teacher here from Bucks County, Pennsyvlvania. I want to get involved and know many others who are eager to do something NOW.
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If we can get together to plan an action, I will post it here
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Thank you, Diane!!
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I’m in!!
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Model Legislation:
Congressman Jeff Denham cares more about you having all the guns you could ever possibly want than he does about the lives of your children, your spouse, your neighbors, or the other 30,000 people killed by gunfire every year in this country.
mjbarkl.com/guns2.jpg
–mike
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Mike, the number of homicides caused by firearms is not 30k. It is 13k. Deaths by vehicle accident while out driving are much higher than the total average of deaths by firearm.
“On average there are nearly 13,000 gun homicides a year in the U.S.” School shootings fall under homicides.
https://everytownresearch.org/gun-violence-by-the-numbers/
Your 30k comes from all gun deaths and that includes suicide. The annual average for suicide is more than 21k.
And if someone wants to kill themselves, if they don’t have access to a firearm, they have other methods they can use.
Less than 51-percent of total annual suicides are from a firearm. If someone wants to die and you take away access to a firearm, they have other choices.
#2 is suffocation/hanging at almost 25-percent and #3 is poisoning at more than 16-percent.
http://lostallhope.com/suicide-statistics/us-methods-suicide
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Lloyd: Having a waiting period to get firearms does lower the rate of suicides.
…………
(CNN)State laws that restrict access to guns could reduce the rate of firearm-related suicide, according to new research.
Check out this story on CNN: https://www.cnn.com/2015/09/02/health/gun-laws-lead-to-suicide-drop/index.html
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That’s good to know. I think all the highest ranked states have waiting period laws.
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Giffords.org publishes a scorecard of gun laws by state. Scroll to the bottom of her scorecard to find out how to get involved.
The site ends with “Universal background checks are the most effective policy to reduce the toll gun violence has on our communities.”
http://lawcenter.giffords.org/scorecard2016/
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Here’s another suggestion-The NRA can pay to put security systems in every single school in this country to make them as safe and as secure as every prison. I don’t recall any mass shootings at any prisons. We need to realistically evaluate how vulnerable our children are and how we need to bring school security systems into the 21st century. Yes legislation to change our existing gun laws needs to happen and All of us need to do our part to make that happen.
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If we turned schools into prisons, then many kids and parents would complain about the schools being like a prison. There are already many complaints from children and parents for schools that have metal detectors that force everyone to go through it before entering the school.
And prisons are not totally safe because inmates kill inmates.
“The relative safety of a correctional facility changes depending on your race and gender. White males are slightly safer on the streets (4.3 murders per 100,000) than in state prisons (5 murders per 100,000). African-American men, in contrast, are safer in prison. The black murder rate in prison, at 3 deaths per 100,000 prisoners, is slightly lower than the white prisoner murder rate. African-Americans outside of prison, however, suffer a murder rate of 32.1 per 100,000. Women are also safer in prison than on the streets. Between 2001 and 2010, only four women were murdered in prison, for a rate less than 0.5 per 100,000. Outside of prison, 2 women for every 100,000 are murdered each year.
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2013/06/murder_rate_in_prison_is_it_safer_to_be_jailed_than_free.html
And just how much of a risk is there?
Violent Deaths at School
From July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2014, there were a total of 48 student, staff, and other nonstudent school-associated violent deaths in the United States, which included 26 homicides, 20 suicides, 1 legal intervention death, and 1 undetermined violent death.1,2
https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=49
Versus violent crime in the U.S.
“Violent crime, including homicides, rose for the second consecutive year in 2016, driven by increases in a few urban centers including Baltimore, Chicago and Las Vegas, according to F.B.I. data released Monday.
“Violent crimes increased nationally last year by 4.1 percent and homicides rose by 8.6 percent, one year after violence increased by 3.9 percent and homicides jumped by 10.8 percent. A total of 17,250 people were murdered in 2016, the F.B.I. said.”
Putting this issue in perspective using this data.
public schools — 48 deaths out of 50 million students and 3.5 million teachers (not counting other staff members like office, custodians and security) = 0.089 deaths per 100,000
vs. 17,250 violent deaths out of 320 million people in the U.S. = 5.4 per 100,000
Then there is the slaughter taking place on our roads and that death rate eclipses all the rest.
“New preliminary 2016 data shared Wednesday from the National Safety Council estimates that as many as 40,000 people died in motor vehicles crashes last year, a 6% rise from 2015. If those numbers bear out, it would be a 14% increase in deaths since 2014, the biggest two-year jump in more than five decades.”
http://fortune.com/2017/02/15/traffic-deadliest-year/
What does all this data tell us? That it is still safer in public schools than in prisons, driving on the roads, or just living outside of prison or a school, and with stricter gun laws in every state, the public schools would easily become the safest place to be in the country — at least from a deranged killer if not from your average bully.
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Make our schools feel like prisons. Great idea. In my town they put big metal fences around all schools. Only group that made out was the fence companies.
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We already have prison-like schools in violent inner-city nbhds, whose bldgs are high rectangular edifices where entries can be controlled/ metal-detected/ surveilled.
The school in question is a typically-suburban open-campus layout, in a ‘good’ area w/no history of violence — nevertheless, law enforcement & school well-trained for potential ‘active-shooter’ incidents: still 17 deaths, tho these measures no doubt saved lives.
This sort of layout [& thousands like it natlly] do not lend themselves to such measures… & even if that could be managed… the shooter chose most vulnerable time of day (end of classes), & doubled-down on availability of mass targets by setting off fire alarm.
It is time to look seriously at the specific laws enabling this situation: (a)state gun laws, which in this case allow an 18-y.o. to legally purchase an AR-15 (even tho not old enough to buy a drink, or a pistol) & which establish a lawless/ volatile atmosphere via concealed-carry & stand-your-ground legislation, and (b)gaps in mental-health-status/ gun-purchasability, i.e., a kid in mental-health treatment via the pubsch sys can legally buy an AR-15, and (c)other gaps in mental-health law, i.e. a kid reqd to have mental-health support while in publsch is allowed to walk away from treatment because he turned 18, even tho he’s still in pubsch sys a year later – pls note he had recently lost his single parent, & had no stable home…
None of those measures are fool-proof, of course. But we are going to have to face the fact that we need to cover that ground legislatively, or face the alternative of turning campus-layout schools in ‘safe’ communities into walled fortresses.
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I agree; the public schools have already taken extensive measures to bolster security. The first thing our government needs to do is rescind the 1996 Dickey Amendment to allow the problem of school shootings to be researched and the most effective solutions presented to Congress. The second thing is to prohibit sales of SAR’s and AR’s to private individuals who are not part of a “well-regulated militia” (2nd amendment language). I don’t know if a gun license is necessary or would help, but it makes sense to me because then we could know if an unstable person has a gun license which needs to be revoked, whether permanently or temporarily. Just like a car license is revoked for DUI or uncontrolled seizures.
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Help me share the hashtags #nationalteacherstrike for #nationalteacherminimumwage of at-least $60K/yr along with mobile pensions & certifications. Why are schools targeted? Teachers and the institutions we protect are not respected. Raise the standard of living, and we will see so many of the problems surrounding our school systems dissipate also.
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Teachers should strike for an end to ALL the policies that have put children at risk — not only of death or injury by gunmen, but of lasting mental scars from standardized testing, bullying and other forms of mental abuse.
And psychologists should strike along with them, if they actually support the students.
“Violence in Schools”
While shootings make the news
The efforts to abuse
Are largely unreported
And, by and large, rewarded
The endless hours of testing
And art and song divesting
Produce a place that’s sterile
And putting kids in peril
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Along with a teachers’ strike, it would be great to organize a day of mass sit-ins as protests at schools. Involve teachers and school staff, kids, parents, and the whole community – united.
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Teachers in Right To Work States can (and probably would) lose their jobs if they went out on strike. They include teachers in Texas, Kentucky, Utah, and many other states. So either they would need MASSIVE public support in their state for doing that, or some alternate plan needs to be in place for them to participate in this action.
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Do you really believe that the states you mention would fire all the teachers? It would take them 2-3 years to “restock,” probably with unqualified people.
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Teachers would be making huge economic sacrifices if they went on strike, and most cannot afford it. But if parents refused to send their kids there would be very little economic impact. Finding childcare would be the biggest hurdle but if we all got together we could manage it. We could refuse to send our kids until movement is made toward gun legislation. I have the idea, but not the knowledge of how to make this happen, so please, if anyone out there thinks it’s worthy just run with it….
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A lot of folks don’t know who David is.
His credentials lend credibility as a leader amongst educators.
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This is a national crisis. Asking teachers to stand alone by striking (illegal in some states) will not create the critical mass necessary to solve the problem, and may generate a public outcry of anti-union animus thus polarizing the national debate.
In the alternative, I suggest that leaders of the NEA, AFT, AASA, NSBA, NPTA issue a joint statement in support of a national day protest (perhaps April 20th) in which students, teachers, and school administrators walk out of schools for a brief amount time to demonstrate the far-reaching collective power the U.S. education community possesses. In doing so, all public safety officials (police/fire) within each participating community will also be need to present to protect and serve the public. An event of this scope would be truly unifying, and be a powerful call action for our nation’s policy makers to take action.
Diane, I would be glad to partner with you and others in reaching out to the education community, and in organizing this concerted effort. I can be reached at edudexterity@gmail.com.
Robert Harris
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Sign me up. Let’s get this organized!
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Republican Lawmakers Refuse to Adopt Gun Control Despite 200 School Shootings Since Sandy Hook
Since the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in Newtown, Connecticut, in 2012, there have been 200 school shootings. But on Capitol Hill and in many state legislatures, Republican lawmakers have blocked efforts to enact gun control. Wednesday’s shooting in Florida comes just days after President Trump released his budget, which proposes cutting millions of dollars from the National Instant Criminal Background Check System…
https://www.democracynow.org/2018/2/15/republican_lawmakers_refuse_to_adopt_gun
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This link was written by David Berliner, a friend of mine and the former Dean of Education at ASU.
I know that very few of you are teachers but I am sure you know several, especially if you have kids in school. While most people don’t think of them this way, teachers are often the first responders. One of the people killed yesterday was an assistant football coach, who died in order to protect several kids.
The only thing I would change is the assurance that legislation will be enacted soon. Our legislators equate soon with kicking the can down the road.
I urge you to send this to all your contacts, and ask that they send it to theirs. It appears that only a mass statement can begin to have an impact. I was arrested demonstrating against the Viet Nam was, which was the only time government policy was changed as a result of people carrying signs – but it can happen again. Imagine, 3 million teachers, hopefully joined by the neighbors, relatives, etc. In fact, let everyone take a “gun control sick day,” including government workers.
This link has already gone viral, but viral is not enough. Words are easy, but actions not so much. Imagine how ticked off the parents will be if they have to not go to work because the schools are closed, forcing their kids to stay home. Most will surely take their kids with them as they picket elected officials offices.
Finally, in regards to my comment that “soon” means little to our elected officials, I would insist that the legislation be passed, and signed by the president on, or before May 1st. If it is not, the next sick days should be taken four weeks later (5/29 and 5/30) – the last two days of school here in Arizona.
Being angry does not work, in and of itself, and the same holds true for outrage. Only action has the possibility of causing change.
Again, I urge you to forward this. And I hope that the members of the media who are receiving this e-mail will see fit to write about it – several times.
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I am a teacher. Many of us are teachers here.
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I sent this to a forum for art educators.
On this occasion I speak first and foremost as an educator. Art seems to me less important than this reality: Teachers in our schools have become the first responders in the face of a major problem in the United States: Mass shootings in our schools.
The FBI defines a mass shooting as four or more individuals being shot or killed in the same general time and location, excluding the shooter.
As of February 14, 2018, a total of 18 mass shootings have occurred on school campuses across the United States, just since the beginning of the year. Other incidents, not all of these reaching the FBI definition, raise the total to 30 school shootings this year.
The Wednesday shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida is still in the news, but the repercussions will be long lasting.
I am tired of hearing that the cause of school killings and serious injuries to staff and students are the result of untreated mental problems. Our thoughts and prayers are not enough either.
In many of these cases, the large number deaths and serious injuries of were the direct result of “legal” purchases of firearms, especially rapid fire assault guns (e.g., the AR15 ) suitable for military and (rarely) by law-enforcement personnel, but without any legitimate use by civilians.
The students and teachers at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School had the benefit of extensive training in “lock-down procedures” and the meaning of “code red,” which turned out to be a life-savers and not a practice drill. Teachers knew what to do in the midst of chaos. Students had enough mental practice to follow the procedures.
Some of us recall Columbine, April 20, 1999. Many lessons were learned. I hope you will read and understand what happen there, especially from teachers who, back then, were not prepared…among them former Columbine art teacher Barbara Hirokawa Gal who speaks here: https://www.summitdaily.com/news/columbine-at-six-years-teachers-slowly-for-some-find-healing/
This year, I will be joining local groups who are working on the following project, suggested yesterday by DAVID C. BERLINER, internationally known scholar and Regents’ Professor Emeritus of Education at Arizona State University, and a member of the National Academy of Education.
Berliner states:
”It is way past time. Between now and May 1st teachers have to agree on the gun legislation they want. They can consult with Giffords and Kelly, and others who have suffered, such as the parents who have already lost children to this horrible characteristic of our culture. If by May 1st they have not received assurance that their legislation for sanity in gun ownership will be acted on soon, they need to walk out of our schools. It would be May Day, when workers should exert their strength.
“Our country’s legislators, and the voters who send them to make our laws, can then choose: Teachers and (most) parents for sane gun laws, or, the NRA that provides our legislators money to avoid making the laws that could reduce the carnage we see too frequently.
“Almost all of America’s 3 million teachers— nurturers and guardians of our youth– want sensible gun laws. They deserve that. But they have to be ready to exert the power they have by walking out of their schools if they do not get what they want. They have to exert the reputational power that 3 million of our most admired voters have. Neither the NRA nor their legislative puppets will be able stand up to that. My advice is to start meeting now, write model legislation, submit it to state and federal legislators, and if rebuffed, close down our schools until you get what you (and the rest of us) deserve.” End quote
I am using every forum I have, including this one provided by my NAEA membership, to join in this “political” action. Political action is speech, in this case speech about a life and death matter. Speak for yourself, but please be informed.
Among “developed nations we have more gun violence than any other. https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/10/2/16399418/us-gun-violence-statistics-maps-charts
On Tuesday, February 28, 2018, President Trump signed a law dumping an Obama-era rule aimed at blocking gun sales to certain mentally ill people. The rule overturned was written in response to the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., where 20-year-old Adam Lanza shot dead 20 students and six teachers. The rule was part of several efforts to strengthen the federal background check system in the wake of that tragedy. You can read the bill and who voted for it here. https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-joint-resolution/40/actions
I am aware of the second Amendment: A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
But I am also mindful of the Supreme Court’s 2008 Second Amendment decision in District of Columbia vs. Heller which did not authorize “anything goes.”
This, from the majority opinion, pp. 54 and 55, written by the late Justice Antonin Scalia:
“It is not a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose.
Nothing in our opinion should be taken to cast doubt on longstanding prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill, or laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings, or laws imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms.
We also recognize another important limitation on the right to keep and carry arms. Miller (an earlier case) said… that the sorts of weapons protected in the 2nd Amendment were those ‘in common use at the time’. We think that limitation is fairly supported by the historic tradition of prohibiting the carrying of ‘dangerous and unusual weapons. ‘ ” Source http://bigthink.com/risk-reason-and-reality/the-supreme-court-ruling-on-the-2nd-amendment-did-not-grant-an-unlimited-right-to-own-guns :
The “historic tradition of dangerous and unusual weapons” protected at the time the second Amendment was written included pistols and muskets then in common use. In that era, the feats performed by a musket in the hands of a skilled shooter depended in large measure on skill of the welder. According to historians, a “typical Revolutionary-era musket” had a one-round magazine capacity, and it could fire around three effective rounds per minute with a maximum accuracy range of about 50 meters (half the length of a football field). In contrast, a “typical modern-day AR-15,” has a magazine capacity of 30 rounds, an effective fire rate of 45 rounds a minute, and an accuracy range of 550 meters (about three football fields). On top of not having sights, muskets had smooth bore barrels, which made their projectiles less stable in flight than those fired from modern rifles. https://allthingsliberty.com/2013/07/the-inaccuracy-of-muskets/
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Thank you, Laura Chapman, for all you are doing. Please let us know how we can help. I am an art teacher but I’m a citizen first. Parents, teachers, and citizens who care must join together using all our resources to demand change. Thank you for providing some of the history. I don’t believe our Constitution was written to mean “anything goes’ when it comes to arming citizens. How can these children pursue “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness” when they’ve been gunned down? And how about the “throw away ” boy who committed this atrocity? Expulsion policies just pass the problem down the road where it festers and, sometimes it explodes.
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South Carolina teacher, here. I’m in.
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We all know people in charge do not listen to teachers. It should be a student strike. All parents keep their children home that day.
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Yes! thank you. count me in to help organize in Maine.
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Gun-grabbers just quite do not understand that any gun free zone attracts shooters. Case in point. The Aurora shooter lived far from the theater he shot up. In between his residence and that theater, was a number of other theaters. The only problem with those, was they were not gun free.
Giffords was a tragedy. Universal background checks does exactly as they were designed to do. It checks to see if the person has a felony. In all cases, ALL CASES, these shooters passed the background check.
Each time there is a school shooting, people go bats, the shooter has their field day of killing people. The shooter also gets their time of notoriety in the press. The press entices other potential shooters to plan their shooting to have some fame, which in turn, entices another.
Some conservative commentators are asking, where are the metal detectors? Most shooters come through the front door. So, I reiterate, where are the metal detectors? People cannot say they cost too much, then you are placing a value on a child’s life.
Every teacher and administrator of every school needs to be armed, trained and be willing to throw lead downrange. Liberals and teachers yell, whine and preach the same statement of insanity. Keep doing what they are doing and hope for a different answer.
I remember a statement Stalin said. One death is a tragedy, a 1000 deaths is a statistic. Why is Giffords running a statistics board on these school shootings? It seems that Stalin was correct in his statement.
For those who have a problem with my 2 cents. I am well outspoken. I really do not care what you think about me; I am a realist. People who live in fairy tale worlds need to have their wings pulled off. The best thing the school system and its instructional staff can do is get in between the next perpetrator and the student. Every day for 9 months, teachers are in charge of our next generation. Children are pooled in a room where a shooter does not need to hunt, because they know where they are.
Universal background checks does exactly what it is designed to do and what the teacher is wanting a medical records checks, not a background check. Be careful of what you ask for. Teachers are picking up in their ranks, military personnel. You have a wealth of information to protect these school children. If these people are Army, or Marine, you have a ten-fold advantage when it comes to protecting these children.
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No, Lloyd. NO. I chose to become an educator, not a law enforcement officer. This is the dumbest of dumb ideas. It is an insult to law enforcement and military who take their training seriously and would NEVER advocate to casually train another whole profession of people. Hell, we can’t even get the money to make sure all kids have pencils. Now you believe we’re going to find money to train all teachers? Loading up a school building with a cache of guns?? Have you ever sat in a kindergarten room where the teacher is sitting on floor reading to children? You want to put a gun there? Have you ever been on a playground where the principal is playing kickball with the children? You want to put a gun there??? You are not a realist. You are gun nut.
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I have set up a Facebook Event to help get this ball rolling:
https://www.facebook.com/events/798751013648135/
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Forget about elected officials doing something “soon.” Make May 1st a date certain. No legislation, no teachers in classroom.
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How Can I help you get the word out?
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After reading all of these comments, I find the entire conversation interesting.
Jim Higgins states, it is #notmine movement. In other words, it is someone else’s job. There was a saying about the three people who were, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody. This is indicative of Somebody needs to do something, Anybody can do it and Nobody does it.
If this is such a vital important thing to do, then why didn’t Greg take the initiative to get the ball rolling? Please refer to Paragraph 1.
Apparently, the mental health is an issue as Patti Santowski has alluded to. Exactly, how can she be certain that it is a mental health issue unless someone had informed her of the shooters mental capacity.
As for an evacuation route commented by Eileen, is there a fire escape route posted in your school? This plan will aid in getting the children out safely, or as safe as can be. But be aware, if someone becomes a shooter in your school, ensure that the shooter does not know your fire escape plan, or the person will be waiting with a gun in hand.
Whether this is a cliche, or not, but I think April Edwards has blown her sleepless nights out of proportion to the subject. Being sleepless does not alleviate you from your responsibility of watching out for those entrusted in your care.
In my State, it is illegal to strike, yet, that has been done. Some of the strike leaders have gone to jail for around 45 days. Others, just Mickey Mouse one day strikes, then they are back to work. Care also must be exercised because advocating for children to be out of school; if a parent takes their children out of school is illegal. Teachers doing the same, need to be held accountable. Some teachers who are parents, take their children out of school is breaking the law.
To my favorite subject, the NRA. Also, this cannot exist unless the Ku Klux Klan is entered into same conversation. The NRA purchasing whatever it is you want for the schools is not their responsibility. Yet, they get slammed with this White Supremacy garbage.
It is history time…. The KKK, as you know, was the strong arm of the Democrat Party. They killed the Negro and they hated Abe Lincoln for freeing them. They controlled the Black American through threats, intimidation and murdering. The NRA came into existence to arm the Black Man to protect themselves from the KKK. Next time when White Supremacy is mentioned, please put it in proper context without placing the blame on those who do not deserve it.
Everyone who has commented, I believe has an intelligence level that indicates to me that people can think for themselves. Alas, that is as far as it goes, because they cannot think for the children in their charge to keep them safe. You may as well put a neon sign up for the shooter to come here because it is not my problem if you shoot the children I am in charge of. The reality is, is this. Every school system is responsible for the safety of every school child. Parents work to make a living for their family. The State Laws says, children will be educated. Because of this State Laws, the schools are automatically held responsible. The absolute reality is that for every school shooting, the schools can be held culpable for the deaths of each and every school child. If you need safety measures for your school system, then work with the school board. They can go to the parents and taxpayers to get the money necessary to ensure the safety of all the children.
I have given you quite a bit of information on how to protect the children in your schools. From being armed yourself, to having any teachers who used to be military, to going to the school board for safety measures of your school children.
Was this statement rather rough? This is the entire gist of this thread. It is not my job. This is all I am getting. YES!!! It is your job!
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“It is history time…. The KKK, as you know, was the strong arm of the Democrat Party. They killed the Negro and they hated Abe Lincoln for freeing them. They controlled the Black American through threats, intimidation and murdering. The NRA came into existence to arm the Black Man to protect themselves from the KKK. ”
Lloyd, you need to stop. You are embarrassing yourself. If you don’t know that the Republicans and Democrats have essentially swapped platforms since Abe Lincoln, you have no business commenting. You don’t know basic history.
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I do know basic history. You are nearly correct when you said the Republicans and the Democrats have switched platforms. You should also know that the Republicans are in disarray, much like the Democrats were in the 1970s and part of the 1980s.
I wrote an article for iPatriot, Whigs to Republican to Whigs. You can read that whenever. The only thing the Republican did not pick up when the platform switched was communism and murder.
I would suppose that you could be a good bantering partner, but I have problems about people who let their students get killed because you refuse to protect them.
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Lloyd Becker,
If you think teachers should be armed, they would all need something more powerful than an AR 15. Do you suggest a shoulder fired missile or a bazooka in every classroom?
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Enter dumb question to get dumb answer. Just a 105mm Howitzer with Beehive rounds. These rounds are real. I am a retired US Army Sergeant. I also did battlefield planning. Not for artillery, but for WMD. You should take my advice and ready these schools for another attack. Even posting a sign on the front lawn of the campus will deter some would be shooter.
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Will you pay for putting six soldiers with AR-15s in every school in America?
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Becker, teachers must not be armed in the classroom.
I know what I’m talking about and you clearly don’t. Your repeated ignorance is amazing, and I will not apologize or say I’m sorry for saying that.
I am a former U.S. Marine and combat vet. I am also a former public school, unionized, classroom teacher that taught for thirty years (1975-2005) after going through college on the G.I. Bill.
FIRST and FOREMOST, bullets go through doors and walls and kill innocent people on the other side of those walls.
I repeat, bullets can go through more than one wall or and through more than one living body causing deaths and lots of brutal damage.
Turning public schools into possible shooting galleries is the highest level of insanity and stupidity and ignorance.
SECOND: Do the teachers carry their weapon/s on them at all times while teaching?
Imagine teachers with an automatic pistol in holsters under their arms or around their waists.
Or imagine the teacher with an AR-15 slung over their shoulders and hanging down their back. Why did I ask this question? Simple, in combat (similar to a shooter invading a public school campus), the action can happen so fast, you don’t have time to run to a weapon that is locked up and get it out ready to use.
Literally, the action can happen so fast that dozens can be shot before anyone can fire back even when they have their weapons in hand ready to use.
THIRD: Who is going to guard the teachers who carry firearms while they teach?
Because if you have a weapon on your body, anyone can jump you and take those weapons away from you and use it on you and the rest of the kids in the classroom.
Imagine a two-hundred-pound muscle bound deranged teenager jumping a teacher who weighs half his weight and has a lot less strength and that nut case takes the teacher’s weapon away from her (in most cases since more than 80 percent of teachers are women) and shoots her with her own weapon and then turns it on the other students.
An incident like that can happen in seconds …. I repeat, SECONDS. So fast, you hardly have time to be aware that it’s happening and respond.
The best defense is what the schools in the district where I taught did. Years before I retired, that school district set up a program where each classroom could easily be locked down when the signal was giving, and the doors could not be kicked in. Except for portable classrooms, the rest of the school had solid cement walls and steel clad, solid core doors that were locked at all times and could only be unlocked temporarily with a key while opening the door. Once closed again, the door was always locked.
Once locked down, it’s up to the armed and trained police to arrive and arrive they did from three different local communities. The police swarmed that high school within minutes every time there was a lockdown (there were a few over the years but not many and most of them ended up being false alarms) and we stayed in our classrooms until bomb-sniffing police dogs had walked every hall before the all clear was given.
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I agree. Take action now!
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Entire school systems needs to respond. I want to see and hear from our superintendents. It’s not enough for teachers to protest, management needs to respond just as loud.
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Women’s March is getting behind this and planning to announce a date soon.
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I am starting the #notmine movement and in protest are keeping my two boys home from school tomorrow. No more standing on the sidelines. Peace.
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Bigger. National Day of Mourning and Protest April 20, 2018 anniversary of Columbine HS mass shooting. 11 am Colorado time. Stay home and protest at your local congressional office. #NoMore PLEASE SHARE THIS
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Why wait two and a half months? Why not tomorrow? Surely this will happen several times again before then. The vital urgency of this demands immediate action.
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When India protested British rule for a day, the British called it a national strike. Gandhi called it a national day of prayer and fasting.
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Yes. Yes. Yes.
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Excellent idea. How Can I help?
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FYI I have reached out to the Women’s March organizers to help promote this. How else can we spread the word?
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That’s ‘our’ David…man of integrity speaking out for those who cannot speak! Thank you David! Although retired, I will join in this strike because our children and families deserve better and best!! The sense of urgency is….NOW!
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Stricter gun laws are not going to make a difference. Chicago has struck gun laws and it is not working there. We need safety and security experts AKA police to check each scoop recommend changes and unfortunately we need multiple trained security people visible and ready in all our schools. Secondly we need to address mental health issues in a productive effective way. Third we must stop being so politically correct, and point out these people to the authorities, and faith we need to act on what is reported and search the homes of these people and their social media to be certain that they are not a threat!
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This “Chicago” trope is getting old. NO, Chicago does not have the strictest gun laws in the nation. And guess what? There is no wall between Chicago and Indiana, where a majority of the illegal guns come from. LAWS make a difference. Missouri has very lax laws, and St. Louis has a much higher murder rate than Chicago.
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The answer is not enriching the gun industry by arming teachers. Instead, how about funding security measures like metal detectors in schools or mental health counseling services? How about sensible gun laws, like gun show sales requiring the same documentation as gun stores or bringing back Obama’s deeper background checks for people diagnosed with mental illness?
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I support any teachers who want to strike, but they should not have to put their jobs on the line. As a parent, I would fully support a student sit-out. It would be much more powerful with a rally to show we’re not just having our kids skip school,we’re making a statement.
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In a true strike, we would keep our kids out of school until the government takes meaningful steps to reduce gun access and increase responsibilities/requirements for gun owners.
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The entire country must participate – all students should be kept home from school. We the people have to show that we can close down the school system unless gun laws have been changed. Baby sitters should be arranged for working parents! We can and must all participate and get involved – no more waiting…
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Note: I have taught continuously since 1975. I am NOT a first responder, NOT trained to protect students unless you call a printed list with the first instruction listed as, “Remain calm” my training as a first responder? When I reviewed the list today, although one instruction is to follow a posted evacuation route, there is no evacuation route posted and no one – teacher, secretary, administrator – could provide one or tell me who should have copies of the route. I love my students and would take a bullet for my students but teachers are now taking a bullet for congressmen and an administration that refused to enact and in fact rolled back the little gun control legislation on the books. I am more than ready to walk out in protest. Set a date everyone agrees on. I have now read March 6, April ?, and May 1. Set the date and I am ready to walk.
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David DiMariano
Your comment is awaiting moderation.
February 16, 2018 at 1:06 pm
Why only a teacher’s strike? Why not a general strike across the country bringing in as many people as possible. That is how big changes have been made across the world during the last 100 years. Bring the entire country to a standstill for a day (or a week) until legislators do something concrete to address the issue. “Hopes and prayers” and “Moments of Silence” will just not do it.
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There won’t be a teachers strike because it is illegal in many states.
There will be a National Day of Action to Protect Students and Schools from Gun Violence. It will happen on April 20 in every state. It will take many forms, including protests, demonstrations, walk outs, and more.
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Yes! This is not just about schools. It’s a much bigger problem.
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If it’s illegal to strike in certain states, what can they do if every teacher does it? Fire everyone? I would face the consequences. I can’t imagine the entire state being terminated. Make you stance! This is where fear comes in to play. God will fight the battle for you. Walk in faith. God Bless you all. Myself and others are praying for you.
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Let’s also call for a national student sit out of school day to demand sensible gun laws on May day too. Students can protest too.
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Why not, simultaneously, also call for a national student sit out of school day to demand sensible gun laws on May day too. Students can protest too.
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TALK is verrry CHEAP! Walk on the other hand comes at the expense of owns bread and butter. NO-ONE is gonna walk if it means starvation.
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As a teacher who has spent many sleepless nights figuring out how to protect my 28 second graders, I love this idea. I think we can add to it by linking hands to surround our buildings, showing that we are out there to protect our children.
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Beautiful idea!
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And retired teachers will join you. And parents need to stand with. And elected local officials. And students. And everyone who has a heart that is beating.
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Before seeing this, much earlier today, I and other with 100 Thousand Poets for Change started calling for 21 March #NationalSchoolStrike #NationalStrike — an #AmericanSpring.
School staff, parents, and kids strike!
All Americans who care, join the strike!
Make an American Spring—21st March!!!
It’s time to stop this violation now!
#NRAKills #GOPBloodOnYourHands
May Day could be a second strike. We may well need many to drive the point home. And if Congress, bought and paid for by the NRA, doesn’t act (as may be the case), keep having strikes right up to the November mid-terms, and throw out every single NRA, White Supremacy-linked, idiot anti-Education Congress Person. GOP and Dem alike. If they are bought for by the NRA, out on the curb with the rest of the trash.
Please share widely.
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I am reaching out to my kids’ schools to see if they plan on participating in this walk-out and to let them know they have at least one set of parents’ support. Maybe I’ll need to start a petition. As parents we are upset and unnerved, I could only imagine school teachers and school administrators are even more so.
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There should be a FB page to discuss and to invite people to participate. I bet it will be same or bigger march than women’s march.
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I think this is a great idea and I’d even take it a step further. Maybe all teachers need to take a day or mourning/walk out every time a teacher dies in a school shooting. Something has to change. I didn’t sign up to be a first responder. I’m willing to do it if I have to, but I want to know that Congress is willing to put laws in effect to help protect all students and their teachers.
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Teachers , parents, grandparents, students, medical personnel, clergy, city officials, and anyone who cares about our children’s safety-yes ! strike !
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As a grand parent to 22 grand children and having raised our children in the 70’s and 80’s , the fear and anxiety today for children during school hrs. Is more in one day than all 2 decades when my kids went to school… Something is wrong.. Something had changed and sunbathing needs to change… It’s a law of physics that a pebble splashed and has rippled out to unchangeable consequences… Now whay did we do?
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It’s very noble that many teachers say they are willing to die for their students. However, is this going to be part of a teacher’s job description now? Frankly, it makes me extremely angry that teachers are bashed all the time but are now almost expected to die in the line of duty. Nothing will change until the greed of our representatives for taking money from the NRA and corporations ends. Striking is fine. Marching is nice. But until we tell our representatives EN MASSE that we’re not going to stand for their greed anymore and we will vote them OUT and then do it, nothing will change.
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Here’s a list from the NY Times of the representatives who take the most money from the NRA.
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My Senator Todd Young, (R-IN) received $2,896,732. I wrote him an email letter yesterday and again this morning. No, I wasn’t a bit nice in what I had to say.
I sent this NYT link to a friend of mine who is going to write a letter to our local paper The Times of NW Indiana. [I’m having a letter of protest against Trump’s recent budget fiasco posted today in the paper edition and can only write once a month.]
No wonder we can’t get decent gun control. Did you notice that Senator McCain received over $7 million? Why isn’t this illegal?
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Great idea!
It will work, teaches are on the front line with the students in this insane situation , they can’t stay silent anymore and just be sitting ducks in this sick game of money and moral corruption. The NRA and the politicians that recive and accept money from them need to understand that they don’t have the power to silence everyone else and force them in the desperarion that we see over and over and over , every time a new shooting happens.
Good sense and good people will defeat money , greed and moral corruption.
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One day will not do it. The day will come and go. We need to be on the streets for weeks if necessary. Get ready for a longer strike, please. Look at other countries’ experience of nonviolent protest. Has one day ever changed anything? How about April 20 through May 1 or longer?
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One day will not do it. The day will come and go. We need to be on the streets for weeks if necessary. Get ready for a longer strike, please. Look at other countries’ experience of nonviolent protest. Has one day ever changed anything? How about April 20 through May 1 or longer? Let’s get parents behind this too.
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My name is Deb Della Piana and I have a group called #BecomeUngovernable. We have been calling for a strike on May 1 for a couple of months and are now ramping up our efforts. We need to combine our efforts and get this going! PLEASE contact me if you want to get involved at become.ungovernable@gmail.com. You can also check out our strike site at http://www.becomeungovernable.org
I hope to hear from many of you!
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They cannot fire all of you. If you are united. If you act as one.
Teachers fear civil disobedience.
Aren’t kids’ lives more valuable?
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Followed by a children’s March on DC, for sane gun laws and consumer and environmental protection s and secure safety net. Too many of our children live in abject poverty and all our children face violence and environmental crises.
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Hi all! A teacher hailing from Perkasie, Pennsylvania (outside of Philadelphia).
Some of my high school students started an Instagram page @educationmayday and a FB event page. PLEASE, please let’s all band together. The students are TIRED of inaction. They want this conversation. They DESERVE this conversation. It’s their future! You can send us an e-mail to join forces @ educationmayday(at)gmail.com!
Can’t wait for ACTION! 🙂 Thanks!
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Destiny,
Tell the students the National Day of Action Against Gun Violence will be April 20, to commemorate the slaughter at Columbine. Details to follow.
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My school district is now looking into active shooter training for our teachers. How about asking the NRA to pay for it? They seem to have millions of dollars to hand out freely.
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Yes, the NRA should pay for the cost of Security.
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Diane: I was working at the International School of Kuala Lumpur when 9/11 occurred. Since this was an American school there was fear for the student body. Our kids came from 50 different countries but that didn’t matter to someone looking to attack ‘America’. [Malaysia is a Muslim country, at least the political power lies with Muslims.]
Our school had to undergo many changes for security. A guard house was set up with gates. Workers at the gate would go around each car with mirrors on a stick to look for anything hidden under the car. Trunks of cars had to be opened so that nothing could be hidden in the trunk.
Visitors to the school had to leave some type of identification at the guard house. Teachers were given ID passes with our photos and name on it. We had to show these each time we entered the school and had to wear these ID’s all the time.
Grants were given by the US to put in bullet proof windows in case a looney came in and started shooting. All ordinary windows came down and were replaced.
We had regular drills on where to go in case of an emergency. A code word was given over the intercom and that meant we were to take kids to preassigned class rooms on the second or third floors. [The school had three floors.] Kids were monitored and were to keep quiet while in these secure rooms. A strong tall guard gate was put up on the stairs and locked so that nobody out get up to the second floor from the first floor.
We regularly had evacuation drills in which we’d line up on the play ground and get into busses that were to take us to a different location in case of danger.
……………………..
Good grief. Is this country going to turn into a looney-bin nation because we can’t get rid of the easy availability of guns? What distinguishes the US from other countries, none of which have this problem unless they are at war, is the total number of guns. Congress has been paid off. My Senator Todd Young (R-IN) received $2,896,732 from the NRA. There is NO way he wants any control of guns.
This whole ‘tragedy’ is stoppable but where is the will? How many innocent children and adults will be killed before those in power ‘give a shit’ and do something to stop the easy sale of guns. The NRA is working for the gun manufacturers and they are destroying this nation by the amount of fear that they instill in people. Shame on Trump who is loyal to the NRA.
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My district in PA follows the ALICE system. It’s basically the “fight-back” strategy where teachers keep “go buckets” in their rooms with tennis balls for kids to throw at the shooter (IF they buy the supplies themselves; they are not district-provided). I don’t know a single teacher who went out yet and bought the supplies. Just saying.
So…tennis balls vs. assault rifles. I mean…I can’t believe thahs a sentence I just typed. I understand the sitting duck way is obsolete, but come ON.
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This must happen!
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This idea is gaining traction on social media. Can you post an update when someone has a website to direct traffic re. interest, local events, organizing, etc? Thanks for posting this! I’ve already gotten a few dozen people to agree. We’re using hashtags #Mayday and also #MayDayMarch for those who want to demonstrate.
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Adam,
Change your hashtag. Not May Day, when there are many competing events, but April 20, to commemorate the Columbine Massacre.
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Of course
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This is not what teachers “signed up for”. Teachers, administrators and students could just not go back to these potential war zones until changes – real changes – are made.
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Agreed, micachip. We signed up to teach. I never agreed to be a “first responder.” In Maine, where striking is illegal for teachers, we can still find a way to participate in a national day of action. We must, must, must not give up until real and substantive changes are enacted into law.
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Hallelujah!
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I’ve seen this happen before and while it is fine for people who can afford the time off of work it is catastrophic for someone who can’t. When activism doesn’t account for people in poverty it is really only serving a small group of people. If someone has to stay home from work they could lose their job or lose their wages and be penalized for the day, and while some have the privilege of being able to do this… MANY do NOT.
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Jose,
We will propose a National Day of Action at every schoool on APRIL 20 (the Columbine massacre date) and leave it to schools and communities to design their own actions. No one should lose their job. Everyone should participate—at school, inside or outside the building, with parents and families and communities.
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In the event that no one has already mentioned it, while holding a national day of action on April 20th is more symbolic; in Massachusetts, it falls within the week of Spring Break. Hardly a fitting time for students, educators, and parents to be involved. What about other States?
Robert Harris
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Great idea, but not on May 1, lest anyone confuse or purposefully misconstrue the purpose of the strike (May 1 is International Workers Day).
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I am a teacher who recently came back to the USA after a 25 year hiatus overseas. Excuse me, what happened to my country?
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May 1st seems really far away. At a current rate of mass shootings every 45 days, theoretically we would see two more mass shootings before then. I SAY HOW ABOUT MONDAY?
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Wolfgang, it takes time to organize a nationwide action. It takes time to get sponsors to agree.
April 20 is the date. It commemorates the carnage at Columbine.
You will be amazed at the support and organized response.
Millions of people will be involved, outraged that our legislators sit on their hands while children and teachers die.
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because monday is a holiday but next week is better .
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I am with you.
I am so tired of the NRA brainwashing people with their faulty logic of “Guns don’t kill people-people kill people.”
Mental illness has always been with us, but automatic weapons were reserved for the military. These weapons were created to kill humans.
Today almost anyone can purchase one. If a person uses one for hunting then that person is no better than a trophy hunter.
I do not want to take away 2nd amendment rights, but we need common sense laws.
Our society is all about convience (e.g., sliced bread, dish washers, clothes dryer), automatic weapons are simply a convience weapon. No more washing and drying each dish and no more reloading your gun after six shots.
The logic applied to arming citizens with automatic weapons is faulty. By the time the average citizen dug their weapon out of their purse, backpack, or waistband the shooter will have shot who knows how many bullets.
This is a gun issue.
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Why only a teacher’s strike? Why not a general strike across the country bringing in as many people as possible. That is how big changes have been made across the world during the last 100 years. Bring the entire country to a standstill for a day (or a week) until legislators do something concrete to address the issue. “Hopes and prayers” and “Moments of Silence” will just not do it.
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Love it.
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Thinking that our veterans can start being a presence at schools. They’re certainly trained to face and protect the children. It shouldn’t be up to the teachers😥
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David Berliner is just inciting more fear and a walkout only hurts the kids who depend on their teachers and schools to be there for them. Some kids have it so bad at home, they can’t wait to get to school.
In response to yet another mass murder, everyone is quick to say we need ‘sensible gun laws’, but what I want to know is, what does that actually mean? Specifics are better than emotional comments about ‘needing “sane” gun laws now’. The problem is not the guns. The problem is in the system itself. People need to get involved in their communities, get to know people so that when a problem is detected it can be reported. In this most recent incident, a problem was reported to the FBI and the FBI did not follow up. Those folks were hired under the Clinton and/or Obama era, so let’s talk about implementing consequences for the unqualified folks who were asleep at the wheel.
Let’s all take a deep breath here and think before we react. Common Sense is the phrase.
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Common Sense would be a ban on assault weapons
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Good!!
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April 20th is a terrible idea. “420” is National Marijuana Day. In Denver alone there will be hundreds of thousands of people celebrating this fact. By choosing this date you are going to get split coverage from the media, which is not something that will help the cause.
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I don’t understand all the peoples comments about guns being the problem, i especially love the comments about automatic weapons, they are not automatic weapons they are semi automatic, big difference. Most of the people that want more gun laws don’t understand the laws that are already in place. You can’t just walk into a gun shop and walk out with an automatic handgun in a few minutes, you have to go through a background check, if your a convicted felon sorry no gun, there are many reasons why you might not pass a background check. If you are a law abiding citizen is has never been in any trouble than you would be aloud to purchase the gun. Guns are not the problem, People are the problem.
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Guns are the problem. Assault weapons are the problem.
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Yeah, people going after gun safety measurement so that particular guns are accessible to deranged and those having an anger management issue are exactly the problem. These people don’t realize that they are already making regulations on gun safety before actual gun control happens, by pushing on stupid gun rights ideology.
They are the ones who spread misinformation about the lethality of assault weapons(AR-15 has a kick, so it’s safe. To whom? Only those who hold that weapon. Not the people who are being pointed at. Yes, it’s still highly lethal because it’s much more powerful than handguns and rifles.)
People who loves to jump down on what their opponents camps and their pursuit of interest will respond–rather than reaching out to the families of actual victims(or even worse going after the actual victims like Alex Jones) are the problem.
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loves/love
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Great!
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2018/02/16/educator-its-time-teachers-took-a-tough-stand-on-gun-control-this-is-what-they-should-do-now/?utm_term=.7b6a51c963d2
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I’ve been thinking of this for years! Teachers and parents unite for change! I’m in!!!
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Wouldn’t that be wonderful except that in many states now (GOP governed especially) like Florida it is AGAINST THE LAW for teachers to strike.
Think about that for a moment.
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Diane,
If it makes people feel they will cause some impact – more the power to them in a walk out – but not a reality. Solutions not the usual blame of Gun laws, Republicans Trump etc.
People are shouting for something to be done about mass shootings. It’s a natural emotional reaction borne of frustration, heartbreak, anger. But I don’t hear very many people at all actually coming up with anything to do that’s going to matter, that’s going to make a difference, and that’s even grounded in something even close to reality.
This guy, they had been visited his house, the cops, 39 times over a number of years. How in the world can this guy slither through this many law enforcement hands? And the answer is how their hands are tied. See, if we really want to do something about this, we’ve got to realize this is America. It’s not the America we wish. It’s not an America where there aren’t any guns. It’s not an America where there is no NRA.
It’s not an America where there isn’t a Second Amendment. It’s an America with 300 million guns and a bunch of mentally disturbed people out there being mentally disturbed by a whole bunch of reasons that we also better get our arms around, if we’re going to stop it. If we’re going to save the kids shouting, “Stop the guns! Ban the guns!” dumping on Trump or the Republicans or the NRA is not going to do one thing towards stopping it.
Between 1998 and 2017, the NRA spent $200 million on all political activities. 19 years, 20 years. In 20 years, the NRA spent $200 million. In 2016, alone, unions spent $1.7 billion on policy. The NRA is not a major donor, and they are not running around with politicians in their back pockets. The NRA is one of the largest special interest groups that has millions and millions of real American citizens as its members. Not members of Congress. Not the Senate. Not the House. The NRA is powerful because of their reach with the American people.
But we are never going to solve it if we don’t get off this phony reality that’s portrayed here by people like Jimmy Kimmel. It is really time for adults to step up here. If protecting kids and the children is the objective here, then somebody else needs to take over, because the American media and the Democrat Party do not have a solution. They have things that are going to advance themselves politically, but they do not have a solution.
The solution to this is not found in a new gun law. There isn’t a single gun law on the books that would have stopped this. There isn’t a new gun law that would stop this. We don’t have any defensive measures in place.
Transcript from Kimmel monologue:
KIMMEL: “You like to say this is a mental health issue, but one of your very first acts as President, Mr. Trump, was to actually roll back the regulations that were designed to keep firearms out of the hands of the mentally ill. You did that. Your party voted to repeal the mandates on coverage for mental health. So I agree, this is a mental illness issue, because if you don’t think we need to do something about it, you’re obviously mentally ill. (applause)”
This was debunked. A year ago
This is flat out incorrect and untrue. Donald Trump did not claim or remove Obama restrictions on the mentally ill in terms of getting This The rule that was removed would have allowed bureaucrats within one of our federal agencies to bar American citizens from exercising a constitutional right on the highly questionable grounds that to be incapable of managing one’s finance is by definition to be mentally defective.
So it wasn’t just about guns. There was a regulation that would bar American citizens from exercising constitutional rights and mentally defective was defined as being incapable of managing one’s own finances. And the NRA didn’t even support this. And yet they’re being lumped in here as guilty. You know who supported it? The ACLU. And the American Association of People With Disabilities, they supported this. A bunch of leftists supported the Obama rule.
T he rule brought up serious charges that it was not just a violation of the Second Amendment, but Fourth Amendment due process rights – because it deprived the affected people of a right without due process. The government does have the power to restrict and even deny gun ownership to people, but it has to show that these people have engaged in behavior that makes weapons dangerous in their hands. background check system — which was launched in November 1998 — works.
Under federal law, individuals “committed to any mental institution” or “adjudicated as a mental defective” by a court, board, commission or other lawful authority are prohibited from purchasing or possessing a gun.
Vania Leveille, ACLU senior legislative counsel, and Susan Mizner, ACLU disability counsel, wrote that the rule was unfair and ineffective. But no data — none — show that these individuals have a propensity for violence in general or gun violence in particular.
The government does have to show that these people have engaged in behavior that makes weapons dangerous in their hands. Act. 18 U.S.C. Chapter 44.
Adjudicated as a mental defective.
From the ban the guns and 2nd amendment to Trump is the cause to Republicans want to continue to let your kids get guns. The Republicans are totally supporting anybody who wants to get guns because they’re owned by the NRA. Well, the NRA doesn’t own anybody, except its members.
In many instances the Ive listened to people wishing for a rebirth of those days of innocence are talking primarily about cultural things, when there seemed to be a more robust morality that the majority of the Americans abided by and agreed with.
It is cultural degradation that most people lament when they talk about returning to the ’50s. In 1950s that schools were gun zones? Why did we need to create schools as no gun zones?
What it resulted in is there’s no guns in the schools to defend anybody once the perpetrator starts shooting. In the 50s guns were all over the place but they weren’t being used like this, were they? Does the answers here – social, they’re socioeconomic. They are cultural and indeed mental illness is a factor here.
Each school should have a safety evaluation done by professionals. My district now has a — every door locked and one entrance- requirement. We hired campus police that travel to the various buildings. Another district has the electronics at entrances to check for knives and guns.
Think about the security you do for your home. Some lock doors, cameras, guns, dogs etc.
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Your idea would mean more money spent on Security than instruction
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What are the “sensible gun laws” chicago and NY have some of the most stringent and none of them would prevent this. Walk out might make you feel good but not a solution.
I gave earlier a couple to consider. Lock all entry doors, one entrance with metal detector, no back packs, employ former police for security details, attain a professional assessnt of safety features in each school, and after listening to interviewed students we need to address the culture change necessary where students report to teachers and admin concerns they have regarding other students. Snowflakes have no safespaces. Maybe we need to review changes needed in raising students with a moral compass – church synagogue etc for many hs kids seem to disppear.
If parents complain about “jail like” environment ask if the loss of one more child could have been prevented with
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jscheidell, why not just rename your school “a prison”? All locked up, loaded with guards.
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Diane
I bet my grandkids have a better chance to come home from that building.
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Diane,
Consider your comment
Amazing you would worry about money rather than the sAfety of the students . When the call for lawsuits at board of ed meetings for not spending the money. The life of each is more important than some stupid common core curriculum
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No, I am not worried about the cost of arming teachers and custodians. I think it is a ridiculous idea, and no parent wants their child to go to school in an armed camp.
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jscheidell: This makes a lot of sense. Why not lower the AR-15 age to 10? There might be some gang members who could make use of the lower age. In fact, this is a sick society that values guns more than the lives of innocent children.
The main distinction between the amount of killings that occur in the US vs. other countries is the number of guns owned and easily available. The NRA is an accomplice in the killings. The NRA gave $2,896,732 to my Senator Todd Young (R-IN) so that he will know which way to vote on the next gun control law. The NRA is a group that instills fear in people so that they will enrich the coffers of gun manufacturers. They encourages killings. The fact is “GUNS DO KILL PEOPLE! It is pure lunacy to say otherwise.
……………………………..
Most Americans can buy an AR-15 rifle before they can buy beer
Americans have to be 21 before they can legally buy alcohol. But in most states, they can buy an AR-15 military-style rifle starting at age 18.
Federal law has stricter age requirements for buying handguns than for the military-style rifles that have become the weapon of choice for mass shootings. With some exceptions, Americans must be 21 to buy a handgun from a licensed dealer.
But the age limit is lower for long guns, a category that includes traditional hunting rifles, shotguns, and the military-style guns categorized under law as “assault weapons”. After a federal assault weapon ban lapsed in 2004, only seven states and the District of Columbia still have a continuing ban on such firearms…
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/feb/16/americans-age-to-buy-ar15-assault-rifle-mass-shootings?CMP=share_btn_link
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Thank you for leading the charge! I’ve been thinking about this idea for the last 2 days. We need to create a social media presence and come up with a logo and slogan. We also need to make a list of our specific demands. We need resources for teachers about how to organize their schools/districts and what steps they should take.
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Diane Ravitch, my husband and I have both followed you for years. We shook your hand at a Minneapolis-St Paul teacher convention ten years ago. You and David Berliner need to talk AFT and NEA into supporting this May 1 strike effort, as we must, too, with our local teacher unions.
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Yes please do a strike and make it a day to march – we will all be with you
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I’m with you
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Is this being organized and how do we get involved? I am a retired school administrator in Washington State.
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I like the idea but this date is both Adolf Hitlers birthday so you get the crazy Neo-Nazi crowd doing who knows what, and it’s 420 National Pot Day. I think you should stick to the May 1st date.
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I like the idea of May 1 International Workers’ Day. Teachers unite-even those of us who are retired can find a way to add our voices. FYI April 20 is also Hitler’s birthday.
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As a teacher who prevented a tragedy in my school, I feel teachers need training. A student brought a sawed off shotgun to my class. His goal was to kill three students. But he did not realize that type of gun sprayed bullets and would have killed many students. I had gone to every training my district offered on safety. I contribute that knowledge to saving my life and the life of our students. This student definitely wanted me to prevent him from this killing these students. This is a long story but I will just tell you there is a need for parents to strike not teachers. They never listen to teachers but parents need to go to town hall meeting, school board meeting, churches and city hall to demand change,
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Mothers Against Guns in America, get it? Please pass it on.
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Great Idea Kevin! We should see if we can get this hashtag going on twitter.
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Diane
I would like to see a list of common sense approaches that are going to be proposed during the march.
The list might draw the responses – positive or negative – necessary to create the discussions and actions the march seeks
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Strike; walk out; circle the school with hand made signs; sit-in; teach-in; march.
Students are creative. Get their opinions.
Parents are concerned. Get their opinions.
Teachers are smart. Get their opinions.
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Excellent idea, Kevin. We’ve got to see if we can get this going nationwide. I believe that there is a lot of mileage that can be gotten out of this idea.
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Great idea. If our elected officials will not take action, then it is up to us, the people of this country to take whatever action necessary to end this insanity. No semi-automatic or automatic weapons made available to anyone
I would also suggest that along with teachers, the whole country shutdown if the government does not take action by 1 May 2018
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This is a brilliant idea. I believe we parents should support teachers by taking off work whether our kids are in elementary high school college or grad school. Most teachers bust their asses every day, days off included without having to deal with this crap. Our kids shouldn’t have to deal with this crap. Librarians should also stay back, as well as bus drivers, etc. No reason this shouldn’t be a national movement like the women’s marches. There’s enough time to organize.
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This is great; another date of April 20th is out there, too. Let’s make this unified. And huge.
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Why wait so long? If Congress has the will, they can act much sooner. Specifically, in two weeks when they reconvene. If they haven’t passed anything in their first week back, that’s when there should be a strike. No more waiting.
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It looks as though there are a few people who are proposing a walkout. Here are some a links I came across on twitter a short while ago about walkouts being planned. https://www.popsugar.com/news/Enough-National-School-Walkout-March-14-2018-Details-44592487
https://offspring.lifehacker.com/walk-out-of-school-to-demand-safer-gun-laws-1823053578
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Weapon in the classroom? Most of the parents will probably dump a lot of praise on you. No, I am not a gun nut. You are just one of many in this thread who would rather see more dead children so you can gripe about guns. There is one person in this thread I see has their head screwed on straight when it comes to weapons and background checks.
I still think this last shooting, the parents need to rise up after they bury their children and place a class action in court. Failure to protect, wrongful deaths. This would totally collapse the school district and put a lot of people in positions that they would normally not be in.
If a shooting happens here, which I would never hope for, I will be advising the parents to file a class action on the school district. It is their duty to protect the children; whether you have the training or not.
You get paid money like anyone else in this thread. You can pay for your own training. In what world do you live in? People who live in a world of unicorns and stardust ask for problems.
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Are we supporters collecting a fund to compensate the brave teachers for their lost income for taking this heroic action?
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Laura,
I am announcing our proposal in the morning. No one should take an action that would cost them their job.
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laura, sometimes you have to jump off the cliff for kids and this my friend is it ..stop fearing !
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The Constitutional amendment which says “ Everyone has the right to bear arms “ has to be changed . It was written because in the beginning of our country everyone needed a gun to survive in the wilderness and to protect their family . That is no longer our truth . Today , especially now , guns should only be used by police to protect the innocent . All other guns should be collected , melted down & repurposed.
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it needs to be sooner ..this coming week when people are raw
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No one can act that quickly. It takes time to organize.
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Opening Prayer For the Colorado State House in the Aftermath of a Tragedy February 15, 2018
Our God and God of all people,
God of the Rich and God of the poor.
God of the teacher and God of the student.
God of the families who wait in horror.
God of the dispatcher who hears screams of terror from under bloodied desks.
God of the first responder who bravely creeps through ravaged hallways.
God of the doctor who treats the wounded.
God of the rabbi, pastor, imam or priest who seeks words of comfort but comes up empty.
God of the young boy who sees his classmates die in front of him.
God of the weeping, raging, inconsolable mother who screams at the sight of her child’s lifeless body .
God of the shattered communities torn apart by senseless violence.
God of the legislators paralyzed by fear, partisanship, money and undue influence.
God of the Right.
God of the Left.
God who hears our prayers.
God who does not answer.
On this tragic day when we confront the aftermath of the 18th School shooting in our nation on the 46th day of this year, I do not feel like praying.
Our prayers have not stopped the bullets.
Our prayers have changed nothing.
Once again, a disturbed man with easy access to guns has squinted through the sights of a weapon, aimed, squeezed a trigger and taken out his depraved anger, pain and frustration on innocents: pure souls. Students and teachers. Brothers and sisters. Mothers and fathers- cut down in an instant by the power of hatred and technology.
We are guilty, O God.
We are guilty of inaction.
We are guilty of complacency.
We are guilty of allowing ourselves to be paralyzed by politics.
The blood of our children cries out from the ground.
The blood of police officers cut down in the line of duty flows through our streets.
I do not appeal to You on this terrible morning to change us. We can only do that ourselves.
Our enemies do not come only from far away places.
The monsters we fear live among us.
May those in this room who have the power to to make change find the courage to seek a pathway to sanity and hope.
May we hold ourselves and our leaders accountable.
Only then will our prayers be worthy of an answer.
AMEN
Rabbi Joe Black
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We have to start somewhere. The AR-15 is the weapon of choice in school shooters. In Florida it is easier to buy than a handgun. It is a lighter assault rifle than the old M-16 and others-easily packed in a backpack. It should be banned- no longer legal to sell. Then a buy-back program needs to be in place- getting many turned in for $$. This semi-auto assault rifle was used by my husband in Vietnam- to kill in wartime. It does not belong in peace time gun stores! The NRA is to blame for these childrens’ deaths/ they are THE most powerful lobby in DC. Sen. Marco Rubio of Fl. got more than $3 million from them. Legislators must look in the mirror and find the courage to “get right with God.” Until then, they too are responsible for allowing a mentally fragile, depressed- and very angry young man buy the deadly AR-15. There are many criminals in this case! I was high school biology teacher for 29 years in 5 different states and then a university professor for 23 years. As a teacher I am outraged at what the U.S has become-a killing field!
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A teacher strike isn’t nearly enough. If they disrespect us enough to underpay us and overload our classes and change how and what we’re supposed to teach on a nearly constant basis, they won’t care if we walk out either. We might get their attention if along with the teachers, the boards, the administrators, the staff, the students with all their parents, and sympathetic citizens all walk out at a designated time and show up at the NRA and government offices, refusing to leave until they secure agreements for their demands. And no one should return to schools until the demand are met. IOW, a general strike. Even the army can’t arrest that many people.
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This is a great idea. It is perfectly clear that the NRA paid for and owns one of our great parties and has an absolute veto in Congress and they will do nothing until it looks like the great majority feels as strongly as the opponents. Movements matter greatly in a frozen poltiical system. Passivively accepting the obscene is a sin and murder of children is the ultimate obscenity.
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This is a great idea. It is perfectly clear that the NRA paid for and owns one of our great parties and has an absolute veto in Congress and they will do nothing until it looks like the great majority feels as strongly as the opponents. Movements matter greatly in a frozen poltiical system. Passivively accepting the obscene is a sin and murder of children is the ultimate obscenity.
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