Review of Articles Concerning Arming Teachers as a Solution to Gun Violence

In the year 2018 there have been 18 instances of gun-related incidents and fatalities at American Schools all across the US. 20 children were gunned down at Sandy Hook Elementary School and it was thought that it would be enough of an outrage to force a national address on gun violence 6 years ago, but that was not the case. While it has shifted to the thought should we be arming teachers with guns to try and alter the morality rates in schools. Wonder if they have considered what that could do so the teachers. Teachers cannot be asked to purchase a firearm on top of their already long list of school related purchases. When would the teachers find time to go through familiarization training?

As public health students, this study believes that the proposal to arm teachers is unsound. Even if the practicalities were laid out, we have already seen that the presence of armed personnel in schools does not improve matters. But again there are lots of variables that can effect that. Having firearms in schools increases the risk of injury or death from accidental firearms discharge if stored improperly. If weapon safety cannot be maintained by an educator with the highest standard of firearms training available to civilians, what chance do the recipients of less rigorous training have? This study urges policymakers and politicians to look at the gun violence epidemic with a scientific public health approach.

As said in the article there is very little research that can be used on the subject of arming school teachers and if it should actually happen. But what can be seen is that programs that have been established like the gun free zones are not working. If anything those zones draw more violence than provide protection. A 2013 report assess of face value of putting armed officers at schools would be from $19. 1 to $22. 6 billion each year. Currently that would crush any budget that the department of education has to offer if an officer was placed at every public school in the country. The existing research base also shows that school security is an important component of a school's operating climate, let it be with security systems, more personnel, or police involvement in schools. Exploration into school security measures and what they can actually do to help benefit the overall school climate quality must be taken into account for developing other ideas for reducing gun violence in schools.

Again there to date is is currently not enough information available regarding whether arming teachers would actually benefit gun violence in school settings, arming teachers, some schools based on SOS it is even considered to heighten levels of anxiety and negatively affect a school's climate. This raises a lot of alarms with families. A recent study that used a national sample found that more than half of the parents of school-aged children oppose school personnel carrying firearms. There needs to be more research and planning for alternatives that address and prevent violence within schools. Keeping schools and students safe should be a top priority.

This article is from 2009 on if armed guards should be at schools. People are worried that possibly of having armed guards at school will not make the situation better, but worse. It could be possibly creating even more of a negative environment in our schools. Some parents, faculty, students and emergency response personnel are in agreeance that possibly having armed guards will help the situation. The National Rifle Association vice president even chimed in and said that all options should be considered, even to consider arming the teachers as well. Data from the Department of Education says that 19% of public high schools are patrolled by armed security during school hours.

There has been a lot of change in the feelings towards the benefit of concealed carry of handguns. NRA Vice President feels that if faculty was outfitted with them then that would be the best way to carry to limit the amount of distraction it could create in the classroom. There has been an immense benefit in society over the last few decades in citizens utilizing their right to carry concealed handguns. Carrying concealed also helps reduce crime. According to Association of Police Chiefs in the United States we have 663, 535 officers. If one was to stationed at every school it would take about 25% of all police resources which would take away from the protection of the community.

In 2018 at the time this journal was written there had been 2 school shootings to already take place. School shootings are not anything new. Activist have gone to great lengths to organize marches such as “March for our Lives” which took place on March 14 2018. Which sparked many other forms of protest against gun violence such as walk outs from school. President Donald Trump’s words on the matter fueled national debate if actually arming teachers was a good idea. Some states have already began arming teachers like South Dakota, Tennessee, Alabama, Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma, Wyoming, Colorado, Ohio, Utah, and Indiana.

To date there is still no empirical studies published on if arming teachers is the best approach or not. All educators know that all students are different, and all might require different learning environments to understand the knowledge. So there might not be an all in one solution to implementing a higher level of safety in our schools. The solution of arming faculty might be oversimplified not taking into consideration what environment arming teachers might create. How will all the students feel about it? What about all the different races and ethnicities? Maybe some communities will not accept that. There is a worry that possibly placing more guns in schools will increase aggression amongst students.

Unlike a lot of previously literature this study examines detailed information on the actual effects of school violence prevention efforts. Also, unlike other reports this one focuses on other schools and not just high schools it focuses on different grade levels. The information collected for this study was done in 2006. The dependent measures of school violence include reports of violence, threatened attack with weapon or firearm, and possible gun possession. This sample was divided into high schools and along with other grade levels. The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), reported in 2010 there were about 828, 000 nonfatal victimizations at schools, which included 359, 000 victims of violence amongst students that ages varied from 12 to 18. It was also noted that in 2009-2010 about 74% of public schools recorded one or more violent incidents of crime, and 16% recorded one or more serious violent incidents.

As school shootings and other forms of school violence persist, many members of society are typically left upset and searching for solutions. This study has examined the effects of various school crime and violence prevention methods including law enforcement security measures, school security measures, and school characteristics, and identified notable differences in the results of safety practices by grade levels. It is hoped that these findings inform future policy decisions and offer guidance for future research to find alternative measures to improve security and safety for students.

This journal talks about the Sandy Hook school shooting and how it and other recent gun related acts have created considerations for the future safety of children. While it has been considered to arm the teachers it is not accepted by all in Texas. Organizations like NRA have been helpful in advocating for schools to consider becoming armed protectors. The concern remains although that increasing the amount of guns in schools can possibly change the environment to that more like a prison. An immense amount of newspapers in Texas encourages that arming teachers will also create safer schools. There have been 7 school districts in Texas following Sandy hook that allow school personnel to carry firearms. Those who possess the firearms are called “guardians”. The school hired an out of state instructor who had experience training security, military, and private companies.

This article shows a good amount of the debate in Texas that surrounds guns in schools, but it of course does even scratch the surface of the full story with all sides point of view. The themes within this article would include burden of funding high amounts of gun control, national security, concern for mental health, religion, and the second amendment. There is a high amount of pro-gun involvement in this article that seemingly does not bear in mind the burdon that could come with it.

This journal covers the topic that concealed carry would be the most ideal way for faculty to have firearms in schools. But there of course are laws in place that limit people from carrying in schools, and government buildings. One would be the Gun Free School Zones Act (GFSZA). But there are of course holes in that law. Like if the person has a concealed carry permit and had to obtain it under state law then they may lawfully carry. The law also says one cannot “discharge” or fire a gun but that does not mean one may possess one. While one maybe making the lawful decision to carry in a school zone should that individual have to shoot someone in self-defense then they could possibly be charged for violation of the law.

Current programs like the gun free zones that began in 1995 have not lived up to their name, as shootings have actually gone up since they were created. Analyzing school shooting data from 1760 to 2014 it is indicated that current programs or safety measures are not working in fact they are counterproductive. School shooter data has displayed that shooters are determined to be emotionally unstable and have a desire take as many people with them to exact revenge on those who have wronged them. Concealed carry has shown that crime does have the potential to decrease. The assailant is unaware of who may actually be lawfully carrying and can deter them from taking more criminal action. Such as if in a college a student was shooting and taking out as many faculty as possible if a qualified professor would be armed they could stop the situation from happening before loss of life is too great.

This article covers a vast variety of myths that are perceived to correlate with mass shootings, or shooters. Such as that mass murders just reach that breaking point and want to kill. Actually it is rare for there to be some sudden outburst of rage. Shootings have shown to be more thoroughly drawn out and planned. There are 5 themes that go along with motives for killing: Revenge, Power, Loyalty, Terror, and Profit. Revenge is the biggest because most shooters actually see themselves as the victims. People jump to blame technology for the uprising in violence like video games but there has not been anything officially documented to correlate a relationship between playing videogames and committing mass murder.

Just because resources are limited in the means of mental health services, advancing security in schools, and gun control does not mean that it is not helping in the effort to prevent future loss of life in schools. Gun laws might not be stopping the next shooting, but it could possibly deter it. Proposals that are in the works to help battle gun violence might help alleviate future situations from occurring, but we cannot expect a literal full stop of violence. Even a small step forward is better than taking a full step backwards in the wrong direction. Such extreme steps that could possibly create a more drastic impact would be the consideration of abolishing the 2nd amendment which would not be an easy pill for the nation as a whole to swallow. Another topic is the rounding up of weapons from anyone that looks or has deviant behavior that again is another example of an extreme situation.

This article examines attempted and completed mass shootings as well as those that involve firearms and those that involve other weapons. Dependent variables in this would include types of incidents falling into four categories. Completed mass shooting, incidents with zero fatalities, completed with another weapon besides a firearm, and attempted mass killing. Independent variables include the venue of the incident such as date and location. Weapons, the types of weapons involved and number of them. 437 weapons in the total of 282 incidents were examined. Perpetrators, 345 individuals were involved in the study. Incident- Related Behaviors, such as how many people were killed, or bullying, and intent to commit suicide were involved. School Context, what level of education was targeted and location of the school.

This present study allows a starting part for future research. Studying the attempted and completed homicide attacks on schools that involved multiple victims. These incidents are occurring more and more frequently and the weapons are always changing as well. The future needs to examine more characteristics to help strengthen additional research. More variables security measures, perpetrators involved, number of victims need to be included. This study can help improve criminological testing and help the public be as prepared as possible for future incidents.

Schools throughout the country have seen a lot of issues involving violence, drugs and crime. To battle that schools have created policies that were originally designed to prevent school violence such as zero tolerance relationships with police, installing security systems, and having additional personnel to monitor students. This article is to determine how Chicanas/os experience said techniques as part of the criminalization process. Analyzing perceptions of victimization, interviews with students, and faculty members, as well as finding new approaches that are less invasive and hostile. Most studies have been primarily focused on black-white this research focuses on Latina/o who perceive to been ignored in all data. It is argued that there is not a single sole relationship for how the hardship is experiences, but many complex experience that vary across the students.

Using narratives from the students there are a variety of views that show concern for safety and the actual effectiveness of surveillance used in the schools. The students showed that they in fact felt safe when they were being respected by the faculty and when involved in extracurricular activities. Those students who as said felt safe were not ones that involved in drugs, gangs, or fear for their lives by other students. Some immigrant students felt instead of the security being used to protect them that it actually was not protecting them at all. The existence of respect of course does not exist through the whole student population which adds to the caution of interactions between the students because experiences may vary.