After Shootings, Some Teachers Get Guns

Some In Salt Lake City Are Getting Weapons Training To Defend Class

(CBS)  Clark Aposhian is running his first gun training class exclusively for teachers. Although turnout was sparse, the pupils were enthusiastic.

"We stick our heads in the sand when it comes to ability to protect ourselves," Aposhian told The Early Show correspondent Hattie Kauffman.

Holes in student safety were brought to the forefront after three fatal school shootings in the past few weeks. The deadliest was at the one-room Amish school house in Pennsylvania, where five school girls were killed.

The teachers in Aposhian's class are training to get licensed to carry a gun to school. They feel having a gun in the classroom will help them should a threat arise.

"If someone's going to get into this school and harm the kids, there needs to be an immediate and deadly response," said Nick Pond, a teacher. "That could be an amazing deterrence to anyone who wants to harm kids."

"When I walk in there, that class is mine and I would do anything to keep from one of those children getting armed," teacher David Westley said.

Aposhian said that experience has taught us that having unarmed teachers has not produced good results.

"We'll never know if in Baley or Pennsylvania or Red Lake, Minn., if a firearm discreetly carried by a teacher or an administrator or custodian would have stopped these shootings, if it would have saved any lives at all," he said. "However, we can tell you with absolute certainty what happened when no firearms were carried by teachers."

President of the Utah Education Association Kim Campbell is critical of having armed teachers. She said she cannot think of any circumstance where teachers should carry guns in school.

"I would be opposed to any guns in school, period," she said. "No matter where I would put a gun in a classroom, a class full of little people would find it. And if it were locked up safely, there would be no chance to get it."

Others say that while guns may not be the answer, kids and teachers need to fight back even if it's with pens, pencils and textbooks. Greg Crane, a former police officer, teaches a class on how students and teachers can defend against an attack with his program called Response Options. He tells his students to use everything they have available to fight back.

"We train that anything is a distraction," he said. "Anything that you can throw. Your movement, your noise. We need to get out of this victim mindset. We need to get out of the belief that just because he has the gun and I don't, doesn't mean I have lost."

[deezlman]

In schools (especially where there is no police presence) teachers and other educational professionals should be allowed to carry concealed firearms. However, I believe they should first undergo a background check (if not already done), a psychological evaluation, training in how best to react in the event of a confrontation and, lastly, thorough firearms training.
Otherwise, potential killers may rest assured they will not encounter deadly resistance in our schools. Once in with a gun, they will be in control.

[deezlman]

In schools (especially where there is no police presence) teachers and other educational professionals should be allowed to carry concealed firearms. However, I believe they should first undergo a background check (if not already done), a psychological evaluation, training in how best to react in the event of a confrontation and, lastly, thorough firearms training.
Otherwise, potential killers may rest assured they will not encounter deadly resistance in our schools. Once in with a gun, they will be in control.

[elzhend]

More guns anywhere is not the answer, why are we not talking about making it harder to get guns? I am sure my teenagers would be traumatized knowing any teachers at school had guns, even if they did not know which ones. I am horrified by the thought of arming school staff. Let's control who has access to guns.

[wendyhoo-2009]

WOAH... I am all for new ways to keep our schools safe but teachers having guns NO WAY. Especially in big cities like where I am from. The best solutions is to only have two entrances that are open in the morning and those entrances to have metal detectors as well as guards watching them go through. The other doors in the school should only be used when school is letting out or for fire drills. We should spend money on our systems instead of wars and make surea all of our schools have the doors that are locked down until the button is pushed from the office. As well as each school having real officers and not 15 but 2 maybe 3 at the time school is going in and out and our local police can take the time out to do that to make sure our children are safe... please they take a vow to protect and serve. How about cameras in the hallways and classrooms. Yeah lets have the teachers bring guns to school... if they are carried on the person a child can grab it please these kids take guns from officers in a struggle and shoot them... ahhh yeah locked drawer... how many times do the parents say the gun was locked in the drawer at home I don't know how he got in there.... because these kids are smarter then we think and they can pick locks or make keys... wake up america... BUSH... put money into each school and get us feeling safe sending our children to school.

[em50bc11]

To all the morons who think there's a policeman on every corner and they will come at a moments notice you people dumber than you think, If its you child who just got shot you would want a teacher to be carring a firearm. All of you people who have your head in the sand and think a teacher can fight off someone with a fireare with a broom are sadly mistaken. Wake up this is not father know best. The person with a firearm doesn't care if they are gunned down all they want to do is make a statement and shoot the one's that have been picking he or she. So get real and wake up and smell the coffee burning.

[agnim]

cantshutup

Didn't mean to 'generalize'. My bad. LOL
I should have said 'some' so-called 'teachers' are dumb, uncreative, and now even more destructive.

I'm usually good at choosing my words.
However, I was too indignant at the thought of arming so-called 'teachers' to shoot their students, instead of recognizing that 'teachers' who would bear arms in school to inimidate INNOCENT children (the vast majority of them are innocent) should be removed from the educational environment the same way we should remove the perverts who *** their students.

Seems like you have somewhat of a good attitude towards your teaching job.

However, remember that teachers are the ones that is supposed to be trained to handle children. Most parents aren't.
So you are casting the blame in the wrong direction when you blame untrained parents. Wink.

[agnim]

ozilot

Arming yourself to shoot children, your own students, is contrary to being a teacher.

Better for these idiotic, armed and dangerous so-called 'teachers' to leave the profession to more competent adults if they can't come up with a more creative solution and lesson plan for their STUDENTS -- CHILDREN!

[boston1954]

Oh what a wonderful idea!! Let's bring MORE guns into schools.......

This is just an invitation to more trouble. Are these teachers planning to lock the guns in the desk drawer so that the kids are not getting at them??

[ladyhawk2099]

Some private school, like the one I work for does not have the funds to pay for professional guards, so I am all for going to a class to help prevent a school shooting. And the kids would not know if I was carrying or not, there are ways to hide them. I only wish this class was available here in maryland.

[ladyhawk2099]

Some private school, like the one I work for does not have the funds to pay for professional guards, so I am all for going to a class to help prevent a school shooting. And the kids would not know if I was carrying or not, there are ways to hide them. I only wish this class was available here in maryland.

[jedig-2009]

The true title of article is "Turn schools into a prison". It would be better to put metal detectors in all schools. Also if teachers are going to carry a gun they need to be psycologically scaned to keep the children safe.
The children at schools are very stressful, HOW CAN WE BE SURE THE TEACHER WON'T USE THE GUN TO KEEP THEM IN LINE.
The biggest problem is kids today are not taught to respect others and themself. The headlines prove this fact.

[three-o-six]

To every one worried about the effect of the guns on the kids -- the teachers could go through conceal carry classes and carry the guns concealed. That way yhe kids would neve know which teachers were armed and the teacher would have the gun on their person at all times

[gladetryst]

Follow the logic, ad hominem attacks are only for those who can't think logically. Don't generalize teachers, I had quite a few very dedicated teachers, and quite a few that hated children. But stereotyping by job is idiotic...

And why can't they defend themselves? Why can't we all defend ourselves?

[cantshutup]

oh dear, I'm sorry I didn't capitalize the first letter in my sentences especially for you...how frustrating for you! I hope you were able to understand my point anyway???

[gmond]

Cantshutup - You aren't an English teacher, are you?

[gmond]

I can see it now, a new reality show:
The West is Wild Again - Classroom Cowboys!

[cantshutup]

Posted by Agnim
Little wonder our schools are failing, too many of our teachers are too dumb, uncreative and now destructive! Posted by Agnim

as a teacher, I must say it hurts that you would generalize a large group of dedicated, underpaid, overworked teachers as dumb and uncreative, teachers have to be extremely creative to do the job they do with the little pay and support they get...for the large part at the school where I work and as told by friends at other schools, parents are indeed the problem...children come to school starving for attention or with attitudes influenced by self-centered, egoistic parents...there's no respect, little self-control and an everything-all-about-me attitude...
these days, we can't spank a child but we now have permission to shoot them???? arming teachers is not the answer, I consider nurturing and protecting as part of my job and I could never, EVER imagine taking aim at a troubled kid...what a sick, sick idea to come up with...instead of wasting money to train teachers, professional security should be hired and more deligent safety measures should be implemented...also keep in mind that although there are many, many good dedicated educators, there are also enough of those who are stressed and frustrated to the point where arming them is a very, very, bad idea for sure!!!

[mjv2944]

I understand the reasons why, but if they have guns in the class room there must be extraordinary safety measures in place. Some schools will be much more dangerous than others. These kids today have no guidance from home and the parents are a big part of the problem. I would not want the job of trying to teach some of them. But lets hire professional security people to man all the entrances to the school along with metal detectors, expensive, yes, but the best bargain for protecting kids, and probably a much better idea than arming the teachers.

[agnim]

This has to be the sickest idea coming from so-called educators.

Little wonder our schools are failing, too many of our teachers are too dumb, uncreative and now destructive!

[ali massey]

ONLY IN AMERICA THE SHOOTING AND GUNS,THATS THE AMERICAN WAY OF LIFE IF THEIR IS ANY