Decision to arm teachers

As an attorney, teacher of 20 years, and a proud alumna of Tamaqua Area High School, I feel obliged to weigh in on the Tamaqua Area School Board’s recent decision to begin arming teachers. The board’s decision is not only foolhardy and ill-considered; it extremely dangerous.

Like all of us, teachers want students to feel safe and protected at school. Arming teachers, even willing ones, is not the way to achieve this goal. Teachers throughout our nation spend hours training and learning how to protect their students through state-required fire drills, lock-downs and shelter-in-place drills.

Teachers today are already carrying a heavy load. Asking them to bear the responsibility of protecting their students by using a firearm in a life-and-death situation is completely foolish and fraught with peril.

Do we require bank tellers to protect the bank in addition to their regular duties? Do we ask doctors to protect the hospital while performing surgery or medical procedures? Teachers are trained to teach, not act as security guards. The list of things that could go wrong with arming classroom teachers seems obvious. What if a troubled student accidentally gets access to a gun? What if, in attempting to stop a shooter, a teacher accidentally shoots and kills a student? What if a harried, exhausted teacher, after years of dealing with volatile students, misinterprets a student’s aggression and goes for the gun?

Teachers are not trained police, not even teachers who know how to use a firearm. People go into the profession to instruct and nurture children. Shooting at a moving target, accurately, during a chaotic and dangerous situation should never be part of the job requirement. Does the Tamaqua school board really want to put their teachers and their students in this untenable position?

Access to firearms, especially those designed to kill large numbers of people quickly, is a volatile political issue in this country. So many innocent children have been killed at school and, of course, we must do everything in our power to protect our students. Arming teachers is simply a knee-jerk response. It is not the answer. Listen to what many of our students, parents and teachers are saying. Support reasonable gun control measures to keep these weapons away from those who should not have them.

It’s way past time for politicians to do that. In the meantime, if the Tamaqua board needs to act, they should hire trained security guards, but please don’t place this additional, unconscionable burden on teachers. And so, I ask the Tamaqua school board to reconsider their decision to go ahead with arming teachers. I’m afraid that, should this plan be implemented, any tragic consequences arising as a result will fall squarely on its members’ shoulders.

Rhonda Jones Levy

Flourtown