What is a teacher's responsibility in protecting the students?

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Gun Free Zone

This image has a special message for criminals and evil doers.

ATTENTION CRIMINALS
All Law-Abiding Students, Faculty, and Staff at this
institution have been disarmed for your convenience.

TEACHER RESPONSIBILITY

I am a teacher, not a policeman. I should not have the additional responsibility of protecting the children. Just let me do the job I was trained to do.

If this is your attitude, then consider these thoughts.

1. You're teaching, and Susie has an asthma attack. She is having trouble breathing. Do you just continue the lesson or do you stop teaching and get help for her?

2. Devon suddenly collapses out of his desk chair and falls on the floor convulsing. Do you just continue the lesson or do you stop teaching and get help for him?

3. Fred the bully is picking a fight with Donald on the back row. He has Donald's shirt collar in his left hand and is punching him in the face with his right hand. Donald's nose is bleeding. Do you just continue the lesson or do you stop teaching and get involved to protect Donald?

4. An ex-student you knew several years before walks into your room and begins shooting your students. Do you just continue the lesson or do you stop teaching and help your kids?

These scenarios are not common, but they do happen. You recognize that as a teacher you have the responsibility to deal with these problems, and would probably be subject to reprimand or dismissal if you did not immediately stop teaching and begin to help the students. The only difference with the forth scenario is that it absolutely requires that you have the training and tools to help. The ex-student can shoot a student every two seconds, so you do not have time to call the office, or dial 911. In fact, if you do not act immediately, history has shown us that you will not live long, and then you can help no one.

This is what being an armed American teacher is all about; safety and protection through the righteous (good) wielding of power delegated to you by the state and school board. And the fact is, if you are trained and armed, that crazy killer will probably never enter your classroom.

Read "But I could never shoot someone!"

ETHICAL CONDUCT FOR TEACHERS

The Association of American Educators in their list of principles of Ethical Conduct Toward Students lists the following as the number one principle: "The professional educator deals considerately and justly with each student, and seeks to resolve problems, including discipline, according to law and school policy." (go there)

UNETHICAL CONDUCT FOR TEACHERS

Basically it is unethical for a teacher not to help their students, whether the problem is an asthma attack or a murderer in the classroom. Indeed, considering that an armed killer in the school is no longer a rare incident, it is unethical for teachers not to get training and begin carrying a weapon in the school, because that is the only way they can hope to stop the crazy killer. It follows that it is grossly unethical for School Boards and Politicians to continue to prohibit teachers from having the means to protect their students.