Teaching with Guns? What?
Here it is the day after Christmas and I was watching Martin Bashir’s show on MSNBC. He had a substitute. I was half listening and decided to create a simple sketch of a teacher. Yes, this is any teacher. The NRA thinks the only thing we can do about guns is to have “good guys” with guns to shoot the bad guys with guns. Here in Michigan our Governor was seriously thinking of allowing guns in schools. He was going to sign the bill on that fateful Friday when of course it became politically incorrect to do so. That doesn’t mean it won’t happen in the future though. Therefore, here I am picturing teachers with guns. Teaching with guns, what a strange concept that is to me!
The thought of this just blows my mind. I am not a gun person. I have friends that hunt and are really into their guns. I’m okay with that. It’s just not my thing. However, I don’t see the need for assault weapons in the hands of anyone but the military. If they are allowed, then why do we allow clips that hold 30 or more bullets? It just seems insane to me to have these weapons and bullets so easily available to anyone. I don’t think the average person needs a rocket launcher and hopefully they are not legal so why a weapon that is made to just kill a large number of people in a very short time? These are the thoughts that go through my mind on this subject this fine snowy day when most people should be thinking about the peacefulness of the season.
Government created laws regulates many things in our lives. We cannot drink and drive. In Michigan, I have to sign my life away to get Sudafed. We have speed limits on our roads. We have to insure our vehicles. We have to purchase hunting and fishing licenses. I had to be finger printed to become a teacher. Volunteer parents have to go through a background check to go on a school outing with their own kids. With all of this in my mind, it is hard for me to understand why we cannot create some kind of sense with the gun issue. It seems like politicians are more concerned these days about women’s bodies than guns! This year has really been the year of the woman. Whether a woman can have complete control over her own body is an issue that most Republicans would like to control. Guns? Not so much! Women’s bodies are regulated by the government but don’t touch our guns.
As a teacher, I cannot imagine guns in school. Working with middle school students can be very trying at times. Students can be very moody and they don’t always make good decisions. We know that their brains are not fully developed and they lack executive decision-making skills because of this. That is why kids sometimes do stupid things. Imagine school with teachers with guns. It’s a vision I don’t want to witness. I know teachers that have lost their cool with students and students that have simply lost it. Imagine, adding a gun to that mix? As a parent, I would not want my child taught by someone carrying a gun.
The NRA needs to help be a part of the solution and not the problem. I watched “Meet the Press” and heard the same old stale ideas that the NRA has have had for years. Truthfully, not everyone should have access to guns. If someone in a household has some psychological issues, I think it is a household that should not be allowed to have access to high-powered assault weapons. You would not hand a loaded gun to a small child to play with so why give a person living in an altered universe an opportunity to fulfill some imagined fantasy. We are better than this. We should be able to work together to create a plan that makes sense to everyone. Teachers should not have to worry about whether they are packing a pistol or not. They should be spending their energy nurturing and igniting the minds and imaginations of the children they teach. They should not be expected to show up for target practice in order to get their teaching certificate!