School Violence

In the past few weeks there have been a rash of school shootings around the nation. As we have learned about these shootings and discussed them in class we have all had a variety of reactions: anger, fear, concern, surprise, etc. I wonder, however, how many of you had the idea that we as teachers and students should arm ourselves against potential intruders of our school? A school district in Texas has done just that!

Burleson Schools, in a suburb of Fort Worth Texas, has mandated that all students (including elementary students) and teacher be trained to fight back if a gunman enters a classroom. This training was even a part of Freshman Orientation for high school. The kids are being taught to "rush him and hit him with everything they've got -- books, pencils, legs and arms". Additionally, the students are being told that they should "not to comply with a gunman's orders, and to take him down".

The school district got this idea from events like Columbine in 1999 and Flight 93 on September 11, 2001. They state that"At Columbine, teachers told students to get down and get on the floors, and gunmen went around and shot people on the floors. I know this sounds chaotic and I know it doesn't sound like a great solution, but it's better than leaving them there to get shot".

Critics of the plan say that students are being put in the position that typically specially trained tactical officers are usually in. Their concern is that this plan could result in more students being killed or injured if this type of event were to occur.

I was wondering what you all think about this. Would you feel better having some sort of options in case someone were to come into the school or do you feel like this is a huge responsibility for a student of any age to take on? If you had the training, would you be willing to give your life to protect your fellow students? Let me know what you think!