If you are a teacher, would you take a bullet for your students?

[Anonymous]

This is not the same job anymore.I am always feeling that I can't keep these kids safe.Not just from a gunman, but from each other. Drugs, bullying, fights, sharing porn (yeah, that, too..) and the constant anxiety of being in trouble for not being able to. If a kid is on our technology, under my watch, and pulls up porn, I liable. If I don't step in to pull kids apart in a fight, one or both kids will be hurt. I knowcwho is bullying who. Don't exoect me to now fire a gun.

[Anonymous]

Sorry for the typos. I'm terrible when texting in anger.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is not the same job anymore.I am always feeling that I can't keep these kids safe.Not just from a gunman, but from each other. Drugs, bullying, fights, sharing porn (yeah, that, too..) and the constant anxiety of being in trouble for not being able to. If a kid is on our technology, under my watch, and pulls up porn, I liable. If I don't step in to pull kids apart in a fight, one or both kids will be hurt. I knowcwho is bullying who. Don't exoect me to now fire a gun.

I am still and educator and in education, but i left classroom teaching because of a lot of this. And I love teaching, but I am not a bodyguard and never wanted to be one. I have my own kids and a family too. If this is the new culture of our schools more people will leave teaching and less will go into it. We need to attract the best and brightest and turning it into the Wild West shoot out style is t how to do that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is not the same job anymore.I am always feeling that I can't keep these kids safe.Not just from a gunman, but from each other. Drugs, bullying, fights, sharing porn (yeah, that, too..) and the constant anxiety of being in trouble for not being able to. If a kid is on our technology, under my watch, and pulls up porn, I liable. If I don't step in to pull kids apart in a fight, one or both kids will be hurt. I knowcwho is bullying who. Don't exoect me to now fire a gun.

I am still and educator and in education, but i left classroom teaching because of a lot of this. And I love teaching, but I am not a bodyguard and never wanted to be one. I have my own kids and a family too. If this is the new culture of our schools more people will leave teaching and less will go into it. We need to attract the best and brightest and turning it into the Wild West shoot out style is t how to do that.

+100

I am a classroom teacher and really like my job but I was thinking last night if they actually start arming teachers with weapons I will leave the profession and never look back (I know a lot would have to happen for this scenario to come to fruition)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is not the same job anymore.I am always feeling that I can't keep these kids safe.Not just from a gunman, but from each other. Drugs, bullying, fights, sharing porn (yeah, that, too..) and the constant anxiety of being in trouble for not being able to. If a kid is on our technology, under my watch, and pulls up porn, I liable. If I don't step in to pull kids apart in a fight, one or both kids will be hurt. I knowcwho is bullying who. Don't exoect me to now fire a gun.

I am still and educator and in education, but i left classroom teaching because of a lot of this. And I love teaching, but I am not a bodyguard and never wanted to be one. I have my own kids and a family too. If this is the new culture of our schools more people will leave teaching and less will go into it. We need to attract the best and brightest and turning it into the Wild West shoot out style is t how to do that.

My own kid and my own family will always come first for me. I don't know what that would look like for me in a school shooting situation, honestly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is not the same job anymore.I am always feeling that I can't keep these kids safe.Not just from a gunman, but from each other. Drugs, bullying, fights, sharing porn (yeah, that, too..) and the constant anxiety of being in trouble for not being able to. If a kid is on our technology, under my watch, and pulls up porn, I liable. If I don't step in to pull kids apart in a fight, one or both kids will be hurt. I knowcwho is bullying who. Don't exoect me to now fire a gun.

I am still and educator and in education, but i left classroom teaching because of a lot of this. And I love teaching, but I am not a bodyguard and never wanted to be one. I have my own kids and a family too. If this is the new culture of our schools more people will leave teaching and less will go into it. We need to attract the best and brightest and turning it into the Wild West shoot out style is t how to do that.

My own kid and my own family will always come first for me. I don't know what that would look like for me in a school shooting situation, honestly.

Me, too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is not the same job anymore.I am always feeling that I can't keep these kids safe.Not just from a gunman, but from each other. Drugs, bullying, fights, sharing porn (yeah, that, too..) and the constant anxiety of being in trouble for not being able to. If a kid is on our technology, under my watch, and pulls up porn, I liable. If I don't step in to pull kids apart in a fight, one or both kids will be hurt. I knowcwho is bullying who. Don't exoect me to now fire a gun.

I am still and educator and in education, but i left classroom teaching because of a lot of this. And I love teaching, but I am not a bodyguard and never wanted to be one. I have my own kids and a family too. If this is the new culture of our schools more people will leave teaching and less will go into it. We need to attract the best and brightest and turning it into the Wild West shoot out style is t how to do that.

My own kid and my own family will always come first for me. I don't know what that would look like for me in a school shooting situation, honestly.

Me, too.

I agree. I would try and make sure kids are safe, but I am not in the army or a bodyguard. I never took any oath to give my life and if I was asked to would resign. What is this? I am here to teach. Not babysit, no guard from an automatic weapon. I would also feel uncomfortable if my colleagues had guns and ther are multiple guns on the premises. Kids will feel like it’s a prison. The culture will be so caustic... who can learn anything? Stop with these antics. Take away military weapons from children. Give funding for more counselors and train teachers to spot signs of potential shooters and what actions to take.

[Anonymous]

I would not. No. I will do what it takes to help any children in my care get to safety if I could, but I would not affirmatively sacrifice myself to save a child. My life is no less valuable than a child's. I am also a mother and I need to be here for my child. No, and I deeply resent the expectation that this is what a teacher must do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would not. No. I will do what it takes to help any children in my care get to safety if I could, but I would not affirmatively sacrifice myself to save a child. My life is no less valuable than a child's. I am also a mother and I need to be here for my child. No, and I deeply resent the expectation that this is what a teacher must do.

The issue is that teachers are seen as martyrs and the general expectation from society is that we would take bullets for our students. Maybe we need to be very vocal that we in fact will not and see if that changes the rhetoric. If parents don't have a false or real sense of comfort that their child's teacher will take a bullet for them, then maybe we'll actually get somewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would not. No. I will do what it takes to help any children in my care get to safety if I could, but I would not affirmatively sacrifice myself to save a child. My life is no less valuable than a child's. I am also a mother and I need to be here for my child. No, and I deeply resent the expectation that this is what a teacher must do.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would do my best to save as many kids as possible. Whatever that looks like in the moment.

My biggest dilemma is that if we're runnning and a kid is hit, we're supposed to just keep going with the other kids. One of the things that haunts me about Sandy Hook is how scary it must have been for them in those last moments. If my child were hit, I would want someone with him, holding him in those last seconds, and I can't imagine leaving a child bleeding out on the ground while I run. But I also recognize my responsibility to the other kids.

Aaaaand now I'm crying. Damn it.

I'm not a teacher, but I've also been in tears since the FL shooting. I hate that teachers are even having to have this thought process. Taking a bullet for kids should not be in any teacher's job description. We are failing our kids and we are failing our teachers. I'm in awe of teachers like you who think through these scenarios and are still thinking about the kids...

Aaannnd now I'm crying again...

This

[Anonymous]

I'd like to think I would, but as a person who has never even been near a gun or shooting, I can't say for sure what I would or wouldn't do. I can say for sure that I did not sign up to be a human bullet shield, and that I have zero interest in adding that to my job description. The fact that shootings have become so common that this is now a defacto part of the job is sickening and one more reason no one should go into teaching anymore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is not the same job anymore.I am always feeling that I can't keep these kids safe.Not just from a gunman, but from each other. Drugs, bullying, fights, sharing porn (yeah, that, too..) and the constant anxiety of being in trouble for not being able to. If a kid is on our technology, under my watch, and pulls up porn, I liable. If I don't step in to pull kids apart in a fight, one or both kids will be hurt. I knowcwho is bullying who. Don't exoect me to now fire a gun.

I am still and educator and in education, but i left classroom teaching because of a lot of this. And I love teaching, but I am not a bodyguard and never wanted to be one. I have my own kids and a family too. If this is the new culture of our schools more people will leave teaching and less will go into it. We need to attract the best and brightest and turning it into the Wild West shoot out style is t how to do that.

+100

I am a classroom teacher and really like my job but I was thinking last night if they actually start arming teachers with weapons I will leave the profession and never look back (I know a lot would have to happen for this scenario to come to fruition)

I would too. And I will not send my child to a school with armed teachers. I'd homeschool or go private first.

[Anonymous]

No one is going to arm teachers. Trump just likes spouting off nonsense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would not. No. I will do what it takes to help any children in my care get to safety if I could, but I would not affirmatively sacrifice myself to save a child. My life is no less valuable than a child's. I am also a mother and I need to be here for my child. No, and I deeply resent the expectation that this is what a teacher must do.

The issue is that teachers are seen as martyrs and the general expectation from society is that we would take bullets for our students. Maybe we need to be very vocal that we in fact will not and see if that changes the rhetoric. If parents don't have a false or real sense of comfort that their child's teacher will take a bullet for them, then maybe we'll actually get somewhere.

Two very well said comments above.

But on another note, PP above is right -- they are just spouting off nonsense about arming teachers. Never going to happen -- just trying to distract people. "We need to think outside of the box and consider all of our options"... before doing nothing again and again.