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We are now at that time of year when students are getting ready to go back to school for the start of another school year, but in Tennessee, the year has already started with a sense of controversy that is going on through the school system in regards of teachers and administrators being allowed to carry guns.
Now, the reason behind this stems from a shooting that took place at a religious school in Nashville last year where six people were killed. Something had to be done in order for students and teachers to be protected at all costs.
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But as a neurodivergent and former special education student, I want to take a look at the pros and cons of having teachers carrying guns. For one thing, having something like armed weapons gives a sense of security for the teacher and his/her students. On the flip side, the idea of having teachers carrying guns does pose challenges and risks, particularly for special education students. There are always going to be the student who will have a sense of curiosity towards the weapon and will want to see and likely touch the weapon.
It is here that there is a side that needs to be addressed on account that having guns in schools need to only be used if needed and that is rather than have the guns on the teacher or administrator, they need to be kept under lock and key and only used if the unthinkable should happen.
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Now looking at this picture, I often look and wonder if I am going to be taught by a teacher or by Clint Eastwood as Dirty Harry Callahan? I hate to have my parents tell me that I have to walk through a metal detector and hear that my teacher is carrying a weapon. This also brings about the message that neurodivergent/special education students will be scared to attend school on account that because their teacher is carrying a gun, they will want to avoid going to school as much as possible.
What message does that send that students are scared to attend 3o hours of learning a week?
The important thing is that guns in schools need to be treated like the rose in Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” (1991). There needs to be a boundary in place by making a West Wing like boundary where the gun should only be used in the event of an emergency. We all know that Belle went into the West Wing even though she was warned not to by the Beast because she was curious.
In other words, schools need to ensure that, especially for special education students, that there does need to be a sense of normality for the student. Pretend like the gun isn’t there and the student will have a sense of ease. The same goes for administrators that want to get into the good graces of the special education student population.
Furthermore, this is just another case of that there needs to be bridges that need to be built between student and teacher which can be done through roundtable discussions and sharing a common ground with both sides.
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In conclusion, while it is true that the educational world is far different from the one that I was in, the truth of the matter is that this issue needs to be handled delicately between keeping others safe and leaving emotional scars and fears in both students and teachers.
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Catch you all later!!
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