President of St. Paul (MN) Federation of Teachers Local 28: "You want to arm me? Good."

[Brickbat]

http://marycathryn.blogspot.com/2012/12/licensed-to-teach.html

by Mary Cathryn Ricker

So I guess the NRA says the answer to stop school shootings is more guns, joining the smattering of elected officials who recently have promoted the idea of arming teachers and principals. This approach is wrong.

If a place like Ft. Hood, TX which has some of our planet's most deadly weapons carried by some of our planet's most deadly professional soldiers, can be reduced to carnage by a single armed assassin, then what makes The NRA think that arming a nation of just-right-book loving, denim jumper wearing, wooden apple bead necklace creating, white board marker toting school teachers (and the rest of us) will be effective?

You want to arm me? Good. Then arm me with a school psychologist at my school who has time to do more than test and sit in meetings about testing.

Arm me with enough counselors so we can build skills to prevent violence, have meaningful discussions with students about their future and not merely frantically adjust student schedules like a Jenga game.

Arm me with social workers who can thoughtfully attend to a student's and her family's needs so I. Can. Teach.

Arm me with enough school nurses so that they are accessible to every child and can work as a team with me rather than operate their offices as de facto urgent care centers.

Arm me with more days on the calendar for teaching and learning and fewer days for standardized testing.

Arm me with class sizes that allow my colleagues and me to know both our students and their families well.

Arm my colleagues and me with the time it takes to improve together and the time it takes to give great feedback to students about their work and progress.

Until you arm me to the hilt with what it will take to meet the needs of an increasingly vulnerable student population, I respectfully request you keep your opinions on schools and our safety to yourself, NRA. Knock it off.

[Lifelong Protester]

1. Well put!

and one of these:

[tk2kewl]

2. excellent!

[raidert05]

3. She should....

Keep the military out of her mouth, bases are gun-free at the commanding officers discretion, but there are armed personnel everywhere on bases and lets not forget he was also one of those deadly professional soldiers before he shot the place up, he knew that those soldiers wouldn't be armed and wouldn't be expecting to be shot at on base. I respect her opinion and don't beleive that arming teachers is a solution to the problem.

[FailureToCommunicate]

9. I find myself far less tolerant these days of DU gun fans.

I see you are a regular at DUs RKBA. There are a bunch of new postings there... you should go check 'em out.

[raidert05]

31. Sorry

I like watching the show that is the gungeon here on DU, sometimes it gets a little boring so you have to stir the pot

[lastlib]

39. Click- Ignore.

you're gonna need a better spoon.................g'bye!

[snort]

11. How dare she speak of the military?!

I am going to get on my knees and pray to the flag right away. The nerve of that woman!

[Lordquinton]

14. Would the guns at a school be any different?

I think that it is very important to remind everyone that a military base had a terrible shooting in recent years. It gets discounted because "The guns are all locked up, and everyone is responsible" except the shooter. And bases generally have armed personnel guarding them. Plus they have armories that can be accessed. Any comment to counter above completely undermines the idea; If the guns on a base where everyone is well trained to use them are locked up for safety, then having teachers carry is making them unsafe, because safe gun handling says to lock them up, even around well trained soldiers.

[Smilo]

36. Well said.

[ajk2821]

16. As opposed to all those teachers and students who are expecting to be shot?

wouldn't be expecting to be shot at on base.


Does anyone go to work expecting to be shot?

[frylock]

19. there are MP on base however..

and they are armed.

[11 Bravo]

25. OK, let's talk. Long ago I served in the military, and had several pieces of my tender ...

young body perforated by various and sundry nastiness. Do I also need to keep the military out of my mouth? Because, you see, after my release from Walter Reed USAMC and subsequent discharge, I used my GI benefits to go to college, and much to the surprise of everyone who knew me, I became a teacher. I've spent almost 40 years in the classroom since then; and I agree with every fucking word she said.
I hope that's OK with you.

[raidert05]

30. I thank you for the blood you shed and service you gave, I have the watch...

Just as I have continued to do for the past 8 yrs in the Navy and will continue to do till i die,retire or they give me the boot, but I don't appreciate dead service members being used to prop up someones opinions from either side of the political spectrum, I carried to many of my own friends in a flag draped box to be stuck in the ground, who died in the politically driven conquest/invasion of Iraq, by some cocaine snorting, slack jawed Texan president looking to finish what his daddy started, sorry its a emotional issue for me.... Like I said before I respect her opinion and don't think arming teachers is the solution, I'm online with banning high cap mags, universal background checks and highly believe there should be some sort of Training-qualification to licensing for people to be able to purchase and own fire arms.

[Scootaloo]

34. In your panic to defend your Precious, you missed the fucking point

But I suspect that missing the point was actually your point.

[reteachinwi]

4. If I may

Arm me with a strong community that has the economic wherewithal to take care of its children so they don't grow up isolated, depressed, and unable to find their way to tomorrow. Rant

[lastlib]

40. K & R!! to ^ this ^!

[tosh]

5. K&R!

[Viking12]

6. K & R

[azurnoir]

7. very well put makes me proud and grateful

with the emphasis on grateful that she is from my son's district

[Stuart G]

8. K and R nt. thanks for posting

[arely staircase]

10. this public school teacher says amen

eom

[Squinch]

12. K&R

[cate94]

13. Yes!

Arm them with the tools they need!

[oldbanjo]

15. The military that were shot at Ft Hood were unarmed.

[Brickbat]

17. True.

[xtraxritical]

18. Ah not the shooter.

[frylock]

20. so were those kids in connecticut..

you know who is armed? the military police. you know where you might find the MP? on a military base.

[mountain grammy]

21. You said it, Teacher!

[mshasta]

22. that's it!

well done, well said

[northoftheborder]

23. The teacher says it better than anyone.

[Iwillnevergiveup]

24. She had me

at wooden apple bead necklaces.

K&R

[Shrike47]

27. K & R

We can only wish schools had the personnel to really know and care for their students.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

28. That's about one of the most powerful messages I've ever seen

I don't want to even call it a "rant" because that would devalue it somehow.

I hope it goes far and ends up on the desks of large numbers of people in positions to DO something about it.

[ReRe]

29. Mary Cathryn Ricker and Brickbat...

K&R

... thank you both for bringing this timely essay to our eyes!!!

[Beartracks]

32. The bullet-blinded NRA thinks every problem looks like a target.

Just as people who only have a hammer in their toolbox think every problem looks like a nail, the NRA thinks every problem looks like something that can be solved by guns. It's a willful (and lucrative) ignorance, much like how the GOP thinks every problem -- like both surpluses AND deficits -- can be solved by tax cuts.

=================

[sad-cafe]

33. well done

truly good

[Maineman]

35. What the NRA really wants

The NRA wants only one thing: more guns and more ammunition SOLD.

They say current laws should be enforced, but block funding for the ATF.

They say we should screen out bad guys and mentally unstable people from owning guns, but they oppose background checks for nearly half of the gun sales.

They say an armed populace protects liberty, but they lie, mislead, and display and encourage fear and hostility. An informed and engaged populace is what protects liberty, not hostile, threatening gun carrying thugs.

When an angry gun toting individual or group tells an elected official that they are watching how he or she votes, that sounds extremely close to meeting the legal definition of assault.

The NRA is not an honorable or credible organization.

[lastlib]

41. I now refer to them as "bullet-heads"

made of lead and powder, and explosive when heated.

[Smilo]

37. K&R

As for this teaching mentioning Ft Hood - why not - it is a great example of being armed to the teeth and useless in the face of a lone gunman determined to kill.


It'll be a great day when education gets all the money it wants and the Air Force has to hold a bake sale to buy bombers. ~Author unknown, quoted in You Said a Mouthful edited by Ronald D. Fuchs

[BumRushDaShow]

38. They cut the number of school nurses

here in the Philly public school system just over a year ago - http://articles.philly.com/2011-12-29/news/30569166_1_school-nurse-nursing-services-charter-funding

But the gun nuts would rather spend that money on weapons rather than bandaids or antiseptic.