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We need proactive policies to protect Iowa students
Schuyler Snakenberg
Apr. 17, 2024 5:00 am, Updated: Apr. 18, 2024 3:49 pm
I have been an educator for nearly 14 years and a parent for nine. I have been following legislation regarding the issue of arming teachers in Iowa very closely.
Both sides of the political divide are polarized over these acts of violence targeting our schools and children. The left holds they are a result of lax gun laws. The right counters any effort to pass gun legislation is an attack on the Second Amendment.
Now, in an effort to protect our students, the Legislature has sent the bill to Gov. Kim Reynolds. I applaud their conviction to allow local districts to decide if this is the proper course of action. What works in Wellman might not apply in Des Moines. Letting the parents and school boards have a voice on this issue allows for the best fit for all invested parties.
Allowing teachers to choose to be armed should ensure those only who have familiarity and proficiency with firearms are allowed to carry on school grounds.
Someone like me.
I am not going to say whether or not I think arming teachers is a good or bad idea. I am also not going to disclose whether or not I will seek out a permit and training to be able to carry in my classroom. But I want to share a revelation I recently had.
If I am armed that means that I am willing to concede at least one student or staff member to harm or loss of life. I am not referring to the life of the shooter, I am talking about the first victim shot.
As a teacher, I am not going to draw my weapon and open fire until shots have already been fired. It can be argued that the lives of the many outweigh the loss of one, but who decides the one?
It surely couldn’t be my children. They are loved by my wife and I dearly. They couldn’t be the ones who are in the path of the first bullet. Who will it be? Your child?
Passing legislation to arm teachers is reactive, in more ways than one. A teacher won’t act without provocation. Neither would an armed officer. We need to adopt proactive measures to get to the root of the issue. This is not only possible but necessary.
Both sides of the political divide are willing to recognize the mental health crisis in our nation. We need to address this more so than the issue of arming teachers.
The trauma students have openly shared with me over the course of 14 years would leave people speechless.
Some kids turn to drugs and alcohol to anesthetize themselves to the endless refrain of negative thoughts telling them that they are worthless. A smaller but still significant number will attempt suicide. Fewer still will lash out at their communities through terrible acts of violence. Seeing children struggle with these problems and knowing they won't have access to the help they desperately need is heartbreaking. According to February reporting from Iowa’s news station WHO, Iowa ranks 51st in the nation for providing mental health service.
A conversation, not a debate, needs to take place between the parties with the welfare of our children at its core. The consensus can lead to a net benefit to kids and adults around the state and makes strides towards averting another tragedy.
Schuyler Snakenberg lives in Wellman and is a social studies teacher with 14 years of experience.
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