In the wake of the Parkland, Florida shooting, many movements and uprisings have begun. Not only do we have the strong, brave, and independent students taking a stand against gun violence, but we also have teachers taking a stand, as well.
President Trump vocalized the idea of arming teachers with guns. This idea came with much backlash from teachers who that know more guns is never the answer.
“20% of teachers, a lot, would now be able to immediately fire back if a savage sicko came to a school with bad intentions,” he tweeted out. “If a potential ‘sicko shooter’ knows that a school has a large number of very weapons talented teacher (and others) who will be instantly shooting, the sicko will NEVER attack that school. Cowards won’t go there… problem solved. Must be offensive, defense alone won’t work!”
Teachers finding this idea incredulous have decided to go back at him on Twitter with the #ArmMeWith movement. But what is this movement that sounds like it deals with guns? It’s teachers across the nation’s way of showing that their real necessities are not more guns, but instead real school issues.
Some of the highlights include “#ArmMeWith the resources and funding needed to help students experiencing mental health issues” “#ArmMeWith books because 6 year olds need to learn to read not to be scared in class” “#ArmMeWith class sizes small enough that student don’t feel invisible.”
As a future educator, I understand the struggles these teachers are going through. There are so few resources for classrooms that would create the ideal educational environment. Instead of trying to arm teachers with guns, the government should be more concerned with providing teachers with all the resources possible to help students succeed. These teachers know their role in their students’ lives, and it is not as a law enforcer. Rather, the role of a teacher is to educate and help shape the future of the children.