Armed teachers may pose problems

I think this question can really be broken done into two parts. First, will installing guns in every school district wide really help prevent school attacks or is there more effective ways to deal with the problem at hand? The second question: Will the students and teachers still feel safe at school with guns on the premises?

What if we are approaching this problem from the wrong direction. You don’t fight a fire by aiming the fire extinguisher at the highest flame, you aim for the base of the fire. The same concept can be applied to this situation. It would be a much better use of money to create programs helping people who are mentally unstable. If we can catch a problem before it escalates into a life-threatening situation there would be no need for a violent response.

I have talked to many students and teachers about this proposal and the response remains the same among most of them — they simply would not feel safe if there were armed teachers on campus. The possibility of something going wrong is too great. You can’t possibly predict everything that could go wrong. However, the most obvious problems seem like more than enough reason to keep guns out of the classroom.

Approaching this problem from the wrong direction and making students and staff feel unsafe in a place that is supposed to be a safe zone will not prove to be a solution. In fact, it may pose more of a problem than a solution.

ERIK R. BRUJHELL

Sandpoint