Letters to the Editor: Arming teachers is extremely dangerous. Just ask teachers

To the editor: I believe being a teacher is a calling. I was fortunate to be a teacher-librarian in an urban environment, and it was there that I learned teenagers of every background seem to have an unwritten law: They must make a teacher’s life miserable. (“As a gun-owning former teacher, I can tell you: Arming teachers will only amplify our woes,” June 17)

If we decide to arm teachers, then God help those who are not liked or have short fuses. They will be the first targets for kids who say, “You bet I can’t steal that gun? Oh yeah I can, just watch.”

There is another issue. Unfortunately, teachers, administrators and all other staff have to deal sometimes with fights between students. In some instances, fights can result in hospitalization of the adult. Now give the teacher a gun — we will definitely have deaths, or at the very least, serious injuries.

Putting a gun in a teacher’s hand is not an intelligent decision. Our leaders are playing politics with human lives. This is wrong.

Lorraine Stein-Wiener, Rancho Palos Verdes

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To the editor: Since there is interest in having teachers do law enforcement’s job by arming them, why not switch and let police work as teachers? A “good guy with a gun” will always be in the classroom, negating any hesitancy or concern about breaching doors.

In addition, the former teachers, now armed and providing security, couldn’t do any worse than local law enforcement in Uvalde, Texas, and might even get paid better than in their previous role.

Plus, the work is likely less stressful.

Louis White, Claremont