The job of being a teacher in America is hard enough thanks to insufficient resources, low pay that doesn’t reflect the long hours, and other challenges, but now some are also expected to serve as the first line of defense against active shooters. Co-directors Kate Way and Julie Akeret look at the movement to arm teachers, focusing on the unassuming town of Sidney, OH. In the wake of the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting in Newtown, CT, teachers in seven area schools have acquired access to guns. To proponents, including school administrators and firearms instructors, it only makes sense, but to opponents, such as academics who have studied the issue, it’s a short-sighted solution that could cause more harm than good. As physical education teacher Lori Hedberg notes, her school has firearms, but lacks air conditioning. Others, like social studies teacher Wade New, are more enthusiastic about the program, although the police chief is skeptical due to the risk of confusion during active shooter situations involving several participants (if the margin for error is high for trained police officers, teachers seem even more likely to make lethal mistakes). Randolph Roth, a professor of history at Ohio State University, adds that most school shooters are suicidal and depressed, so armed teachers are unlikely to serve as a deterrent. And other speakers, such as author Katherine Newman (Rampage: The Social Roots of School Shootings), would like to see a greater value placed on prevention. This short documentary focuses on a specific community, but the multiplicity of voices (including Scott Jackson, a member of the Sandy Hook Advisory Committee) gives this timely issue the wider attention it deserves. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (K. Fennessy)
G Is for Gun: The Arming of Teachers in America
(2017) 27 min. DVD: $225. Bullfrog Films. PPR. SDH captioned. ISBN: 1-948745-08-9. Volume 34, Issue 3
G Is for Gun: The Arming of Teachers in America
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