Teachers with Guns...It Ain't Good.

Over the past couple days, I've been tagged in several posts about teachers and guns, and I want my social media friends and followers to know that my lack of response is not due to a choice to ignore the conversation, but a frustration that rests in the fact that I’m a mother, and a teacher.  I try hard to not get too involved in political debates because they are so exhausting and time consuming for me, but I realize this topic is beyond meaningless debate and involves the lives of children and teachers.

There are two main points that I want to address as it pertains to my opinions and choice in NOT SUPPORTING the idea to train teachers to bear and use guns within the schools.

1.     THIS AIN’T GOOD FOR BLACK CHILDREN!

I am a Black mother of three Black children, an educator/mentor to hundreds of Black children, and a colleague to many Black and non-Black educators.  Let’s just say I have enough experience with Black children and teachers, particularly within the school and classroom environment, to know and understand a suggestion to give teachers guns adds another layer to the already stressful and fearful realities of Black children and parents of Black children.  You see, because of my years of experience in education, I can clearly and very realistically see how news headlines can quickly shift from “Mentally Ill and Emotionally Disturbed Student Opens Fire In School” to “Teacher Mistakes Student Wearing Hoodie For An Intruder and Shoots Him,” and we all know how that story will end.

If you still believe Black children, especially Black boys are not perceived and treated differently in and outside the classroom, you need to check your pulse.  There are tons of research that speak to a correlation between perceived notions about Black students/children and teacher/adult response.  And if the research is not enough, invite a Black man to coffee and ask him about his childhood school and adult life experiences.

2.     THIS AIN’T GOOD FOR TEACHERS!

Just in case you haven’t noticed, today’s teachers are literally RUNNING OUT OF THE CLASSROOM, at full speed, without looking back.  In my experience, very few of today's teachers entered undergraduate school aspiring to be a school teacher, and many of those who are currently in the classroom are in the midst of life’s Plan B or C and actively looking for a viable Plan C or D.  I’m not concluding no one wants to teach, enjoys teaching, or believes teaching is their God-given purpose.  I’m saying even those people who believe teaching is what they were created to do are actively strategizing a way to fulfill this purpose in other ways, beyond the realms of a classroom.

If you browse the latest lists of burnout statistics, underemployed careers, underpaid positions, least favorable college majors, high-stress work environments, jobs with high turnover, careers with high rates of depression, EDUCATION, EDUCATORS, and/or TEACHERS almost always rest within the top 10.  Let me give you an idea of why I believe this is so.

Let's look at a few of the current expectations of a classroom teacher.

 1.   You want me to function, quite productively, as the only adult within a classroom of 20+ children for 30+ hours a week, with very limited options for discipline and redirection.

 2. You want me to prepare my students to meet unrealistic state and national standards, maintain high scores on unrealistic tests, and become global students ready and willing to compete with children from other parts of the world who do not uphold such unrealistic educational practices.  Don't forget, you want me to successfully accomplish all of this by practicing a differentiated approach in which I plan according to the "individual" gifts and needs of each child.

 3. You want me to possess college degrees, pass tests and other requirements for a teacher certification, obtain continuing education credits, and travel to learn the latest and greatest in educational trends, that I don’t really have time to implement in my classroom due to #2.

 4. You want me to listen, satisfy, and meet the expectations of 40+ parents who don’t spend as much time with their children as I do, yet they’ve convinced themselves that they have all the answers regarding who their children really are and what they really need.

 5. You want me to take care of myself and take care of my own children and family on a salary that is less than many salaries of non-degreed/non-certified professionals.

 6. This is the best one of all, you want me to complete numbers 1-5, all while smiling and showing zero signs of frustration, fatigue, disappointment, or depression.

Now, think about this for a minute: In addition to the above, SOMEBODY IS SUGGESTING ADDING A #7 TO THIS LIST! And that #7 involves more training, plus GUNS!  You gotta be kidding me!

Lastly, please miss me with the "you want to take our guns" rhetoric, because nowhere in this blog did I mention taking your guns.

Peace and Blessings,

Mama Tameka