To continue the discussion from the Red Board on kids fighting back......

purdue1014

purdue1014

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Brent
I wanted to continue this discussion:

http://forums.aopa.org/showthread.php?t=17560

However, don't let this turn political, I'm just looking for an opinion/answer. I know that most of you on the Red Boards are members here also. FWIW I'm not trying to be a troll.... If this offends anyone, I apologize.




First off, thanks for your honest responses. Personally, I'm glad that I'm not the only one in thinking that this is an unfortunate, but good idea.

I asked my guidance counselor what she thought about this, and she said that she did not like it, but more pertinent, nothing like this training would happen at my school.

While I feel very safe at my high school about kids bringing a gun to school, the idea of somebody outside slipping in with a weapon does scare me. I wanted to ask, tactically speaking, in a typical classroom setting, what is the best thing one could do to disable an intruder? A sharp pencil to the throat area? While I have heard the best thing to do is rush an intruder instantly, I believe that I'm in the minority at my school (among staff and students) who have this opinion, and my chances of me alone successfully rushing a gunman are pretty slim to none.

I'm not looking to be a hero type person, or to beat the crud out of someone tomorrow. I just like to be as best prepared as I can for all things bad, in case a bad situation did arise, I could sleep at night knowing that I did the best that I could do in that situation.......

Also, while I believe that allowing properly trained teachers/staff to carry a weapon is a good idea, there is no way that they will let a non LEO carry a gun, so if you can, other possibilities besides that.


Thinking about this brought up another question that I thought that I would ask…
On an entirely different matter, can anyone recommend martial art to take that is good for self defense/staying in shape? I have been thinking of a good way to get regular exercise, and to learn something beneficial at the same time, and realized that martial arts would fit the bill quite nicely. Seeing as there are 64,000 different martial arts, I figured that some could be recommended over others.


Thanks for all your responses!!

Purdue

P S I hope that this is in the right spot.....
 
You are thinking too much. There are situations that you cannot control and this is one of them. It doesn't matter how prepared you are. It doesn't matter how much you think about this. It doesn't matter how strong you are. It doesn't matter if you know how to fight. If someone catches you off guard blazing bullets. You better just put your pencil down and run like hell.

Quit thinking about this. It's a total waste of time. Go fly a damn airplane or something.
 
jangell said:
You are thinking too much. There are situations that you cannot control and this is one of them. It doesn't matter how prepared you are. It doesn't matter how much you think about this. It doesn't matter how strong you are. It doesn't matter if you know how to fight. If someone catches you off guard blazing bullets. You better just put your pencil down and run like hell.

Quit thinking about this. It's a total waste of time. Go fly a damn airplane or something.
Click to expand...

Ya know, that thought crossed my mind too. I will heed your advice, that is very good advice.....:D

I apologize for my "over analyzation."
:redface:

Purdue
 
Arm the teachers and train them in the use of firearms.
 
I hope this isn't taken as a political gun vs anti-gun spin, because that's not my intent, but the problem is NOT guns, and NOT guns in schools. There's a deeper rooted problem at the core of this, and it's seated with personal choice, morals, maybe social and moral degradation (or at least change). I say the problem is NOT guns in schools based on my experience and environment growing up. We had guns in schools in the '70s. Ok, not inside the building, but during the months of Nov-Jan (deer season thru end of pheasant season) we had student pickup trucks parked at the High School with most of them sporting gun racks in the back windows and most of those with rifles, shotguns and/or bows hanging on them. Nobody even dreamed of using those to settle any kind of score, real or perceived. It just didn't happen. So, what's changed is not guns in schools, it's the choices being made.
 
Anthony said:
Arm the teachers and train them in the use of firearms.
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have made it past the 7th grade. :rolleyes:

I agree with Jesse.
 
I can't decide if that kids nowadays are too sheltered to be aware of death, or just too desensitized to it.

By the time I was in High School (79-83), I'd had people I know die, in accidents, I'd hunted and killed animals, and I'd lost a couple of pets. So I knew that dying was forever. I had guns in the house, went out and shot bbs and 22s and other things. The guns were not locked, everyone knew where they were, what they were for, and never had any urge to misuse them.

I carried a buck knife in high school, but clearly understood that the kind of things we'd fight about were for fists, until the other kid went down. I couldn't imagine wanting to kill a classmate, even the ones I really hated.

I dunno.
 
I was a teacher for awhile. The halls were patrolled by guards. Nevertheless, we were required to lock the doors to our classrooms to keep out the groups of students who roamed the halls. Bathrooms were locked during the breaks between class times. Students were required to pass through airport style scanners, show their IDs, give up any cell phones or pagers, some were patted down. We had a locked, barred detention room. Once or twice a year there was a student riot. A teacher had been stabbed a year before I arrived. After one of my students was seriously injured in the cafeteria, armed policemen were added to the school guards. After one riot, I could not find a policeman who would accept the flip-blade knife I found, so I have it at home. One day as I began my class, a group of 4 policemen interrupted to remove one of the students. He never returned.

I don't want armed teachers. It makes me uncomfortable to see that armed police are needed.

- Aunt Peggy
 
We had Albuquerque Police Department police officers embedded at my high school. They were armed.

Its necessary when you live in a city like Albuquerque. I don't think arming teachers or students is necessary though. I'd much rather have police protection than a possible situation over a fist fight.
 
Sometimes, not often, I wish I were younger but then I hear and read the horror stories that have become our schools. Then I am glad I grew up in a time that the most you had to worry about was being sent the the boys vice-principle's office.
Ron
 
We had 2 LEOs at my high school, along with a number of unarmed "security guards". In all honesty I have no clue what those guards would've done if something happened. We had a few bomb threats, and even had one kid set off firecrackers in the cafeteria after a recent school shooting (sounded far too realistic and sent the school into a frenzy). The LEOs nor the guards got to the kid before some football players had tackled him.

As far as safety in the classroom is concerned, I say the best option is classroom doors which remained locked. Students inside can exit freely, but no one from outside can enter without either a key or being let in. Think of it as a way to minimize the ability of the attackers.

Of course, the next problem you have to think of is what happens during specific times of the day? Children playing at recess in elementary schools mean a gunman could easily take out a number of them. A high school cafeteria (upon entering my high school, you were standing at the cafeteria) during lunch would also make for a gunman's easy mark.

I realized when I was in high school, that when we had a bomb threat, everyone simply walked outside and stood in certain areas to be counted. An individual sitting across the field from the school could call in the threat, and wait for the mass of students before opening fire.

In the end, the realization must be made that no matter what precautions are taken, there will always remain some way for a determined individual to cause terror and loss of life. This is not to say that we should not take precautions, but that we should take those precautions that will not only seek to prevent an attack, but also those that would minimize the ability of an attacker.

If I were in the situation, I would more than likely run, unless I had the ability to catch the attacker off guard. And even then it would be more instinctive response than a planned defense.
 
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