Recently in Schools Category

North Texas School District Allows Teachers to Carry Guns in School

Kim Priestap at Wizbang:

The Harold Indpendent School District in North Texas is the first district in the nation to allow their teachers to carry guns for protection.

My first reaction to this was it's about time...

In order for teachers and staff to carry a pistol, they must have a Texas license to carry a concealed handgun; must be authorized to carry by the district; must receive training in crisis management and hostile situations and have to use ammunition that is designed to minimize the risk of ricochet in school halls. (emphasis mine [Priestap's])

This is obviously something that many will find very controversial. I was 100% convinced that a program like this made sense until a public school teacher I know said it was a bad idea because teachers would shoot kids that got out of line. And was serious about it. I'm still at least 90% sure that a program like this makes sense and am also at least 90% sure that the teacher I know was either kidding me or just plain wrong.

Now we have a first chance to see. The odds of something happening in this particular school are probably minimal, and the fact that would-be shooters know that teachers may be carrying will decrease those chances. But if this goes without mishap, we'll be seeing additional schools adopting similar programs. And, if things continue without mishap, it will begin a trend that will start to undermine alarmist fears just as state after state successfully adopting concealed carry without mishap has eroded the "the streets will run red with blood" claims.

Jeff Soyer points this out:

Jared was sharing a conversation during his free period snack time at school. He was talking with a friend about the recent spring 2008 turkey season. Both boys had been out hunting with their dads and Jared was asking his friend where he had gotten his first turkey.

"Jared's teacher covered her ears, trying to block the conversation, and singing 'la la la la.' When asked by another school employee about her odd behavior, the teacher claimed she did not want to hear about the boys and their 'killing.'

The teacher switched all snack times in her class to "working" snack times so she could limit what students talked about.

The student's parents pulled him out of the school and began homeschooling him.

From a UCLA student editorial on proposals to allow concealed carry on college campuses:

In light of the continued, horrific history of on-campus violence, gun control must be tightened, not loosened. Campuses and surrounding areas should be rid of, not flooded with, weaponry of all forms.

I keep wondering why they don't adopt rules that ban killing people and guns on campus.

Oh. They did. I guess I'm not sure how many more rules you can pass, then.

I emailed the author looking for his suggestions. I'll let you know if I hear back.

Also:

Concealed guns are meant to allow one the ability to kill based on a constitutional amendment that fulfills a now historically archaic role in American (and global) society, and they serve no purpose on college campuses.

"Historically archaic"? I wonder what they're teaching kids these days.

Seen at Joe's Crabby Shack:

As seen on the windows of UNO's office of fuzzy-wuzzy involvement... (or some such organization):

"School shootings are no game. Shooting games teach violence."

Then, 5 feet to the left also on the window:

"Student HALO 3 Tournament!!!"

I believe that UNO is University of Nebraska (Omaha).

At the Univeristy of North Carolina - Charlotte:

Participants had to give their teachers a heads-up at the start of class if they wore a holster.

You have to alert your teacher that you're wearing an empty holster? Do people wearing pink ribbons or rainbow pins have to give the teacher a heads up? How about people wearing Livestrong wristbands?

Via Instapundit.

Sebastian has some coverage from bitter Pennsylvania.

University of North Dakota and University of Minnesota-Crookston:

Region’s college students wear empty holsters, protest concealed weapon bans

“People with concealed carry permits feel that police aren’t able to defend every single person,” [UMC junior Jared] Hendricks said. “Concealed weapons allow the tables to be a little more even, so we don’t have armed criminals and disarmed citizens everywhere.” Though campus shootings have made big news in the past year, they’re relatively rare, Hendricks acknowledged. But he said it’s still important for students to have the option to carry a weapon.

Police: Teen planned to bomb high school
He reportedly kept diary and had ammonium nitrate shipped to his home

COLUMBIA, S.C. - A high school senior collected enough supplies to carry out a bomb attack on his school and detailed the plot in a hate-filled diary that included maps of the building and admiring notations about the Columbine killers, authorities said Sunday.

Ryan Schallenberger, 18, was arrested Saturday after his parents called police when 10 pounds of ammonium nitrate was delivered to their home in Chesterfield and they discovered the journal, said the town's police chief, Randall Lear.

Guns on Campus: Could They Prevent a Repeat?

Good stuff on the anniversary of the Virginia Tech shootings.

In the inbox:

40th Annual Intercollegiate Clay Target Championships

Lindenwood University of St. Charles, Mo., has claimed its fifth straight national title, topping Texas A&M, Kansas State and 30-plus other colleges at the 2008 Intercollegiate Clay Target Championships.

Five straight at anything in college sports is a true dynasty. It means that no one player or group of players participated in all of the championships and it's the program that is dominant, not one star or a few individuals.

Video of the competition will air on ESPNU in June and July.

Days of our Trailers on the Brady Bunch's plan to stage a lie (heh) in at VT: Let them protest.:

Let them show not only the students at VT what they're all about but all the people watching the coverage. Show them that the PuSH'ers will do anything and dance on anybody's grave to get what they want.

Normally I don't mind seeing lunatics act out in public, as it does much more to hurt their cause than to help. Generally speaking, the only people they're convert to their side are other moonbats, but they'll alienate some of the more moderate believers and cause wide swaths of the general population to shun them for the morons that they are.

In this case, I guess, I'm not quite so sure because I sure don't want what should be a somber day and ceremony broken up by a bunch of loonies.

Via Uncle.

West Virginia Governor Signs Hunter Safety Education Bill

Signed into law on April 1, Senate Bill 9 directs the West Virginia Board of Education to develop a hunter safety program for use in the state’s public schools.

It will be offered to students in grades six through twelve. This is a great thing, because anything that exposes kids to guns and teaches them safe handling and proper use is not only good for the shooting sports, it's good for anyone who takes the time to learn and also benefits those around them.

Doubtlessly, antis will see things differently. If people aren't terrified silly of guns, how are they ever going to ban them?