After we finished the Constitution, we did a short unit on the Bill of Rights and Citizenship. I gave the students a list of topics to choose from, then they wrote short speeches for our in-school We the People competition (schools across the country write speeches about The Constitution and government and compete nationally). The topics included freedom of speech, freedom of religion, criminal/Miranda rights, the right to bear arms, being a global citizen, the US’s interactions with other nations, citizenship/literacy tests prior to voting, and the rights & responsibilities of American citizens.

No surprise that right to “BARE” arms won in a landslide. Each student could pick whatever they wanted, but I wasn’t shocked to see 60-80% of my kids choosing the 2nd Amendment for their topic. We are in Utah, after all. I really wanted them to see the issue in context and understand the complexity of it, though, so I phrased the topic like this:

The right to bear arms is a very hot topic right now with so many school and public shootings in the news. Should this right be limited? Why or why not? Is it more or less likely to prevent public gun violence?

I was very pleasantly surprised at the broad range of opinions. Usually middle school kids try to figure out what you’re looking for or what their friends think and just go with it – play it safe, never develop your own opinions. And yes, many of these “opinions” that I saw may have been inherited directly from their parents.

But what I saw was students realizing that there maybe isn’t a hard-and-fast solution. Maybe we won’t solve this problem completely. Maybe their opinions won’t match up with facts. Maybe the issue is about the guns themselves. But maybe it isn’t really about the guns at all.

Watching my kids move from the concrete to the abstract with something as heavy and realistic as gun control was crazy. It was really cool and I felt proud that they were learning something REAL. But it was also really scary to see them in this role of “potential adult.”

The part that scared me the most though? The common theme (spelling preserved):

“If the teachers or staff people had a weapon for protection, they could have saved lifes.” (referring to Sandy Hook)

“Mostly regular people aren’t the ones doing shootings. It’s the crazy people. More regular people should have guns so they can protect us if a shooter came into our school.”

“I honestly think teachers should be taught to carry guns.”

I’ve never been a gun person. I felt safe that my dad and husband have them, but I don’t want to see them. I don’t want to shoot them. Laser tag only for this girl. Ok and paintballing zombies. But that’s it

But hearing from the mouths (ok, hands) of so many of my kids that they want their teachers armed for protection was very sobering. Do all my kids want me packing heat? Probably not. Do all my parents want me packing heat? Definitely not. My family has talked to me about getting my concealed weapon permit, and our district has offered some classes, but I never really took it seriously.

Can you picture me, holstering a gun in class under my polka dot blazers and pink cardigans? LOLOL. Except there really isn’t an LOL about it.

Sandy Hook scared the daylights out of me. I cried and cried and cried. Sure I’d researched Columbine and heard about other school shootings. But judas priest when it happened while I was IN a classroom, teaching? It was so different. As crazy as my kids are and as crazy as they make me, there was something so deep, so real in me that KNEW any teacher, including me, would sacrifice themselves for those kids. We would put ourselves between a shooter and a student. It’s not bravery or heroism or anything other than our instinct – the same instinct that lead us to choose this profession. But it’s real. And it’s terrifying.

So I’m not gonna run out today and sign up for a conceal and carry in my classroom. There still a ways to go before arming teachers is legal and happening in schools, but I think it will continue in that direction. And I am gonna start thinking about it. Because protecting these kids is something we should all be seriously considering.

And to reward you for sticking with me on this very serious, very heavy topic – puppies.