The NYT would rather see kids shot by invaders than to arm teachers.

The opinion column of the New York Times is always good for a "WTF?" moment.
(SEE: Below The Fold)

Despite the recent (?) spate of school shootings, NYT thinks that arming teachers would:

"... contribute to a climate of fear in schools and note that study after study equates more guns with more injuries and deaths."

It's significant that the wise editors of the NYT use the term "contribute to the climate of fear", which tacitly acknowledges that a "climate of fear" already exists in schools, after reports of predators attacking schoolchildren around the country.

When the only one with a gun is a predator,  it's difficult to imagine how an armed defender could make any student more fearful .... unless the NYT is willing to encourage students to "Pay No Attention To The Man Shooting Your Friends".    Apparently, students should not trust their teachers, but they should trust interlopers.

(Among interlopers, I'm including the sworn police officer who received reports of armed attacks on innocents, and heard the shots fired, but hid in his  police  car under a bridge until the shooting was over, rather than to risk his life defending the public.)

I'm sure there are statistics which report the number of educators who turn on their students with intentions of mass murder.

Oh, I looked it up.  I found ten reports of teachers killing students: worldwide!

Three used firearms    The rest used knives, or various forms of strangulation.   Apparently, when teachers run amok, they use the tools at hand ... some of which are more gruesome than others.  (Many of the reports note an "interpersonal" relationship; the teacher was banging  having an affair-gone-wrong with the student.)

I haven't found any reports of Mister Jones or Miss Smith Niner-ing their Junior High School class on Civics in Dubeque Iowa.

THE FOLD:

Opinion | Schools Can Keep Kids Safe Without Giving Their Teachers Guns - The New York Times: Betsy DeVos, the education secretary, floated a plan last week that stood out in its absurdity even among her many other foolish proposals: She is considering using an obscure federal grant program to let schools buy guns and pay for firearms training for faculty and staff members. That news stoked the ire of educators and gun-control advocates. They argue that guns will contribute to a climate of fear in schools and note that study after study equates more guns with more injuries and deaths.

Well, the New York Times (and the Washington Post) are entitled to state an opinion, even though their opinion is heavily nuanced by the New York City / Washington DC milieu.

 ("When trouble calls, a cop is only minutes away") and the editors tend to ignore the cultures and demographics of 90% of America.

Personally, I think that "armed educators" (or school resources) would be an effective way to discourage School Shootings ... and mass murders in similar venues.

But what do I know?  I like teachers; they devote their lives to their students, and are often more of a family than the genetic families their students live with.