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VIn Joy Jackson's memory, a whistling bullet just in front of her ear was shot at her head during an incident at the Miami school where she is a teacher.
A teenage student with an emotional / behavioral disorder had brought his weapon to the campus and, as it was secured by a police officer, the weapon was unloaded by accident. Nobody was hurt, but the incident that occurred a few years ago has certainly alarmed Jackson.
"I felt the air approaching my ear," she told The Guardian this week. "It was so tight that the office workers started screaming because they thought I was shot," she said. "And it was with a qualified police officer [at the scene]. Can not you imagine that with a teacher who has not followed all the trainings of this officer?
The experience is at the heart of Jackson's belief that the Florida legislature's decision to allow teachers to own guns in their classrooms last week – a recommendation from the commission that investigated the massacre of the Parkland High School in 2018 – could prove catastrophic.
"Imagine a student with an impairment of emotional behavior with a gun, or a teacher who may be afraid of the student – who says that the student will not be able to disarm them?" Jackson, 65, a teacher with over four decades of experience working with students with special needs.
"The first thing to do is to go out [a weapon]. Who will protect this educator if this weapon is triggered by mistake? As for the weapons teachers, I am 100% against, until I can not see. This is the most dangerous decision I have ever heard.
Jackson, who works at the Robert Renick Education Center in Miami Gardens, a school for students with emotional and behavioral challenges for K-12 children, sees this controversial bill as the work of powerful National lobbyists. Rifle Association (NRA) in Tallahassee who work with Republican lawmakers of the state.
"I know the NRA gives huge amounts of money to lobbyists, I understand," she said. "But it 's more than just money. You can not pay for a living. If the NRA wants to do something, pay for more officers to be in those buildings, and not for someone who has not received the proper training. "
Jackson was one of the many Florida teachers sharing with the Guardian Worryingly about the arming of teachers, they opposed 57-40% in a quinnipial poll in March. The bill now awaits the expected signing of Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, to become law.
"Unrealistic" training objectives
Kyle Savage, a Grade 5 teacher at Cape View Elementary School in Cape Canaveral, is a former military police officer with extensive experience in handling firearms. His career seems to make him an ideal candidate for Florida's "armed guardian" program.
But as he testified before politicians, he does not believe that teachers can play the role of a professional military presence on campus. "The training requirements are not realistic," said Savage, 33.
"I'm fine with a highly trained police officer, a school resource officer, it's a good thing, we need it. My fear is that we have under-trained teachers who will make decisions that will not work. "
Debra Bellanti for Florida
(@ Bellanti2018)Things teachers can NOT have in the classroom: coffee maker, mini-fridge, essential oil dispenser, unfiltered internet access, over-the-counter medications, peanuts. Safe to have in a classroom, by the legislature of FL: a loaded, unsecured gun. ? # SB7030 #BooksNotBullets
Funding for the program is another Savage concern, in a state ranked 48th in the country for teacher salaries, according to the National Education Association.
"In Florida, in public education, we find obvious ways not to spend money. That's why I find it hard to believe that now we're going to spend money to make sure that a teacher can make his way, the teacher has the appropriate training, year after year. year, this teacher has the training he needs, "he said.
"I want my kids to know that I'm a teacher, I love them, I love them, I do not want them to say to themselves," Well, my teacher has a gun on the side of the hip aujourd & # 39; hui. changes the whole environment of the class. "
This separation is why Savage is reluctant to bring his military experience into his classroom. "I have thought a lot about the issue," he said. "Do I think I could shoot an active shooter? Yes, 100%. The question I ask myself is this: will I regret it afterwards? It puts me in conflict, I will be honest. "
Although the new law allows individual school districts to opt out – and many of the larger state counties, including Miami-Dade, Broward, Pinellas, and Hillsborough, have all stated that their teachers would not wear proper clothing. firearms in public schools – Florida has more than 3,000 charter schools that can decide individually. For example, a charter school in Manatee County winked earlier this school year by hiring a former veteran to patrol in military gear and with an assault rifle.
"We are teachers, we are not supposed to be like police and security guards, we are not made to carry weapons," said Lesly Chamate, 44, art teacher at a small private school in the county. Broward, who stated that she would probably leave the premises if her colleagues came to school armed.
"The teachers and the rifles do not go together. How do you know how they will react in the moment? If you want to become a police officer, join the army.
"It sounds crazy, an art teacher with a weapon. In college, scissors are forbidden. How can you have weapons? "
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