Donald Trump

Boston School Superintendent, Public School Teacher React to Trump Proposal to Arm Teachers

Boston's public schools superintendent blasted President Donald Trump's suggestion to arm teachers as "utterly illogical."

Tommy Chang's public statement, which was released Thursday afternoon following the president's live listening session the day before with survivors and families of victims of gun violence, said if the district ends up arming teachers, it "will only result in making our students and teachers less safe."

Boston public school teacher Jen Li doesn't support arming teachers, either.

"Putting more weapons into more people's hands, it's only going to escalate the issue that we're having in America," she says.

Li's thoughts mirror the position of Chang.

She says what some may not realize is that for students in inner cities where gun violence can be a regular occurrence, students like hers regard school as their safe haven.

"It’s the place where they know they can be safe and they can be cared for and they know they can be loved," Li said. "And to bring firearms into that setting is only going to take another safe place away from our students."

Trump's suggestion to arm teachers comes amid renewed calls for gun control in the wake of last week's massacre at a high school in Parkland, Florida. Seventeen students and staff members were gunned down in and around Majory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14.

Chang said access to guns continues to be the "real issue" when it comes to violence and schools, and educators are routinely trained by Boston police on how to ensure students' safety, and "not wasting our time training educators how to carry and use a firearm.

"Our priority in Boston will always be the well-being of our school communities, and bringing guns into schools is simply not the answer," he added.

On Wednesday, Trump told the group at the White House that he will continue his push to have "very weapons talented teachers" in classrooms.

He continued his push on Thursday as he opened a school-safety discussion with state and local officials at the White House, saying that drills teaching students how to respond in an active shooter event "are a very negative thing."

Li feels her school's mass shooting drill is an unfortunate but necessary ritual in tihs day and age.

"All 25 of us will go into the closet, we'll shut the doors and the directive is just absolute silence," she said.

Li adds that teachers are already wearing too many hats, acting as nurses, mothers and administrators.

"And add another hat onto that, I think it's going to complicate our roles even more."

Nationally, Americans are divided on hte issue of arming teachers. A recent poll says the majority feel arming teachers would not have prevented the mass shooting in Florida.

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