“As easily pinched from teachers as answer sheets”

by David Safier

Today’s Star ran an op ed, Future teachers don’t want guns in schools. I agree with what Christine Wald-Hopkins says generally, but one line popped out at me: “Handguns could be as easily pinched from teachers as answer sheets.”

In one short sentence, Wald-Hopkins says what it took me an entire post to get across. (Guns in the Schools)

Since I tend to be verbose, let me flesh out her idea. A student wants to get ahold of the answer sheet to an upcoming test. He watches his teacher’s movements for weeks, figuring out where she keeps the answer sheets, when the area is unguarded, how she can be distracted.

Remember, she has to be thinking constantly about 35 students and a dozen ideas. He can concentrate his complete attention on this one objective.

He waits for his moment. Maybe he doesn’t get the answer sheet for the first test. Maybe he doesn’t get it from Ms. Johnson. But one of his teachers, once during the year, will be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and that answer sheet will be gone.

Is there one of us who doesn’t remember a similar scenario at the high schools we attended?

Good. Now substitute “gun” for “answer sheet.”