ArmMeWith Movement Rejects Giving Teachers Guns: 10 Better Ideas

As experts pan President Trump’s suggestion that classroom teachers be armed to stop school shooters — and even get bonuses if they take on the additional responsibility — teachers have started their own movement on social media. Many don’t want guns, but resources they say could help prevent tragedies like the Valentine’s Day rampage at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

Lawmakers in several states are wrestling with the contentious idea, which has been rejected by the National Education Association, the American Federation of Teachers and the teachers union in Florida’s Boward County, where the gunman killed 17 students and staff and wounded many more.

The unofficial campaign, created by teachers Olivia Bertels and Brittany Wheaton, shows up on social media with the hashtag #ArmMeWith. Bertels is a middle school English teacher in Kansas, and Wheaton is an educational consultant known on social media as @thesuperheroteacher.

"The vast majority of school personnel are uninterested in carrying a weapon into a building full of hundreds or thousands of children each day," Bertels told USA Today. "Those desires are not being reflected in the tone-deaf suggestions being made by lawmakers as a solution to America's gun problem."

From the #ArmMeWith campaign come these 10 things teachers would rather have than guns, all on Instagram:

1. #ArmMeWith enough training and time to help my students in crisis; multiple full-time social workers who have adequate time to dedicate to these children; a state system that, when called, takes responsibility for these students after we report abuse and neglect; and a building that is indeed safe with systems in place to stop outsiders from bringing weapons in.

2. #ArmMeWith time, resources and books to teach empathy, compassion and understanding toward other human beings, with enough funding to truly and effectively teach our future generations so that they may change the world.

3. #ArmMeWith smaller class sizes so that no child ever feels alone.

4. #ArmMeWith politicians that love our students more than the NRA.

5. #ArmMeWith bullying prevention training for my students, school and community.

6. #ArmMeWith gun laws that make sense and smaller class sizes to build more meaningful relationships with students and their families.

7. #ArmMeWith the time and resources to meet the needs of all my students, but especially those who feel alone, broken and unseen.

8. #ArmMeWith books, because 6-year-olds need to read, not be scared in class.

9. #ArmMeWith the understanding that to be successful in life is more than just passing a standardized test.

10. #ArmMeWith love and patience to teach my students that life doesn’t have to be this way.

See Also: Here’s How Much It Would Cost To Arm Teachers In Washington

(AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)