Teachers should not be armed

Earlier this week, one of my children’s schools in the Columbus City School District went on “lockdown.” The text on my phone stated that a suspicious person with a possible weapon was reported in the area. This sighting and incident came on the heels of the senseless killing of 17 children and adults at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

As a parent of two district students, vice president of the Columbus City Schools Board of Education and substitute teacher in a neighboring public school district, I recognize that safety is chief among my many responsibilities.

I have come to understand that safety is both a state of mind and being. Addressing this issue requires clear policy, sound procedures, and excellent training. We need practical multipronged approaches.

Our state legislature should not consider arming teachers, but instead provide more trauma-informed and restorative practices that meet students and staff where they need us the most. Our legislature should reinvest in local-government funding that puts first responders back in our neighborhoods and closer to schools.

Placing more cops in neighborhood schools is the “community policing” model we need for understanding and cultural competence.

If the maxim “guns don’t kill, people do” is true, then safety must be tackled with measures that ensure the right people carry a piece, but more importantly peace of mind.

Too bad we can’t legislate love.

Michael D. Cole Columbus

Michael S. Lucas Columbus