Teachers Debate Carrying Guns to Protect Students in US Schools

2022-06-08

00:00 / 00:00
复读宝 RABC v8.0beta 复读机按钮使用说明
播放/暂停
停止
播放时:倒退3秒/复读时:回退AB段
播放时:快进3秒/复读时:前进AB段
拖动:改变速度/点击:恢复正常速度1.0
拖动改变复读暂停时间
点击:复读最近5秒/拖动:改变复读次数
设置A点
设置B点
取消复读并清除AB点
播放一行
停止播放
后退一行
前进一行
复读一行
复读多行
变速复读一行
变速复读多行
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1
  • The recent mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, has brought new attention to the issue of how to keep children in American schools safe.
  • 2
  • The attack by a teenaged gunman on May 24 killed 19 students and two teachers.
  • 3
  • Many details remain unclear.
  • 4
  • Many measures have been proposed to prevent gun violence at schools in America.
  • 5
  • Democratic Party lawmakers have called for banning some kinds of guns, increased security investigations of gun buyers and other measures.
  • 6
  • Republican Party lawmakers have supported increased security for schools including permitting volunteer teachers to carry weapons.
  • 7
  • Many years ago, Wayne LaPierre, the head of the National Rifle Association, a gun rights group, spoke in support of more guns.
  • 8
  • He said: "the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun."
  • 9
  • Many teachers, however, do not support the idea of being armed.
  • 10
  • A 2018 opinion study by the Gallup organization found that 73 percent of American teachers did not want to carry guns in school.
  • 11
  • A.J. Allegra has been a public school teacher in the city of New Orleans for 15 years.
  • 12
  • He said: "Children, teachers and education belong in schools - not guns.
  • 13
  • Imagine your oldest teacher when you were in school firing a gun several times within feet of 25 kids.
  • 14
  • The image is as preposterous as the idea."
  • 15
  • Jenna Whitesell Carson has worked at a public high school in South Carolina for four years.
  • 16
  • She said she was appalled by the idea of arming teachers to prevent future school shootings.
  • 17
  • "My first thought was that this is not at all what I signed up for," Carson told VOA.
  • 18
  • "I became a school librarian to educate young minds, not to carry a gun."
  • 19
  • She added: "My second thought was that they definitely don't pay us enough for this."
  • 20
  • Some teachers see the issue differently.
  • 21
  • Jason Winder is a history teacher who carries a legal, concealed firearm, or gun, at school.
  • 22
  • He said: "It's not about seeking out an active shooter.
  • 23
  • It's about giving me the best tools to keep my students and myself safe.
  • 24
  • I can't speak for everyone, but a firearm in my hand will be a lot more effective at stopping someone trying to harm my kids than us hiding in a corner."
  • 25
  • Some teachers say attention should be placed on other answers.
  • 26
  • They call for better mental health care and keeping school buildings safe.
  • 27
  • Many schools already have armed workers, known as resource officers.
  • 28
  • This was the case in the Parkland, Florida shooting in 2018 in which the officer failed to prevent the attack.
  • 29
  • "The resource officer is the first line of defense," said Keith Mott.
  • 30
  • He is an officer of the Los Angeles Police Department.
  • 31
  • Mott said: "Teachers, on the other hand, have enough to do just trying to educate our children. That's their goal, and there's no reason they should be armed..."
  • 32
  • Teachers do not agree on the answers, but most share a goal.
  • 33
  • Angelica Garcia teaches English to children who do not speak it as their first language (ESL) at schools in Saginaw County, Michigan.
  • 34
  • "The goal is to make sure our children feel safe, but also to ensure they are safe," said Garcia.
  • 35
  • "At the end of the day, we all just want to go home to our families, for our families to come home to us, and for us all to live to see another day," she added.
  • 36
  • I'm Gregory Stachel.
  • 1
  • The recent mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, has brought new attention to the issue of how to keep children in American schools safe.
  • 2
  • The attack by a teenaged gunman on May 24 killed 19 students and two teachers. Many details remain unclear.
  • 3
  • Many measures have been proposed to prevent gun violence at schools in America. Democratic Party lawmakers have called for banning some kinds of guns, increased security investigations of gun buyers and other measures. Republican Party lawmakers have supported increased security for schools including permitting volunteer teachers to carry weapons.
  • 4
  • Many years ago, Wayne LaPierre, the head of the National Rifle Association, a gun rights group, spoke in support of more guns. He said: "the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun."
  • 5
  • Many teachers, however, do not support the idea of being armed. A 2018 opinion study by the Gallup organization found that 73 percent of American teachers did not want to carry guns in school.
  • 6
  • A.J. Allegra has been a public school teacher in the city of New Orleans for 15 years. He said: "Children, teachers and education belong in schools - not guns. Imagine your oldest teacher when you were in school firing a gun several times within feet of 25 kids. The image is as preposterous as the idea."
  • 7
  • Jenna Whitesell Carson has worked at a public high school in South Carolina for four years. She said she was appalled by the idea of arming teachers to prevent future school shootings.
  • 8
  • "My first thought was that this is not at all what I signed up for," Carson told VOA. "I became a school librarian to educate young minds, not to carry a gun."
  • 9
  • She added: "My second thought was that they definitely don't pay us enough for this."
  • 10
  • Some teachers see the issue differently.
  • 11
  • Jason Winder is a history teacher who carries a legal, concealed firearm, or gun, at school.
  • 12
  • He said: "It's not about seeking out an active shooter. It's about giving me the best tools to keep my students and myself safe. I can't speak for everyone, but a firearm in my hand will be a lot more effective at stopping someone trying to harm my kids than us hiding in a corner."
  • 13
  • Some teachers say attention should be placed on other answers. They call for better mental health care and keeping school buildings safe.
  • 14
  • Many schools already have armed workers, known as resource officers. This was the case in the Parkland, Florida shooting in 2018 in which the officer failed to prevent the attack.
  • 15
  • "The resource officer is the first line of defense," said Keith Mott. He is an officer of the Los Angeles Police Department. Mott said: "Teachers, on the other hand, have enough to do just trying to educate our children. That's their goal, and there's no reason they should be armed..."
  • 16
  • Teachers do not agree on the answers, but most share a goal.
  • 17
  • Angelica Garcia teaches English to children who do not speak it as their first language (ESL) at schools in Saginaw County, Michigan.
  • 18
  • "The goal is to make sure our children feel safe, but also to ensure they are safe," said Garcia. "At the end of the day, we all just want to go home to our families, for our families to come home to us, and for us all to live to see another day," she added.
  • 19
  • I'm Gregory Stachel.
  • 20
  • Matt Haines reported this story for VOA News. Matthew Caputo adapted it for VOA Learning English.
  • 21
  • ___________________________________________________________________
  • 22
  • Words in This Story
  • 23
  • librarian - n. a person who works in a library
  • 24
  • appall - v. to cause (someone) to feel fear, shock, or disgust
  • 25
  • preposterous - adj. very foolish or silly
  • 26
  • conceal - v. to hide (something or someone) from sight
  • 27
  • ensure - v. to make (something) sure, certain, or safe
  • 28
  • What do you think of arming teachers? Do you think school faculty should carry firearms? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.