Education plays a very important role in our society today. It should be a goal for us educators to teach, act as role models, learn, follow state regulations, protect students, encourage children, and to provide a safe environment where every student is able to learn at their best ability. Not only is it the job of the teacher to educate their students, but it is required that they protect and make sure each student feels safe in the classroom, and in the school.

School safety has become an important issue, especially with the matter of gun violence, psychological issues, mental illness, and the effortless access to weapons. There are many schools in the United States that experience high crime rates for all different reasons. A growing debate of whether or not teachers should be educating their students about gun violence has been occurring for years now. Even in the 1940s during World War I, and the Cold War in the late 1950s, children had to be prepared for an atomic bomb or an attack from the enemy. Teachers need to educate their class on school safety so that in any situation their students can be prepared. Every student must feel safe in the classroom and be able to achieve academically even after a hostile circumstance.

In the journal article, Student Strip Searches: The Legal and Ethical Implications of "Safford Unified School District v. Redding" for School Leaders it is discussed how the law interacts with the student. The first amendment to the U.S. constitution states the right to free speech but if a student expresses “derogatory, insulting, vulgar, obscene, or defamatory, the school is empowered to ban such expression.” The Fourth Amendment “provides protection from unreasonablesearch and seizure of person or property by government or law enforcement agencies”. A student who has a locker in their school does not have control over their possessions because it is property of the school. If school personnel find reasonable suspicion that dangerous or illegal items are in a student’s possession the school has the right to search through the student’s locker and possessions. For the “government or law enforcement to perform a search on a citizen they must have probable cause which means they must demonstrate beforehand that they are likely to find what they are seeking”. It is against the law for any school to perform random searches of lockers because it is a violation of the student’s fourth amendment.

In How to Prepare for and Respond to a Crisis, “Dealing with the effects of a crisis on schoolchildren and staff is not the primary mission of schools, nor is it the reason why most educators or school administrators entered the profession. Therefore many schools do not plan or prepare to respond to a crisis that might affect their students and staff” Although it is difficult, planning a coordinated response at the time of a crisis is necessary for both the staff and the students of the school:

“The regional crisis committee established in 1991 has evolved into the School Crisis Prevention and Response Initiative of the National Center for Children Exposed to Violence – Our mission is to empower school staff through prior planning and training, to help schools develop their capacity to meet the emotional and mental health needs of students and staff in times of crisis, and to provide technical assistance in resolving problems arising in specific crisis situations.

In The Whole Child Podcast, “How Can We Make Our Schools Safer?” a debate on school safety is discussed:

“The current debate on school safety brings with it a renewed interest in addressing safety, school climate, and mental health concerns at schools and promises to improve school policy and practice. As educators it is crucial to make our schools safe – not just physically safe, but safe places to teach and learn”.

It is required for students and adults to feel socially, emotionally, and physically safe in school. A way to educate the teachers on planning a crisis response is to provide law enforcement or the police to come in and provide conferences with all of school staff and provide them with a crisis plan. It is important all staff including teachers, aids, janitors and any administrators is familiar with the crisis plan and know how to react when a crisis occurs. Teachers must then educate their students in the classroom about school safety and prepare them for any harmful situations. Any student in high school or elementary school must be aware of gun violence.

Gun violence is a hostile issue that is a constant debate through America. In the research article, An Examination of Public School Safety Measures Across Geographic Settings, it states that “Violence at a school has become an epidemic." Additionally, each state in America has a different gun law and there is a controversial debate over the right to own a firearm. Administrators have to take precautions especially in current events and they must have a “serious look at safety measures at their institutions.” Many schools have even “implemented security guards, security cameras, school uniforms, and metal detectors.” School shootings in America happen more frequently than any other country in the world and the access to get a gun seems to be as easy as getting a novel in a book store. Teachers must educate their students on gun violence and they must precaution students for any dangerous emergency that could happen in their school.

Statistics have shown that the majority of violence in school systems have occurred with the use of a weapon. According to the journal articleCrime, Violence, Discipline, and Safety in U.S. Public Schools. Findings from the School Survey on Crime and Safety: 2007-08. First Look. NCES 2009-326.

What does this say about our country? Student safety is a number one part of a teacher’s job. It is the responsibility of the educator to inform their student of any possible crisis. Gun violence has become a dangerous epidemic in our school systems today and it must be addressed by the public. A controversial debate on how to teach gun violence has arouse throughout America and it needs to be taught to children everywhere to avoid any harmful disasters. The number of school deaths has risen due to poor education on school safety and gun violence. Recent statistics have shown that deaths in schools result from gun violence and students themselves have been the cause for these violent acts. It is vital that our children and students are aware of any dangerous situations and know how to react when a crisis occurs. Stressing the importance of school safety in the school systems need to be addressed more in order to promote the safety of all.