I’m a lifelong Tennessean and I love my state. I am also a product of public schools and I am a big supporter of our educators.

I’m a little more familiar with what our teachers have to go through than many non-teachers as my dad was an elementary school teacher for over 30 years and my mom was a substitute teacher and teachers' aide for over 20 years.

I say this to give you some background as to why I feel disturbed by what seems to be a war on public schools in our state launched by those we have elected to govern us.

This column space doesn’t allow me to fully get into newly stringent standards the state has placed on public schools which seem aimed at making the public school system look like a failure. Also there is Gov. Bill Lee’s school voucher bill, which educators and leaders on both sides of the political spectrum feel will further gut public school funding, fragment the education system and push public schools further down into a spiral of diminishing returns. It will lead more students into privatized education with different, or possibly even no, reporting requirements.

The governor certainly doesn’t seem to think too highly of those people who choose to sacrifice higher-paying options in an attempt to follow their passion in helping educate the children of others. Instead of giving them the added funding or support they need, these moves seem designed to encourage parents to move their kids to private schools, which will further reduce public schools' already inadequate funding.

But the latest move I find disturbing is the Tennessee Senate's vote on Tuesday, in the face of overwhelming opposition from many teachers and parents, including those directly affected by the Covenant School shooting, to allow and even encourage teachers and staff to carry guns in the classroom. 

Now, as I said, I support teachers. Some of my very favorite people were or are teachers. So, it is with absolutely no disrespect I say, some of them are not people I would want carrying a gun and be expected to make impossible choices in extraordinary circumstances. Don’t we already expect too much out of teachers? We want them to be educators, baby sitters, surrogate parents, disciplinarians and accountants. Now we want them to be Rambo, standing in the line of fire with a handgun trying to take down someone wielding an AR-15? 

The same state that doesn’t trust teachers to decide what or how they should teach or even what books to have in the library is now suddenly trusting teachers to make life-and-death decisions with a firearm? Make it make sense.

And, sure, some teachers may be qualified, but I’d argue seeing a teacher with a gun on their hip won’t help a student already intimidated by their teachers feel more comfortable in a learning environment. My dad was a fully trained Marine and I feel confident in saying the last thing he would have wanted would be to be responsible for carrying a gun around a school full of students.

What’s my solution for violence in schools? I honestly don’t know. That’s a problem which doesn’t have one simple answer. But adding more guns to the mix, in the hands of teachers who already have too much to worry about, seems to present more potential problems than it does solutions.

It all just seems like another step to drive people away from public schools and into the business of privatized education. I give the state a F in this subject.

Standard Managing Editor Seth Wright can be reached at editor@southernstandard.com