The T-U probably won't publish this...

[Jaxson]

I have been reading the Letters from Readers section of the Times-Union and have been disappointed by the same old tricks from those who think that they are adding something new to the dialogue about mass killings.  The back and forth may sell newspapers, but it does not add much to the dialogue.  I emailed the following to the Times-Union for the sake of adding a different voice.  Color me surprised if this letter is published...

"Do not pray for easier lives.  Pray to be stronger..." - John F. Kennedy (1917-1963)

Once again, the hallowed halls of learning have become desecrated by the violence from which we seek to protect our youngest citizens.  Connecticut's pain is our pain because we know in our hearts that the tender years of youth are supposed to be ones of learning and growing and not dying and mourning.  We collectively feel their pain because we know the arbitrary nature of fate in which evil can strike without warning.  Our security comes into question and we fear for our own communities.  There is no way for us to reasonably pretend to know when we will face the kind of violence that has visited those educators and students who began their day like any other but found themselves living through a nightmare that no community should ever endure.  There are no immediate solutions or panaceas to this situation, but we must do what we know best.  In the darkest hour, it is up to each of us to stay true to our purpose - to enlighten as our calling demands of us.  The work that we do shall continue as we respond to evil with good, to disorder with order and to chaos with reason.  We have been challenged before and we will continue to be challenged, but our work must continue for the good of humanity.  This holiday season, I pray, will be a time of reflection for us to carry on in a way that would make our fallen colleagues and our fallen students know that we do this work for them and for a better world.  I thank you for all that you do.

Very Sincerely,
//signed//
John Louis Meeks, Jr.

[NotNow]

Thank you, Jaxson.

The TU did post this from a JSO Officer:

http://jacksonville.com/business/columnists/2012-12-18/story/guest-column-police-do-belong-schools




Guest column: Police do belong at schools


Posted: December 18, 2012 - 12:18pm

When I read the article “What if it happened here? First Coast districts talk safety,” I was a little stunned at what was said by Paul Soares, Duval County Public Schools Chief Officer of Operations Support.

He said, “The presence of law enforcement officers is always balanced against the impact it has on children. At an elementary school, because you have kindergartners, first- and second-graders, you tend not to want to have a law enforcement officer walking around all the time.” This concerned me for multiple reasons.

First, the statement insinuates that having a police officer at an elementary school around young children is a negative thing. It seems to hint that either the children would be afraid of the police officer or that having weapons around children, even if they are being carried by a police officer, is wrong. I completely disagree with this.

If children are indeed scared of a police officer, then what better way of easing their fears than to have Officer Friendly walking the halls and interacting with them?

Children are supposed to feel safe around police, and if they do not, this would help fix that.

EASY TARGETS

If his reasoning is because he feels that there should be no weapons period in an elementary school, then I completely disagree with that as well.

As a community, we entrust the police to keep us safe. I’m sure that if he or his family were being violently attacked, he would love it if an armed police officer came to his aid. Why not give the same level of security to our small children?

Second, his statement shows a complete lack of understanding of security and school shooting incidents.

Terrorists and school shooters choose their targets in large part because they are easy targets. They expect little to no opposition in meeting their goal, which is to kill as many people as possible.

I can think of few places that would be an easier target for mass murderers than an elementary school without armed security.

For example, research Buford Furrow Jr. He is a neo-Nazi that fired 70 rounds from an AR-15, killing five children. He also killed someone on the way out. He did this to prompt America to kill Jews. He scouted three other Jewish centers before his attack.

He did not choose those three centers because they each had a security guard present. However, he came across an unguarded center and made his attack.

FIRE DRILLS

Dave Grossman gives great information on school safety. He writes, according to the Secret Service, in 1998 there were 35 murders and 257,700 serious injuries in our schools. There were 0 kids injured or killed by fire, yet we spend millions of dollars on school fire safety equipment and have students practice fire drills.

Obviously, all that effort and money has produced results. How many more of our children need to be hurt or killed before we get serious about school violence?

In the tragedy in Connecticut, the shooter forced his way into the school, and there are reports that there was a struggle being heard over the intercom.

What if there had been a police officer assigned to the school and he became involved in the struggle? It may not have changed the outcome, but it would have given everyone a much better chance.

When Soares says, “At an elementary school, because you have kindergartners, first- and second-graders, you tend not to want to have a law enforcement officer walking around all the time,” I respond that those young children are the exact reason we need a law enforcement officer walking around all the time.

It’s time we get serious about protecting those who cannot protect themselves.


Daniel Veres is a Jacksonville police officer.


Read more at Jacksonville.com: http://jacksonville.com/business/columnists/2012-12-18/story/guest-column-police-do-belong-schools#ixzz2FRKBFGpN


_________________________________________________________________________________________________

I agree with him completely.  It is my hope that we heed these lessons and protect our children.

[Ocklawaha]

This is how it's done in the so-called 3Rd World - which again proves to be lightyears ahead of us.


You can see from this photo that K through 3Rd grade are simply mortified by the presence of armed police officers... NOT!


Doesn't hurt to have the friendly officers teaching various short subjects such as first aid.


Police woman handing out coloring books to those really small children.

Want to move?  You'd quickly find out why they say, "Colombia es Pasión"

[NotNow]

Excellent examples, thanks Ock. 

[Jaxson]

We already have armed police officers in our middle and high schools - with the exception of Douglas Anderson School of the Arts.  Why do we not already have 'school resource officers' in elementary schools?  It was not cost effective.  The next question is if we are willing to budget more money and resources for more school resource officers in all of our public schools?

[Jaxson]

The Letters from Readers page in today's Times-Union is an improvement over past days.  There were letters that actually do something besides rehash the same trite arguments in the debate over guns...  Thank you, Times-Union!