I signed up to be a teacher, not a security guard. Who wants to lead a classroom now?

Guns in schools

In a time when it is already very difficult to find teachers, another obstacle is added: guns. A large number of newly hired teachers do not make it to their fifth year of teaching.

Why? The pay is low. There are added restrictions on what can and cannot be discussed and taught. Books that were previously acceptable are now banned. And to far too many Americans, teaching is no longer a respected profession.

And now people are suggesting that teachers start packing heat at school to protect their students from mass shootings. Really?

I went into education to be an advocate for children and to provide a safe place for them to learn the skills to be successful members of society. I don’t want to be responsible for a gun in a room full of students I am caring for.

I am also curious how having a security guard with a gun — for which he didn’t have to pass rigorous background checks — makes my school safer.

If we continue on this path, who will want to be a teacher? What will happen to public education? What happened to the idea that all people are created equal and deserve a good education?

- Helen Hatridge, Lee’s Summit

Point a finger

Place the blame for the slaughter of our children where it belongs: not at the feet of lax law enforcement, untrained police, people with untreated mental illness or those who treat them.

Place the blame squarely at the feet of far-right-wing Republicans. They are complicit in the slaughter of our schoolchildren by their do-nothing attitudes and actions regarding the ownership and possession of firearms that can be carried concealed or open, without permit or training,

They are as guilty as the person who pulled the trigger by their insane love affairs with any firearm ever made and their inaction to ban military-style weapons. They bend and twist our Constitution’s Second Amendment to fit their warped sense of patriotism.

They say, “Our children are our future,” yet they idly do nothing to keep from killing off that future.

They are solely responsible for the record mass slaughter of innocent children who should be able to consider school a safe place away from home.

Place the blame where it lies, along with the National Rifle Association that bought them.

- C.D. Rinck Sr., Mission

Safety measures

I was a high school principal for 30 years, including 19 years at North Kansas City High School. I’m now long retired.

I cringe when I hear the media, politicians or whoever can get a pulpit offer quick solutions for the safety of students and teachers. The most popular solution seems to be to use one entry and exit door in each building.

Many area schools have multiple buildings on campus, as well as playgrounds and sports fields. Large buildings might have a dozen or more outside doors. Fire department regulations will not allow those doors to be chained shut during school hours. Crash bars enable them to be opened, but they could unintentionally remain unlatched.

School buses, students’ cars, teachers’ cars, other employees, parents, visitors, outdoor physical education activities, recess, marching band — this list can go on and on — cause ceaseless traffic in and out of a school building.

Posting a guard at one door will not guarantee complete safety.

I think one thing is vitally important. School officials must accept the fact that the danger exists in every school. I am confident they will make the schools as safe as they possibly can.

- Robert C. Howe, Kansas City

Unique ‘evil’?

Speakers at last weekend’s NRA convention in Houston blamed recent mass-shooting atrocities on factors that have nothing to do with firearms: the breakdown of the American family, untreated mental illness, bullying on social media, violent video games and the inexplicable existence of “evil.” (May 29, 4A, “NRA speakers unshaken on gun rights after school massacre”)

The factors they outline are not unique to the United States. They exist all over the world. So why are other countries not experiencing the tragedies that we are? It has to be in the implementation of rational laws, regulations and enforcement.

- Jerry Joyner, Overland Park

Alzheimer’s facts

During Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month this June, the Alzheimer’s Association is highlighting myths and misconceptions surrounding Alzheimer’s and other dementia. People living with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia experience stigmas and stereotypes that can be a significant challenge for individuals and families affected by the disease.

Many people struggle with what to say when they hear someone has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease or another dementia. Alzheimer’s has been a common thread in my life, with several family members being diagnosed. There is so much to understand about the diagnosis.

Most important, it does not mean life is over. Having the diagnosis actually gives answers to actions and gives hope through the Alzheimer’s Association with all its resources and support programs.

It is vital that we continue to create awareness and engage our community to help overcome stigma surrounding Alzheimer’s and other dementia by learning the facts about them; avoiding assumptions; providing support by staying in touch and connected; supporting caregivers; and remembering that people living with dementia have hopes, dreams and aspirations like the rest of us.

- Katie Ervin, board chair, Alzheimer’s Association, Heart of America Chapter, Kansas City