"Kudos to
PFHS"
by Mairwen
Many saw the news on March 10 and 11 last week addressing some activities in the Lifetime Sports class at Post Falls High School. It was reported that a certain student was upset by said activities. Of course, the whole story was left untold (it is realized that the news station can only fit so much in), however it will all be told now.
On Friday, March 4, the students in the Lifetime Sports class were told that they would be taking a trip to the local indoor shooting range the following Monday (although no permission slips were sent out to parents). Needless to say, a few students were not too fond of the idea of shooting guns. When the teacher was approached with these concerns, he told the students that they were not required to shoot anything, and the students were very grateful.
On Monday, March 7, the class made their trip down to Center Target Sports. That first day consisted of a half-hour session on gun safety. The students were respectful, and the instructor even handed out worksheets highlighting all of the safety rules. The only concern that day came when the instructor told the students what types of weapons they would be working with the next two days. The more innocent (though never completely safe) firearms included revolvers, semi-automatic handguns, and hunting rifles. However, it became worrisome when the students were informed that they were going to be allowed to shoot assault weapons (those kind which were used in the infamous Columbine killings). Monday, nonetheless, came and went uneventfully.
The next day, the students returned to the shooting range for a session on revolvers and semi-automatic handguns. Once again, the day went smoothly and there were no serious problems (although it was heard that a student in an earlier period had "nicked" her thumb from holding a gun improperly). Those students who decided not to shoot were not pressured to do so, nor were their grades affected.
The following day- Wednesday -was when the troubles began. This was the day when the students would be allowed to handle those assault rifles (which had been illegal just a few months before). Once again, the students remained safe; no one was hurt. However, there were some other occurrences that seemed rather inappropriate for a school class. First of all, the students were given the option to shoot a tactical shotgun- no worse than the assault rifle, except that instead of the neutral round targets the students had been shooting at the whole week, they shot at a silhouette target- one resembling a human being. Second of all, there were some disturbing comments heard from the students waiting for their turns. Although it is acknowledged that these are young people who were just joking with each other, the instructor had repeatedly reminded the students that this was serious and that real guns with real bullets (not rubber ones) were being used. Still, it seemed that it was all being taken with a grain of salt.
Now, I am sure that all of you know who I am by now. I am, indeed, that student who became particularly concerned with this event. The main issues were not made quite clear, and seeing as how some people may have gotten the wrong idea about my intentions, I felt that it may be appropriate to let the truth be known to those who care to hear it.
Though I myself do not see any kind of gun as a sport of any kind, in any way, I understand that some people (especially in our area) do consider hunting and target shooting to be sports. Having said this, if the Lifetime Sports class had shot only revolvers, handguns, and hunting rifles with a parental notification, I would still have refrained from any participation but would not have been so opposed to the whole activity. As a matter of fact, I would have left well enough alone. However, my main concerns were, indeed, the lack of permission slips, the assault weapons, and (although to some it may seem a stretch) the silhouette targets used.
When a school knows that it is taking a student into a situation that could be potentially dangerous, it seems that the first step would be to ask the parents of that student if they approve. Guns were made for killing; they can be unpredictable as can the people who are handling them. Knowing this, it seems obvious that a setting in which real guns with real bullets are being used would fall under the category of potentially dangerous. It seems highly inappropriate for any school to place any student in this situation without parental consent. In fact, the way it was handled, many of the students' parents could have gone on without ever knowing that their children had taken part in such an activity. Out of respect for the parents it seems only proper for the school to send out notices, especially since many of these students were minors.
Assault rifles are defined as: Any of the automatic rifles or semiautomatic rifles with large magazines designed for military use (1). These guns were not designed for any civilian sport as were hunting rifles or handguns (hunting and target shooting, respectively). These guns are notoriously associated with violent acts; for example, the infamous Columbine massacre was played out with these same weapons. Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris (seen at right) were both high school students; one cannot help but ask what would have happened if they were given this same opportunity.
Besides all of this, there seems to be some contradiction in the actions of the school. And I quote the school handbook:
Weapons Policy
Students who, without authorization, bring guns, knives, or
objects constructed as weapons on school property, school
provided transportation, or to school-sponsored activities will
be subject to expulsion (District Policy 504.13, IC 18-3302D, Gun
Free Schools Act, 1994) (4).
Seeing as how a student would be expelled for even bringing a water gun to school, it seems very ironic that students would be taken to a shooting range as part of the curriculum. This weapons policy is very well founded and is violated by students taking part in a gun-oriented activity during school hours. So, it seems that teaching high-schoolers to shoot these high-powered weapons would not only be unnecessary but also inappropriate.
My last concern inspired by these activities was the appearance of a silhouette target on the last day, Wednesday, when the students were shooting the assault weapons and tactical shotguns. I know that some people think that this is just an overexaggerated concern (I believe someone said to me, "It's only a piece of paper."), but I have received some feedback that this was very inappropriate. Others I have talked to who have taken shooting classes for hunting licenses say that they never fired at silhouettes, especially not during their early training. I also know that the teacher of the Lifetime Sports class himself seemed a little concerned by this; perhaps what the school really needed to do was to make sure of the details of what the students would be doing. This was not my biggest concern, but I wanted to mention it anyway so that it may not happen again.
Now that I have explained all of my reasoning for being upset by all of this, I want to acknowledge that after my mother and I expressed this concern there were meetings, and the school has decided to change its policy. My mother was told that if the school continues taking students to the range at all, they will be sending out parental notices, be using strictly .22's, and will make sure round targets are the only ones the students use. I am glad that we were heard and appreciate the school's response. I just hope that this message goes out to other schools who may consider this kind of activity in the future (though no other districts in the area have ever offered this to any of their students).
There is already so much violence in our society; our schools should be places in which we can be free of such things.
Sources
1) http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/encyclopedia/M/M1/M16.htm
2) http://www.americandestiny.com/columbine.htm
3) http://www.ghostrecon.net/images_arms/m16_large_section.jpg
4) http://www.pfsd.com/Default.aspx?indx=8&pageid=97#entry292
