美国国家公共电台 NPR Educators Fear And Embrace Calls For Concealed Carry In The Classroom

 

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

President Trump¹ has touted² the idea of teachers carrying concealed³ guns in classrooms. The response has been sharply divided. But it's already happening in a handful of states, including Ohio. From WCPN Ideastream in Cleveland, Annie Wu takes us through a training session where some teachers are learning how to use weapons in school.

ANNIE WU, BYLINE⁴: Drive down an inconspicuous dirt road beside the train tracks in the small town of Rittman, Ohio. And there, beyond a metal garage-like classroom, more than a dozen teachers are standing⁵ in a line, poised⁶ with guns in hand.

CHRIS CERINO: All right, shooters. This line is hot for 12 rounds from the high ready. So draw your guns.

WU: They're here as part of the FASTER program funded by the Buckeye Firearms Foundation. The state is also kicking in $175,000 over the next two years.

CERINO: Cease fire. De-cock and holster.

WU: Chris Cerino is a former police officer and law enforcement trainer who prepares teachers and staff in case of an active shooter. For the past five years, FASTER has trained more than 1,300 teachers and staff across 12 states.

CERINO: We teach them about target and backstop. We give them good marksmanship skills. We talk to them about closing the distances, using cover. And we also talk to them about not shooting when they shouldn't or can't.

WU: In Ohio, any school board can give permission to carry a firearm into normally gun-free schools. Those decisions are often made behind closed doors because they're part of a district's confidential⁷ safety plan. The Buckeye Firearms Foundation's Jim Irvine says it's not just teachers with guns. It's principals, nurses and maintenance people. And he says it's strictly⁸ voluntary.

JIM IRVINE: No one should ever be forced to carry a gun. It's something you have got to want to do because if you don't want to do it, you're not going to embrace it with the right mindset and the right attitude to do it properly.

WU: That mindset includes the possibility that children could be injured in crossfire⁹ or that the active shooter could be one of the teacher's own students. On day two, trainer Andrew Blubaugh is showing the group how to use a small window on a classroom door to check for a threat and how to restrain the shooter if he's caught.

ANDREW BLUBAUGH: What's great about you guys is when we start talking about the element of surprise, they're not expecting a teacher. They're looking for uniformed officers. That's what they're going to be cued in on. So you have the element of surprise.

WU: Most of those getting trained here don't want to be identified. They don't want others to know they're carrying because a shooter could target them first. Keith Countryman is superintendent¹⁰ of Hicksville schools in northwest Ohio, and he carries a concealed gun.

KEITH COUNTRYMAN: The people that I've chosen to carry - I've instructed them to never have the gun off their body for any reason nor have it shown for any reason unless it's needed in a threatening situation.

WU: Following the shooting in Parkland, Fla., Countryman met with a security team to consider arming more teachers who he says are not paid extra. They decided¹¹ instead to consider other measures, like adding more cameras outside the building.

COUNTRYMAN: I'm not just going to go around and hand guns out. Hey, go get your concealed carry, and you can carry a gun here at school. That's never going to happen at our school.

WU: Outside Countryman's school in Defiance¹² County is a warning sign that reads, these individuals may use whatever force is necessary to protect our students and staff. The superintendent says he's confident if something happened anywhere in the building, they'd be able to confront the intruder within seconds. For NPR News, I'm Annie Wu.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARTISAN LOYALIST'S "LONELY GHOST")

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 touted   

v.兜售( tout的过去式和过去分词 )；招揽；侦查；探听赛马情报

参考例句：

• She's being touted as the next leader of the party. 她被吹捧为该党的下一任领导人。
• People said that he touted for his mother and sister. 据说，他给母亲和姐姐拉生意。 来自辞典例句

3 concealed   

a.隐藏的，隐蔽的

参考例句：

• The paintings were concealed beneath a thick layer of plaster. 那些画被隐藏在厚厚的灰泥层下面。
• I think he had a gun concealed about his person. 我认为他当时身上藏有一支枪。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

6 poised   

a.摆好姿势不动的

参考例句：

• The hawk poised in mid-air ready to swoop. 老鹰在半空中盘旋，准备俯冲。
• Tina was tense, her hand poised over the telephone. 蒂娜心情紧张，手悬在电话机上。

7 confidential   

adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的

参考例句：

• He refused to allow his secretary to handle confidential letters.他不让秘书处理机密文件。
• We have a confidential exchange of views.我们推心置腹地交换意见。

8 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

9 crossfire   

n.被卷进争端

参考例句：

• They say they are caught in the crossfire between the education establishment and the government.他们称自己被卷进了教育机构与政府之间的争端。
• When two industrial giants clash,small companies can get caught in the crossfire.两大工业企业争斗之下，小公司遭受池鱼之殃。

10 superintendent   

n.监督人，主管，总监；(英国)警务长

参考例句：

• He was soon promoted to the post of superintendent of Foreign Trade.他很快就被擢升为对外贸易总监。
• He decided to call the superintendent of the building.他决定给楼房管理员打电话。

11 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

12 defiance   

n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗

参考例句：

• He climbed the ladder in defiance of the warning.他无视警告爬上了那架梯子。
• He slammed the door in a spirit of defiance.他以挑衅性的态度把门砰地一下关上。