As a teacher, I know the many hats we wear in a given day as coaches, counselors, and more. In the best of times, we encourage students to change the world for the better. In the worst of times, we are forced to protect them from tragedy, specifically gun violence.
As a Massachusetts resident, I know that common-sense gun safety policies have made our state a place with the lowest gun death rate in the US in 2023. We’ve also had comparatively fewer incidents of gun violence in our schools. There have been 428 school shootings nationwide since the Columbine shooting in 1999. Four have occurred in Massachusetts and, fortunately, no one has been killed.
Too many teachers go to work in schools worried that gun violence will visit their classroom. We also worry about the impact of gun violence outside of classroom walls. Gun violence is the leading cause of death for children in America, but many of those deaths take place off school campuses.
This year during Teacher Appreciation Week, I’m hoping that more states will show they truly appreciate the work done by teachers and commit to creating safer learning spaces across America. And along the way, we need Massachusetts to strengthen the strong foundation that we’ve started building.
The numbers outside Massachusetts are sobering. Firearms are the leading cause of death for children and teens, according to the CDC, and an analysis by the non-profit research group The Trace has found that there is an average of 57 firearm incidents daily in American near schools.
Massachusetts policies, like those that bar any staff or students from carrying at K-12 schools, keep guns off of campuses. Barring guns on school campuses rejects the unsafe practice of arming teachers, who are more likely to shoot a student bystander or be shot by responding law enforcement than be a real solution to gun violence.
State policies like safe gun storage laws protect our students from accessing these dangerous weapons when they shouldn’t. Unfortunately, in other states, kids have been injured because parents didn’t store their guns securely. For example, last month, parents in Virginia were charged after their son took an unsecured firearm to school in his backpack and discharged it in the classroom.
While Massachusetts is leading the fight against gun violence, there is still more work to be done to make our schools as safe as possible. In our state, 18 year olds are still allowed to purchase a firearm and ammunition. In some cases, kids as young as 15 can possess a gun.
This is concerning. The homicide rate among people aged 18-20 is three times the rest of the population. Twenty-two states have raised the minimum age for purchasing firearms to 21, but Massachusetts has yet to take action and keep dangerous weapons out of young people’s hands.
As a National Teacher of the Year, I had the honor of speaking to audiences all across the country about the power of education. Every day, in every school, teachers help young people develop the skills they need to make the world a better and more just place. However, it is a challenging task to encourage students to build a brighter future and fight for social justice with the threat of gun violence hanging over their heads.
My hope is that by next year’s Teacher Appreciation Week, more lawmakers will have recognized the challenges teachers and students face and committed to taking action. Our students deserve it.
Sydney Chaffee is a 9th grade Humanities teacher and instructional coach at Codman Academy Charter Public School in Dorchester.
