Two woke AF women had quite the response to Trump’s suggestion that teachers should be armed with guns to protect their students, in wake of the Parkland massacre. As Daily Dot reports, their clapback is starting to go viral.
According to BuzzFeed News, middle school English teacher Olivia Bertels and curriculum and instruction doctoral student Brittany Wheaton started the hashtag #ArmMeWith to highlight the things teachers would rather have instead of firearms, like smaller class sizes and mental health services. Now, teachers around the country have taken to Instagram and Twitter to make their voices heard with #ArmMeWith.
As Wheaton told BuzzFeed News, “If you’re an educator, you know that [more guns] is not a solution to stopping the violence that’s happening in our schools.” She added, “Knowing that, I decided to start the #armmewith movement, where ACTUAL teachers give their solutions to what’s happening.”
It’s news to no one that the public education system is tragically underfunded. It’s not uncommon that already underpaid teachers end up covering the cost of school supplies. As we previously reported, communities of color are often most severely affected by this lack of resources and infrastructure. For many teachers, guns are last on the laundry list of items that would improve public education and the lives of the students who rely on it.
Rachel Ells, a Santa Ana social science teacher and student leadership instructor told the Daily Dot, ““I went to college to become a teacher to teach, not carry out the Second Amendment.” Ells went on to explain that, “Many of my students come from neighborhoods where gun violence is a reoccurring event. Schools should be a place of comfort, security, and love to allow students to escape the harsh realities of their neighborhoods.”
