US schools on the front line
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Is nobody going to ask why a primary school principal had multiple firearms in her home, regardless of what may or may not be legal?
It is difficult to imagine that a school teacher in the UK would have seen such a weapon, much less handled one. Are we not permitted to ask if the right priorities are being considered?
Harvard University’s Programme on Education Policy and Governance places students from – amongst others – Poland, Liechtenstein, Slovenia, and Lithuania as improving at twice the rate of American students.
Yet on the blanket television coverage of this latest [shooting] incident, people were seriously suggesting arming school staff. Might it not be an idea to focus a little more on education, for example?
However, on reading Mr Kokoski's letter (“Abortions kill more kids than guns in the US”), I have reconsidered my response. All school staff should be armed. Abortion should be banned – wishy-washy liberal regimes such as Uzbekistan and Saudi Arabia may permit it, but that’s no defence. There must be a real threat of liberals bursting into a public building and forcing women to consider a termination. Schools must deny scientific enquiry – and instil fear of a vengeful Old Testament God in all students.
While the rest of us are trying to encourage our children to devote their attentions to science and other languages, the US can continue to isolate itself. My kids may face serious competition from students overseas, but at least outperforming the US will be a cinch. There won’t be much demand for the ability to recite scripture in your own language in the international job market – whether you’re sponsored by arms manufacturers or not.
Jack Ernest
Bangkok
