If you are a teacher..

[twoblink]

I try to sneak in the 2nd Amendment whenever I can.

My students read a few articles that I pick every week. This week, it was an article about women and the need for CCW as the police is unreliable and cannot follow you 24/7.

Most of my students had the idea that guns were dangerous. Most households here in Taiwan have a few cleavers, and so I asked if they thought those were dangerous. They didn't feel that cleavers were dangerous, because they said, it's just an inanimate object.. I will not jump out and "bite" you. It needs to be wielded..

So what's so different about guns? While after the discussion, some still have a phobia, most however, now realize that guns are just like knives, just a tool. If you are use to them around the house, and are trained in their use, they are not dangerous. They are only dangerous when misused or (disrespected).



The Twoblink RKBA club in Taiwan...

 

[AZTOY]

Good Job

 

[zastros]

I found that most of my students (college theatre if you can believe it) were pretty open minded about guns in general and about going to the range with me in particular. WooHoo! Now they might have just been stroking me (get out of my head) because I was the resident "gun nut" but I don't really think so. I had been pretty adamant that any topic of discussion was open and that I wanted them to disagree with me as long as they could back it up with facts. I think I had some converts and at the very least I knocked some holes into their idealogical walls. Hopefully, enough to see through anyway. The faculty was a WHOLE 'nother story however.:banghead:

 

[HBK]

Whenever possible I try to share knowledge with students about the advantages of proper firearm training and safety. I don't feel too badly about sharing my views strongly, because most of the faculty bombards students with what I feel is anti-gun propaganda. We have had some rather spirited debates lately about Michael Moore and his undocumentary.

 

[twoblink]

The irony is that most of my friends here in Taiwan are anti's, but my students are receptive..

 

[DNA]

Hmmm... how interesting, this Thursday me and a group of a half dozen Taiwanese friends are heading off to the range... Perhaps it's an age thing?

 

[280PLUS]

where in taiwan?

been to kaoshung (sp) many years ago,

lots of good memories of times with the locals

best one:

3 a.m. after the clubs closed, me (the only american)and my friends eating a delightful plate of some kind of meat and vegetables.
me,"mmmm, this is good. what is it?"

taiwanese friend, "you don't want to know."

i still don't know what it was, but it WAS good...

 

[Mastrogiacomo]

Twoblink -- most of your friends have probably never heard of Chow Yun Fat as your students have. If guns are evil, why do good guys own guns too? A lot of old west heros were adept with the gun and although ignore with firearms kills, those with respect and knowledge for the gun save lives every day. You don't hear about it because it defeats the antis efforts to show gun in purely a negative light as they it could jump up, load itself and bite you.

 

[critter]

I am a retired teacher. We USED TO:

bring guns to school and teach hunter safety classes
bring guns to school and refinish stocks
make gun stocks in woodworking class
bring muzzleloaders and have classes on blackpowder hunting
build hunting crossbows
talked deer, duck, turkey, quail hunting and fishin a lot
go hunting with students
do physics projects measuring the velocity of .22 bullets
bring guns to school in vehicles and hunt after school

During all that time, NEVER did one of those cause so much as a hangnail or papercut! AND YET-

All are now VERBOTEN and would cause somebody to be fired on the spot and probably jailed. It is SAD indeed.

 

[Don Gwinn]

I try to do as little political indoctrination as I can. IMHO, if you are introducing classroom materials and activities designed at least partly to unculcate your students with some political point of view, then you'd better not be complaining about "liberal bias" or "indoctrination" in the schools.

I simply live my life and answer questions honestly. If we talk about what we did last weekend and I made a knife or shot some handguns, I say so. I don't lecture people on the need for CCW while I'm taking money to teach them about math and science.

 

[dairycreek]

Twoblink & Critter

Twoblink:

Excellent lesson plan and learning strategy. Comparing and contrasting issues in the way you described shows the student both sides of the issue and lets them make up their individual mind. That way you don't get "tagged" as being either pro or anti - which is a good position for a teacher. If a person has a real "phobia" then other methods are called for - probably not within the scope of a regular classroom. But, from your description, it seems as if you made some of the kids really think about their position and that's good teaching. Congrats!

critter:

Do I sould like an educator? Retired, like you, but an educator none-the-less. I started teaching (science teacher) in a rural high school in Oregon in 1960. I can remember (and relate) to each and every item in your list. Oh, those were good times. In some places (Eastern Oregon) they still exist but they are really rare. Good shooting