Life Magazine photo essay on 1950s school firearm instruction

[DeadMoneyDrew]

Life Magazine periodically publishes photo essays of retro subcultures and social issues. In the recent past they have done some really interesting photo essays on topics like the Hell's Angels, The Beatles at various points in their musical career, etc.

Just today they published a photo essay on firearm education at a rural elementary school in 1956. It is aptly titled "Old School Gun Control." It's really worth a look. The accompanying article isn't bad either, save for the author's dig at handgun owners (nothing's perfect I suppose).

http://life.time.com/history/gun-control-teaching-firearm-safety-to-indiana-schoolchildren/#1

I had gun safety classes in school in the 1980s and 1990s but through video instruction only. Nowadays we kick kids out of school for a gun-shaped Pop Tart. I'm thinking that we need to bring this very thing back into schools!

 

[Ryanxia]

Pretty anti article if you ask me, neat to see the pictures though.
The writer definitely isn't one who keeps up on gun control though, 'assuming shotguns at least will be around for awhile' do they think rifles and handguns are going somewhere? That the next AWB is just around the corner?

 

[xfyrfiter]

Most parents today would have a fit if this was even offered in a school context. but I agree with you, we need to teach something other than call of duty, and grand theft auto.

 

[Welding Rod]

We have 3 area high schools that have rifle teams that train at the range I belong to. The high school in the next town over has a skeet shooting team.

If we want kids shooting, responsible adults need to volunteer the time to train and supervise them.

 

[MachIVshooter]

Pretty anti article if you ask me, neat to see the pictures though.

Actually, I'd say it was pretty fair........until the last line. Save for that, I can only say I wish more such articles had lines such as:

More than 8,500 Americans were murdered by guns (or rather, by killers wielding guns) in 2011,

And

But there are literally tens of millions of Americans who own and shoot guns entirely within the letter and spirit of the law

 

[pezo]

It's worth noting the anti's ignorance of the constitution and denial of it. "Millions of unlicensed handguns". What? If you need a license how's it a right. Teaching young children safe gun handling is "shocking" wow how pansy can a person be. Yet those shocked people get behind the wheel of a car which is far more dangerous. This reminds me, in michigan we still have that goofy handgun registration. We used to have to bring the gun down to the station to have it "inspected". This is over now but back then I took my revolver out to hand the thing over to the gun counter clerk. A lady standing next to me looked at the weapon and began cowering, knees buckled with a face of horror. I was shocked to see her reaction.

 

[geekWithA.45]

In that era, handguns occupied the niche currently occupied by EBRs.

 

[Hillbillyz]

That was an era when teaching children safe gun handling was common sense.
Also a time when common sense was common.

 

[Deltaboy1984]

Good read.

 

[2bfree]

Notice all boys in the pictures, no girls. Suppose the girls were offered home eco. only ? I was just 5 in 1956 and I just don't remember.

 

[omcf]

Thank you for bringing this to our attention. One thing that leapt out at me:

"In 1954 more than 550 U.S. children under 15 were killed in accidents involving the careless handling of firearms, five of them in lake County, Indiana. [In 2010, 606 people were killed by "accidental discharge of firearms," according to the CDC. — Ed.] "

Now if the population of the U.S. today is around 330,000,000, and in 1950 it was 150,697,361, doesn't this mean we are actually doing a whole lot better in regard to child accidents with firearms? Or is it better trauma care and less people interacting with guns as a percentage of the population?



Incidently, this link led me to one about combat photos from theKorean War...wow. -40 degrees at Chosin Resevoir!

 

[Balrog]

If we taught this in school today, we would train a lot of amoral thugs in the proper use of guns. The problem is not a lack of knowledge of guns.

 

[happygeek]

From the article

The numbers related to gun violence in the land of the free are, of course, deeply chilling. More than 8,500 Americans were murdered by guns (or rather, by killers wielding guns) in 2011, according to the most recent FBI data. Of those, 565 were under the age of 18; 119 were kids 12 or younger. Wherever one comes down on the gun debate, most sane people can agree that those statistics are a national disgrace and . . . well, insane.

In 2010, 10,228 people were killed in alcohol-impaired driving crashes, accounting for nearly one-third (31%) of all traffic-related deaths in the United States.1

• Of the 1,210 traffic deaths among children ages 0 to 14 years in 2010, 211 (17%) involved an alcohol-impaired driver.1
• Of the 211 child passengers ages 14 and younger who died in alcohol-impaired driving crashes in 2010, over half (131) were riding in the vehicle with the alcohol-impaired driver.1
• In 2010, over 1.4 million drivers were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics.3 That's one percent of the 112 million self-reported episodes of alcohol-impaired driving among U.S. adults each year.4
• Drugs other than alcohol (e.g., marijuana and cocaine) are involved in about 18% of motor vehicle driver deaths. These other drugs are often used in combination with alcohol.5

So if 119 children under 12 are killed with guns and that's "a national disgrace and ... well, insane" (and apparently a reason to push for gun control) ... what of the 131 children under 12 who were killed by the drunk who was driving the vehicle they were riding in (presumably meaning they were killed by a family member)?

 

[natman]

I remember when a police officer came to my elementary school and held a gun safety lecture just like the one pictured, although I don't remember any actual firing.

Nowadays in California there is mandatory sex education in middle school, because the kids are going to have to deal with the issue and it's best if they are informed beforehand.

There is mandatory drug education in middle school, because the kids are going to have to deal with the issue and it's best if they are informed beforehand.

Try to hold an Eddie the Eagle gun safety demonstration at school and the parent would riot, because guns are evil, evil, evil and apparently having the kids remain ignorant is the best policy. I guess they figure the kids will never have to deal with it.

 

[Balrog]

So if 119 children under 12 are killed with guns and that's "a national disgrace and ... well, insane" (and apparently a reason to push for gun control) ... what of the 131 children under 12 who were killed by the drunk who was driving the vehicle they were riding in (presumably meaning they were killed by a family member)?

It means you can have more than one national disgrace at time.

 

[Sam1911]

If we taught this in school today, we would train a lot of amoral thugs in the proper use of guns. The problem is not a lack of knowledge of guns.

That logic could be applied to literally anything.

"If we taught accounting in school today, we would train a lot of amoral thugs to be more profitable in their illicit drug dealing. The problem is not a lack of fiscal responsibility."

The problem with that complaint is that there are (still...believe it or not) FAR more good people than "amoral thugs" in our schools and in society, and the net result would be enormously positive.

After all, what makes an "amoral thug" dangerous with a firearm is not whether he understands how to load and unload it safely.

 

[58limited]

"In 1954 more than 550 U.S. children under 15 were killed in accidents involving the careless handling of firearms, five of them in lake County, Indiana...This situation shocked Indiana Conservation Officer Rod Rankin, who decided to offer a course in gun safety to any interested child in the county."

Too often these days when there is a gun accident involving children many of our community leaders (and the media) call for more gun control laws and teach the kids that guns are evil. When I was a kid I knew where every gun in the house was located, but my father educated me about them at a young age, AND warned me about what would happen if he caught me touching them without permission.

So much has changed: during dove season it was not unusual to see a shotgun in the gun rack of someone's pickup in the high school parking lot where I went to school - Plano, Texas outside of Dallas. For my history class I brought a muzzle-loading pistol and a bayonet to school with no problems, now I would be arrested for this.

 

[Balrog]

That logic could be applied to literally anything.

"If we taught accounting in school today, we would train a lot of amoral thugs to be more profitable in their illicit drug dealing. The problem is not a lack of fiscal responsibility."

The problem with that complaint is that there are (still...believe it or not) FAR more good people than "amoral thugs" in our schools and in society, and the net result would be enormously positive.

After all, what makes an "amoral thug" dangerous with a firearm is not whether he understands how to load and unload it safely.

I generally disagree with your statement, and also think you vastly underestimate the wickedness of men.

 

[HammsBeer]

The article reeks of anti gun slant.

I don't know why schools are so against firearms safety. That ignoring the issue and spouting off "guns are bad" will make the millions of guns in this country somehow disappear. Obedient little sheep, thats what they want.

 

[pbearperry]

For someone who writes for a major publication,he is not really informed.He speaks of all those unlicensed handguns out there.Guns aren't licensed,people are licensed.Seems to me if you write passionately about something,you should know what you are talking about.
Maybe I should see if my car needs to get a license?

 

[Sam1911]

I generally disagree with your statement,

Ok. That's fine.

...and also think you vastly underestimate the wickedness of men.

Now that's not something I've ever been accused of once, by anyone! I guess there's a first time for everything.

However, you cannot refute that teaching kids how to be safer around firearms will have no impact what-so-ever on the nefarious activities of "amoral thugs" among them.

It isn't like a firearms safety course teaches anyone how to commit a robbery, or make a hit on a rival gang member.

This isn't even necessarily teaching kids to SHOOT guns, though I'd be 100% behind that, too.

 

[Balrog]

I think firearms training for a thug, even if it is just safety training, will increase their familiarity in gun handling, don't you?

There are certain things that are best left to the role of parents. Morality, sex ed, religion, and gun training all fall into those categories. I understand that we as a society have failed our youth, but these responsibilities should still be under the control of the parents, and not the government skool system.

 

[pbearperry]

Unfortunately ,if the school system doesn't teach certain things,they will never get the training.Parenting for the most part now is poor at best.

 

[Balrog]

Unfortunately ,if the school system doesn't teach certain things,they will never get the training.Parenting for the most part now is poor at best.

Yes we should give up and hand our kids over to the government's re-educators.

 

[Sam1911]

I think firearms training for a thug, even if it is just safety training, will increase their familiarity in gun handling, don't you?

No. Or rather, "So what?" If they're going to get a gun and carry it and even if they someday use it for bad purposes, I STILL want them to be safe with it that other 99% of the time. So what if Eddie the drug dealer will someday knock off his rival with that Glock? Not much society can do to stop him. And NOT having taught him gun safety isn't going to better those odds.

In the mean time, he's handling that firearm 365 days of the year, give or take. If something he was taught in 2nd grade keeps him from accidentally putting a bullet in the brain of the little girl next door? Yeah, I'm ALL FOR THAT.

And again, the presence of some thugs among a portion of the population can in no way negate the value of training to the other 99% of society. One of the basic principles of civil society is that we don't build it all on our presumptions about what the worst of us will do. Otherwise we'd all be born into prison and would have to EARN our freedoms with proven good behavior.

There are certain things that are best left to the role of parents. Morality, sex ed, religion, and gun training all fall into those categories. I understand that we as a society have failed our youth, but these responsibilities should still be under the control of the parents, and not the government skool system.

LOL. Sure. That's working out well. As always, if someone wants to do things entirely their own way, they have the right to keep their kids out of the "skool system" and put in the investment to impart EXACTLY what they want their kids to know. I know of what I speak -- my kids are homeschooled. However, for the other 99.9% of kids who's parents don't choose to do so, leaving a vacuum where some basic life lessons aught to be does no one any good. I want the average kid to know the anatomy and function of himself and the opposite sex, and some important safety habits. If his parents want to lay it out on their own and in their own way, that's fine, they can deliberately choose to do so, but "hope he figures it out somehow," or "go ask your friends" breeds a world of avoidable troubles. As this is so with safety and function of PEOPLE, so with the safety and function of firearms.

And how can you seriously propose that this is in the realm of things that average Joe or Jane Sixpack parent "should" be teaching his/her children? If we decry the fact that the average adult is woefully negligent around firearms, what in the world do we think they'll EVER say to their kids about it?

Yeah, yeah, these things SHOULD be the responsibility of the parents. The fact that 8 out of 10 parents are uninterested, unwilling, and incapable to do so does NOT somehow require we leave kids stranded without good instruction.