Go to the following article: 'Free-Range' Parenting's Unfair Double Standard
Question: Should more states start to allow free-range parenting?
Question: Should more states start to allow free-range parenting?
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Go to the following article: 'Free-Range' Parenting's Unfair Double Standard
Question: Should more states start to allow free-range parenting? Go to the following article: After murder rate passes NYC, London Mayor Sadiq Khan calls for sharper knife control
Question: By choosing to live in a major metropolitan area (e.g. London, New York, etc.), do citizens give elected leaders the right to limit means to self defense? Go to the following article: Voices and Pictures From the Student Walkouts: ‘We Deserve to Live Without Fear’
Question: Are school walkouts an effective way of calling attention to a certain topic? When filling out an application for a teaching position, what requirements could one expect to be asked? Perhaps the presentation of certain teaching credentials, letters of recommendation, and the other materials necessary to verify an applicant’s profile would be acceptable. However, the current President of the United States wants a more action oriented application. Following a 17 person massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, Mr. Trump had this to say, “I want certain highly adept people, people who understand weaponry, guns” to have a permit to carry concealed firearms in schools. Alas Mr. Trump, if only the resolution were so simple. Unfortunately though, for those aware of the reality around them, turning teachers into commandos is no solution at all. An operation to train and supply an effective army of teachers would be grossly unaffordable. Moreover, there is no evidence to suggest that American public school teachers (with the limited training they receive) could effectively engage a school shooter. The classroom is a stronghold for the masses of wisdom seekers and selfless educators alike, murderous weapons have no place in this learning environment.
Mobilizing the U.S’s teaching force into a competent killing squad would be horrendously expensive. The Department of Education indicates there are an estimated 3.1 million public school and 400,000 private-school teachers in the United States. In total, there are about 3.6 million teachers. (WP) So then, how many teachers does the U.S government need to recruit? According to Mr. Trump,“Let’s say you had 20 percent of your teaching force. Because that’s pretty much the number... If you had a teacher... who was adept at firearms, they could very well end the attack very quickly.” Using Mr. Trump’s figure, the U.S government would have 718,000 teachers to both arm and train. Training for all teachers, based on an almost negligible 3 day program, will cost about $718 million. (WP) On top of this, the cost of arming the teachers with the standard issue handgun given to police officers, a roughly $550 pistol, raises the total by roughly $395 million. Abysmal training and handgun included, the total price for creating an army of teachers comes out to be more than 1.1 billion dollars. To put it in perspective, president Trump's full budget proposal for fiscal year 2018, calls for a $9.2 billion spending cut to education. (NPR) If the President believes the government is drastically overspending on education by the billions, how can he justify a billion dollar increase? The cost of arming America’s school teachers is an extortionate cost for the government to undertake, and even Mr. Trump contradicts his own dream of gun toting teachers. Teachers studied for a profession of nurturing educators, not an elite team of deadly special forces. Ill trained teachers armed with handguns would be an ineffective force against against school shooters. The president’s claim, “Highly trained, gun adept, teachers/coaches would solve the problem instantly, before police arrive. GREAT DETERRENT!” is pure fantasy. The reality is that, even when armed, without potentially dozens or even hundreds of hours in training, one cannot depend on a person to be able to quickly and properly respond. “There’s never enough training,” says Coby Briehn, a senior instructor at Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training. Moreover, the FBI’s analysis of active shooters between 2000 and 2013 provides more compelling information: “Law enforcement suffered casualties in 21 (46.7%) of the 45 incidents where they engaged the shooter to end the threat.” (DoJ) Despite extensive training, police officers, at least one officer being wounded or killed in nearly half of firefights. Teachers with limited training are prone to fare far worse. Moreover, that’s assuming teachers don’t succumb to the heat of the moment. During the recent Florida shooting, the “trained” armed school officer for Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School heard gunfire during the shooting but did not go in. (VOX) When the bullets start firing, who’s to say inexperienced school teachers won’t mirror the same feelings of fear and panic? Mr. Trump appears to be under the impression that at the snap of his fingers America’s educators can turn into Delta Squad members or Navy SEALS. Unfortunately, the case is not so. Teachers make for superb teachers, not first responders. School shootings, an atrocity meant to be reserved for the incomprehensible, understandably tears America’s heart apart, but the nation would be foolish to jump to solutions quickly. While the idea of competent guardians, standing everwatchful at every school's gates, is unspeakably appealing, one must not be blinded by its allure. When put to the test, attempting to create such guardians is sadly unrealistic. The enormous cost is much to unaffordable for the U.S government and the idealist belief that teachers can instantly transform into combat ready fighters is beyond reason. Ostensibly, the only hope for an end to the killings may lie in the early prevention of shootings altogether. Rather than repurposing the school into a warzone, perhaps a greater focus should be put on the school’s true purpose of fostering students into principled citizens rather than murderers. Bump, Philip. “Analysis | The economics of arming America's schools.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 22 Feb. 2018, www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2018/02/22/the-economics-of-arming-americas-schools/?utm_term=.b8909e02f96f. Lopez, German. “The case against arming teachers.” Vox, Vox, 23 Feb. 2018, www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/2/23/17041662/armed-teachers-gun-violence-mass-shootings. Kamenetz, Anya. “President Trump's Budget Proposal Calls For Deep Cuts To Education.” NPR, NPR, 22 May 2017, www.npr.org/sections/ed/2017/05/22/529534031/president-trumps-budget-proposal-calls-for-deep-cuts-to-education. Swofford, Anthony. “I Was a Marine. I Dont Want a Gun in My Classroom.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 24 Feb. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/02/24/opinion/sunday/marine-gun-classroom.html. After yet another school shooting, this time one of the deadliest in national history, the issue of gun control has sparked conversations about gun control across the country. Though there are many disagreements on both sides of the political spectrum, the essential question remains a pressing concern for everyone: how do we prevent a tragedy like this from happening again? One week after the catastrophic school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High, President Trump invited victims affected by gun violence to the White House for a listening session. (1) In the wake of anguished pleas for action by national leaders, Trump proposed his idea to arm highly trained teachers with guns. (2) Understandably, many Americans are very split on the plan; it could be either a very bad or a very good idea. In the aftermath of such a preventable tragedy, President Trump’s idea should be given heavy consideration because of its many positive attributes.
Many Americans in opposition to this plan fear an even higher rate of gun violence if the government should dismantle gun free school zones. In fact, teachers uncomfortable with the prospect of Trump’s idea have taken to social media to express their views with the hashtag #ArmMeWith. (5) In Trump’s proposal, he tossed around the idea of using government funding to give bonuses to teachers who carry guns. Teachers are proposing resources they would rather be armed with (using the government funding that would’ve gone to teacher bonuses) such as books and smaller class sizes. Though these are much needed resources, they won’t, unfortunately, prevent school shootings. Trump acknowledges the need for a deterrence to prevent another school shooter. In an interview he said “[School Shooters] are cowards. They're not going to walk into a school if 20% of the teachers have guns -- it may be 10% or may be 40%”. (3) School shooters are looking to cause a lot of damage and they expect to be met with defenseless students, not armed and trained staff members. Though teachers just want to teach, they also (hopefully) want their students to feel safe and protected at school. If a select group of experienced and highly background checked teachers were trained and armed it could prevent the loss of many lives. We know this because it’s already being done in many schools across the country. As the country entertains divisive debates about whether teachers should be armed, many teachers already bring guns to school. For many school districts, this concept isn’t alien or new—it’s a reality. In Texas, there are 110 school districts with armed teachers and administrators. (6) There are also numerous school districts in Utah, Colorado, and Oklahoma that already train and arm their teachers. (6) Another 18 states allow teachers to bring guns to school with approval from school officials. (6) A sign outside of Argyle High School reads “Please be aware that the staff at Argyle [Independent School District] are armed and may use whatever force is necessary to protect our students.” A potential shooter will read that sign and immediately turn back. The reason why so many school shootings have happened is because the shooters have purposely chosen a place where they can shoot round after round and no bullets will fly back at them. To a potential school shooter, a gun free zone is the perfect place to take a countless number of lives and not be met with any significant defensive force. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 3 million teachers have concealed carry permits. So while Americans argue across the nation, Trump’s idea is in no way revolutionary—many teachers are already armed and protecting their students. In conclusion, Trump’s idea of arming teachers has a lot of potential benefits and is already in action. In this day and age where school massacres like Sandy Hook and Marjory Stoneman Douglas happen, America needs to take preventive action. Whether that means utilizing Trump’s idea or another deterrent, schools need to be safe and protected. Merica, Dan, and Betsy Klein. “Trump Suggests Arming Teachers as a Solution to Increase School Safety.” CNN, Cable News Network, 22 Feb. 2018, www.cnn.com/2018/02/21/politics/trump-listening-sessions-parkland-students/index.html Liptak, Kevin, and Noah Gray. “Trump Proposes Bonuses for Teachers Who Get Gun Training.” CNN, Cable News Network, 24 Feb. 2018, www.cnn.com/2018/02/22/politics/donald-trump-gun-reforms-school-shooting/index.html. Chavez, Nicole. “These Schools Say Arming Teachers 'Can Be Done Right'.” CNN, Cable News Network, 24 Feb. 2018, www.cnn.com/2018/02/24/us/armed-teachers-states-trnd/index.html. Garrett, Major. “‘I'm Never Gonna See My Kid Again’: Parents, Victims Urge Trump for Changes after Shootings.” CBS News, CBS Interactive, 21 Feb. 2018, www.cbsnews.com/news/donald-trump-listening-session-gun-violence-white-house-today-2018-02-21/. Morris, Amanda. “In #ArmMeWith Movement, Teachers Ask to Be Armed -- but Not with Guns.” CNN, Cable News Network, 22 Feb. 2018, www.cnn.com/2018/02/22/politics/armmewith-twitter-teachers-guns/index.html. “As Gun Debate Roils on, Teachers in This Texas School Are Already Armed.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-texas-school-armed-20180222-story.html. As it is right now, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies (like Ethereum, Litecoin, etc.) are all too volatile for me to be able to see them being used on a daily basis like we do with “normal” money now. Things like the massive peak in value at the beginning of every year, being able to “mine” cryptocurrencies, and simply the fact that someone can steal it very easily if you aren’t careful all contribute to why I don’t think Bitcoin (and other currencies like it) isn’t ready for mainstream, day to day use.
The bump in the value of cryptocurrencies at the beginning of each year. It was mentioned briefly in one of Linus Tech Tips’ “Mining Adventure” series of videos, where Linus, the main host, mentioned something about the recent ridiculous price increase of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies alike, but then Luke, his co-host, mention that it has been happening every year. If you check www.cryptocurrencychart.com, you can see that Luke is, in fact, correct. The big change this year was that instead of just increasing a couple hundred USD in price (4,700 USD per Bitcoin at its previous peak), Bitcoin soared up to over 18 grand, and seemingly just as quickly it began plummeting in price as well. Similarly, the price of Ethereum was multiplied by 7 (going from roughly 200 USD to over 1,400 USD). The sheer unpredictability of cryptocurrencies is perhaps the biggest factor in keeping it away from mainstream users. Another fact I believe will be a problem is that you can “mine” cryptocurrencies yourself. The actual process in which this happens is actually fairly complicated, but essentially, you use your computer to run calculations, and in return you get rewarded a little bit of x cryptocurrency. Though, the more a cryptocurrency gets mined, the harder and harder it gets for anyone’s computer to mine that cryptocurrency. Because of this, popular currencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum have pushed people to buy warehouses and just fill them with computers, purely to mine said cryptocurrencies. They don’t usually mention how much they make, but if they’re still profiting and able to pay employees even though their daily electricity bill is nearly 40 grand, it should be fairly clear that this is still a viable way to make a living. Once you’ve mined your Bitcoin, you now need a place to store it. There are two main kinds of storage (according to blockgeeks.com): Hot storage and Cold storage. In a nutshell, the difference between the two is that hot storage lets you use your cryptocurrency frequently, but is very susceptible to hackers, while cold storage (paper wallets in particular) is very, very safe, but it makes it very difficult to use your cryptocurrency on a daily basis. If you end up going with a cold storage solution, it already nullifies the idea of using crypto as your daily driver for spending. However, if you go with hot storage, you are constantly at risk of being hacked and losing all your cryptocurrency to someone who could be anywhere on the planet, should they know what they’re doing. I think that companies like Circle are doing something really cool, but I don’t believe what they do really brings cryptocurrency much closer to becoming mainstream. It seems like all they do is mediate the exchange of Crypto and cash, then take a share for themselves from each transaction. It seems more like they rely on the cryptocurrency network, rather than the other way around. The most recent spike in prices is, without a doubt, one reason they have recently become a huge company. However, like I said in the beginning, I don’t believe cryptocurrency is ready for mainstream, reliable, day to day use yet - and it might never be. Sources: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0f_WLjCcPTk http://www.businessinsider.com/cryptocurrency-bitcoin-markets-tumbled-early-in-the-year-but-this-has-happened-before-2018-1 https://www.benzinga.com/general/education/17/08/9953629/cryptocurrency-mining-what-it-is-how-it-works-and-whos-making-money- http://fortune.com/2018/02/26/circle-cryptocurrency-trade-bitcoin/ https://qz.com/1055126/photos-china-has-one-of-worlds-largest-bitcoin-mines/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELA91d_mx80 https://blockgeeks.com/guides/paper-wallet-guide/ Steps to Posting:
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April 2018
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