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Get you gun, Annie - we HAVE truly lost control of students in our schools. Shame on us.

OK - not all, but clearly some.

"Time and money are better spent teaching the students nonviolence." I agree, in History class we should teach Gandhi. Is that what you meant (wink)?

"... metal detectors". We HAVE truly lost control of students in our schools. Shame on us.

".. impulsive behavior .. should not be subjected to inhuman Taser treatment." I agree - a swift kick in the groin can be just a effective for kids that were not taught well (which in my opinion is a large percentage of the ADHD / bi-polar disorder
excuses .. I mean "problem".

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From the NIH: "About 5.7 million American adults or about 2.6 percent of the population age 18 and older in any given year, have bipolar disorder."

SO if 2.6% of those 18 and olde have it - calling that 60 years - 4/60*0026 = 1.7E-4 or less than 0.02 percent = durn few have it in our High Schools.

Also from the NIH:

"It is estimated that between 3 and 5 percent of children have ADHD, or approximately 2 million children in the United States. This means that in a classroom of 25 to 30 children, it is likely that at least one will have ADHD."

... I'll bet lunch at a good restaurant that the average public class room has MORE than "at least one" operating on Ritalin or Sister Speed.

When that six foot 200 pound bully whose parents never thought to teach respect, restraint, or peaceful resolutions attacks an SRO with a pencil, what do you suggest? It's either a bullet or a seriously injured officer.

Is it more inhumane to kill or stun?

You're living in a world that doesn't exist. If students are capable of violencce in school, they need to be short-circuited quickly. perhaps you would like to volunteer to walk the halls and keep the rogue students in line.

JDR, your rant against ADHD shpws you have never dealt with a child who is afflicted. I bet you take aspirin when you have a headache. The analogy is valid. Two out of three of my kids never had to fight it. The third, with the help of medication, was able to defeat it and succeed in his life dreams even against the odds of a school system that paid lip service but practiced forced isolation. . Damn the holier-than-thou who preach hollow aermons.

One little factor to take into consideration. Although it's far from being conclusive, there has been quite a bit of discussion in the medical community over whether or not ADD/ADHD are being seriously overdiagnosed in this country.

As far as Tasers go, if a sworn law enforcement officer can be trusted to follow proper guidelines for the use of force in carrying a firearm, I have to question why there is such a heated debate over their having at their disposal a much less deadly piece of equipment.

Is it a fear that it's availability will make officers more willing to use force, and if so, why have we not been inundated with accusations of overuse in regards to the nightsticks they already carry?

I'm just curious. Fact of the matter is that I feel the right of students and teachers to be safe from physical violence should be inviolate. If that requires a law enforcement presence, so be it.

My bet is Annie has never spent time as a teacher. I can also bet that if she would take over a class of middle or high schoolers for just one week, she'd be singing a different song.

Annie, tasers aren't going to be randomly used for no reason. We HAVE lost control in the classroom just as many parents have also lost control of their own children! If a parent can't control their child, how the h--- can we expect a teacher to control them?

Speaking as a mom and a grandmother, I would want the least lethal method used on out-of-control, potentially dangerous students. Whether it is my grandchild (my youngest son is 38) or someone else's child/grandchild that is the problem, I had rather an SRO use a tazer than a gun or club. Same is true if it is my grandchild or unrelated students who need protecting. Sometimes an officer needs to be able to stop an out-of-control student who is out of his/her physical reach. Better a taser than a gun, right?

It is sad, indeed, that it has come to a discussion about ways to restrain or contain violence in our public schools. But, as pointed out by others, it is the reality that exists in our schools and society today.

Needless to say (but I can't help myself), this was not a problem when I was in school. If we had misbehaved in school, we got to meet the "board of education", then go home and get the seat of our pants warmed again by our parents. Unfortunately too many parents today do not believe in discipline. Thus the problem of the need for tasers.

As for ADD/ADHD, I also think it is over diagnosed. But I also think it is more prevalent than it was 20-30 years ago. I may be wrong but it is my opinion all the environmental pollutants in the air today, the poor dietary habits of kids, the lack of physical activity and the absence of discipline are the contributing factors. All fixable problems. And it all begins with better parenting.

I am not saying there are no true ADD/ADHD children. I know there is because I, too, had one out of three children who had ADD/dyslexia. His ADD was short-lived (thank God) and was controlled by Ritalin (while in school) and caffeine (at home). I also consulted the school psychologist for ideas on how to help my child without giving him drugs. Worked well.

High School should be a privilege, not a right. Expulsions, reform schools and trade schools would remove the problem kids and allow dicipline to flourish.

Unfortunately, the politically correct powers that be won't allow any kind of solution that shines more light on certain demographics than others.

I'll bet that some of the children who went to Columbine High School has wished that there had been SRO's with guns, not just tasers. How would you feel if your child were the target of another child who is crazed by the Anti Depressents he is on making want to do bad things? With all the issues and worries about sending children to school, you are worried about a trained office have a taser? Priorities Please.

As to the ADHD debate, speaking as a person who was diagnosed to have had it as a child. One who was medicated with the lowest possible dose of Ritalin. Who could not stay awake in class because of it, and who's teachers insisted that I just be allowed to have the low grades resulting frim my sleeping, because when I was awak I was just too un-manageable. (i.e. I talked durring class....to other kids who were also talking durring class), but because I am a loud talker I was targeted. After my mother, who was smart enough to question things decided to take me to a specialist in the field it was determined that I did not have ADD or ADHD. What I needed was a hearing test. That test determined that I had a slight hearing problem which caused me to talk louder. So yes, children are still being over medicated.

"I'll bet that some of the children who went to Columbine High School has wished that there had been SRO's with guns, not just tasers"

There was an armed SRO at Columbine who traded shots with one of the killers.

Yvonne, great post.

I agree that tasers are needed for the protection of our students, teachers, and other staff.

Need an example? Look at what happened in Durham this week.

I don't think anyone LIKES the idea of having tasers in school but I'd much rather have an unruly kid get zapped than have innocent kids killed or seriously injured.

I feel that High Point and Greensboro police who work as resource officers will be the next ones requesting the use of Tasers (if they are smart).

" there was an armed SRO at Columbine who traded shots with one of the killers"/
Thank you Hugh, I did not know that. I still stand by my original statement and I think that children live in a different world today and changes have to be made to protect them, even if it is from themselves.

Video games can be a very pleasant and enjoyable way to navigate worlds fundamentally different from this one. In one game, SimHippy, players can virtually inhabit the world of John Lennon's "Imagine," where pleasant and happy sentiments actually cause things to happy. I suggest that this letter writer purchase a copy of SimHippy and enjoy it to her heart's content.

In Guilford County, keep the tasers.

Tazer Terry Grier and company.....that's where the real problem lies.