NASHVILLE, Tenn.— This school year, students in elementary, middle and high schools in some states will get a new lesson on safety: what to do if they find a firearm.
Arkansas, Tennessee and Utah are the first states to enact laws that require public schools to teach children as young as 5 the basics of gun safety and how to properly store guns in the home. Only Utah’s law allows students to opt out of the lesson if requested by parents or guardians.
A similar law in Arizona was vetoed by the Democratic governor, and lawmakers in at least five other states have introduced such proposals, putting schools at the forefront of yet another debate about gun violence.
In Tennessee, lesson plans could include stickers, games, quizzes, or videos with music and colorful firearm illustrations, including a gun made out of Lego-style bricks and an explanation of what a muzzleloader is.
The reality is that many children in the U.S. grow up around firearms.
At Berclair Elementary School in Memphis, a class of 16 fifth graders were asked how many had seen a real gun. Nearly all raised their hands.
“It just shows you how much a class like this is needed,” said Tammie Chapman, a health and physical education instructor, who has been leading the lessons at this school.
“While there is some controversy around guns, there doesn’t always have to be,” said Emily Buck, director of public relations for the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, which created a curriculum with the state Department of Education. “I think that having some education and foundational knowledge really can be beneficial in the long run.”
Stop, don’t touch, leave quickly, tell an adult
The lessons are often adapted from hunting safety courses already administered by state hunting and wildlife agencies, but with key differences.
Hunter safety courses typically involve hands-on instruction and explanations of how to safely handle and fire a gun. These classroom lessons, on the other hand, emphasize that children should not touch a firearm.
In Tennessee, the legislation prohibits any use of actual firearms, but in Arkansas, the law allows parents to opt into alternative curriculums, such as an off-campus firearm safety course that could include live guns.
The main takeaway is a series of steps for when a child finds a gun: Stop, don’t touch, leave quickly, tell an adult. This is consistent with instructions created by other organizations, including one from the National Rifle Association that features animated characters, videos and coloring pages.
At Berclair Elementary School, the faculty designed a relay-race game to keep students engaged. In the gym, students took turns running to buckets that had different photos. Students who found a picture of a gun then reported it to one of the adults. They also listened to a catchy jingle emphasizing the steps.
Buck acknowledged that adults might be the ones responsible for creating unsafe situations at home and said children should be prepared if they find guns in unusual spots, like on shelves or under a mattress.
“We hope that maybe students will take some of what they learned back to their house, back to the parents and maybe they’ll encourage their parents to adjust their storage method,” said Buck.
