TITLE:  TO BE OR NOT TO BE ARMED

AUTHOR:  Mary Meritt; Stillwater High School,
         Stillwater, OK

GRADE LEVEL/SUBJECT:  11-12 / Government

OVERVIEW:  Many students have little understanding, nor do
they see the value of certain rules or practices in
"running", a school or the government.  (i.e. armed security
guard in the parking lot).  In introducing the lesson, the
students will be requested to list what they believe exists
around them that relates in some way to the law.  Typically,
they may criticize but seldom do they have an issue, follow
through on addressing the issue, and finally, practice the
skills necessary to resolve the issue.

PURPOSE:  The purpose of this activity (to be used in a
secondary governments class) is to begin the process of
teaching students communication and thinking skills and the
procedures necessary to resolve problems.  The goal is to
develop an inquiry relationship between the students and the
administration, law enforcement, and/or government
officials.

OBJECTIVES:  As a result of this activity, the students
will:
1.   Identify the specific objections (in the case) to the
     parking lot security guard being armed.
2.   Determine the students who will approach the
     administration after the class identifies the skills
     the representation need in order to net the desired
     results.
3.   Divide into small groups and collect their
     substantative remarks to be presented to the class and
     ultimately to be shared with the administration.

     This activity or a similar activity should be planned
at the beginning of the semester to achieve several
secondary objectives.  Students many times have difficulty
seeing the relevance of laws at the congressional, state, or
local level.  Yet at the building level if the height of the
water fountain is a problem for the handicapped or the armed
officer is viewed as a problem, they need to learn how to
impact decisions in a positive way.  This activity sets the
administration up as a resource person on even bigger issues
and starts students on the study of "government" and
"governance" with a trust building activity.  The goal is to
develop an iquiry relationship that will encourage young
people to continue their interest in assessing the legal
issues involved in a school setting and decision making that
meets the expectations of society.

RESOURCES/MATERIALS:  The cooperation of the administration,
handbooks, etc. will ensure the success of the lesson but,
more so, the course.

ACTIVITIES AND PROCEDURES:
1.   Students examine the school handbook for the duties of
     the officer.  In small groups, they determines what
     those duties are and after 5 - 10 minutes, the list
     from each group is shared making a single list by
     consensus.
2.   Students then examine the climate of the school via
     "paper"  questionnaires or through teacher-student led
     discussion as it pertains to the "armed guard."
3.   Students are selected by the class to make an
     appointment with the administration to share student
     concerns.  These students will be selected because of
     certain communication skills they believe will net the
     desired result  - an appointment with the class.
4.   Divide the students into small groups to prepare a
     draft of concerns and rationale to be presented tot he
     administration.
5.   The teacher is to assist students in gathering
     information about security, editing the written
     comments, and working with the administration each
     spring in developing the course description to ensure
     that the government class is viewed positively as a
     "live lab."

TYING IT ALL TOGETHER:
1.   The teacher and the administration's representative set
     the ground rules for the class discussion.
2.   The administration sets out the rationale from the
     security service and the school.
3.   The resolution of the identified problem will be
     determined by the position taken by the administration
     based on law, the security provider, and what is in the
     best interest of the "safety" of the student body.