Wow! a twofer ... Career and Technical Education and Guns in Schools: Two of my favorite topics in one issue of the Herald.

Not all roads lead to college. As a career and technical educator, both teacher and administrator, the realization that college is not the be all and end all of education is so timely. Having started teaching computer programming in 1968, and having served as an administrator in three Career and Technical Centers, I have been fighting the college prejudice for a half century.

Having attended my granddaughter’s Cranston Career and Tech Education (CTE) awards ceremony last evening, it was so heartwarming to see 303 Cranston CTE graduates recognized for their achievements. It is about time.

Throughout the “’60s, ’70s, ’80s, ’90s and into the 2000s, forgoing college to become a craftsperson was denigrated, as noted in the June 5 editorial, “Not all roads lead to college.” College was the only way to succeed, according to prevailing logic.

What most missed was the huge costs of attending college, both in tuition and being out of the workforce for four years. What was missed was the fact a third of college students drop out in the first year. Just over 60% of college students will earn a degree – notwithstanding the debt that college tuitions represent even for non-graduates. That is especially true for non-graduates who leave college without the degree that was supposed to be their passport to success. Unemployment of college drop-outs hovers just below 20%. What was missed is that two thirds of jobs do not require a college degree.

Our high schools are finally realizing the potential provided by a sound education in many career fields that do not require a college degree. It is so gratifying to see that day finally arrive. For many years, I have advocated for Career and Technical programs. When I retired from my last position, as the principal/director of the Warwick Career & Technical Center, I left my successor with a statue I had kept in my office for a couple of decades. It was Sisyphus, pushing his rock up the hill. It looks like the CTE rock is finally approaching the top.

More guns in schools? Let us start with a quote from the Learning Policy Institute:  “A recent study of every intentional school shooting from 1980 to 2019 found that there was no relationship between having an armed officer on the school grounds and the rate of injuries.”

An armed person in a school has little chance of interceding if a school shooting occurs. Most damage is done by a school shooter in the first minutes of an attack. An armed employee would need to be close by to make a difference.

There are many kinds of school shootings. Roughly one half of school shootings, the kind in which the shooter is seeking some type of revenge on the school, most often for bullying, are by students within the school. Steps can be taken to identify students likely to ideate a school shooting. Their behavior in such things as drawing disturbing images, messages and postings, conversations with friends and classmates is indicator of someone the school needs to address. Counseling needs to be provided. Parents need to be informed. Guns need to be removed from the home. Action can be taken to prevent a catastrophe. But that action is not to have another gun carrier within the school.

Increasing the number of guns in a school is an emotional response to gun safety. What is needed is an intelligent response based on facts. Across the country, the most gun deaths occur where the most guns are.

Joseph H. Crowley, of Cranston, is the retired director of the Warwick Area Career and Technical Center and is now serving as a member of Mayor Frank Picozzi’s School Budget Commission.