MY NEW HERO
Andrew Bott
That was when Andrew Bott — the sixth principal in seven years — showed up, and everything started to change…. “We got rid of the security guards,” said Bott, who reinvested all the money used for security infrastructure into the arts…. In a school notorious for its lack of discipline, where backpacks were prohibited for fear the students would use them to carry weapons, Bott’s bold decision to replace the security guards with art teachers was met with skepticism by those who also questioned why he would choose to lead the troubled school…. But now, three years later, the school is almost unrecognizable. Brightly colored paintings, essays of achievement, and motivational posters line the halls. The dance studio has been resurrected, along with the band room, and an artists’ studio. The end result? Orchard Gardens has one of the fastest student improvement rates statewide. And the students — once described as loud and unruly, have found their focus.
There’s a disturbing tendency among gun advocates to see security issue as having a very simple solution- MORE GUNS!! It’s as black and white as you can imagine- more guns equals more safety and security. The idea that the only thing that will stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun is as simplistic as it is facile. Rather than examine a problem, these folks would simply apply there universal Band-Aid- more people armed with more guns…because more firepower solves EVERYTHING, don’tchaknow?
Except that all more guns do is to introduce the potential for more lethality into a situation, and that lethality recognizes neither “right” nor “wrong.” For instance, assuming that an armed individual reacts appropriately in a high stress situation, having armed security guards in schools makes sense. The problem is that research shows that this is seldom the case, and friendly fire casualties can be catastrophic. Is that REALLY a workable solutions for our schools? And what message does turning public schools into armed camps and free-fire zones send to our children?
Sometimes what it takes is someone thinking differently and approaching a problem with a creative and open mind. Andrew Bott decided to approach the challenge of running a dangerous and perennially underperforming school differently. Instead of taking the easy and lazy route and throwing more firepower at the problem, Bott decided to err on the side of the students. He replaced security guards with art teachers and in the end turned his school around.
Applying more guns to a problem is an easy and far too lazy solution to a problem. Sometimes it just takes someone with an open mind and the willingness to risk doing things differently. There was no guarantee that Bott’s plan would work…but there’s also no guarantee that armed security guards will work. Why not try a creative solution instead of immediately defaulting to the “MORE GUNS!!” argument?
It’s not as if an art project ever killed anyone in error…and Orchard Gardens Elementary School stands as proof that firepower isn’t always the answer.
