Stepped-Up School Security and the Impact on Education

The President today called Friday's massacre in Connecticut a "wake-up call," but it was only the latest of several mass shootings since he took office. In each case, he has called for action — but nothing has happened. Yesterday, Governor Rick Snyder vetoed a bill to allow concealed weapons in Michigan's public schools, but it's only on hold for the moment. Los Angeles police officers will visit 600 elementary and middle schools at least once a day, and LA high schools already have armed cops on campus. Do guns — along with metal detectors, surveillance cameras and photo-ID’s -- really make kids that much safer? Does every school have to become a fortress? When education requires an open, welcoming atmosphere, what are the dangers of over-reaction?