Teachers and pocketknives??

Thanks for the replies so far. I appreciate each and every one of the comments.

ASBOB, maybe the P#$$ was a bit too harsh. When I originally posted, I was merely looking for others experiences, thoughts if they carried to work/school and such.

I understand the whole rule/consequence thing. (That's why I didn't want a bunch of legalese back and forth. Instead I just wanted others experiences.) I know there are rules; some easier to digest than others. And consequences too! You may not agree with them, following them is at your discretion, along with the consequences.

You teach and carry a knife everyday...is that in any violation of rules for your school or is it allowed?

From these posts I have learned that it varies from district to district with regards to carrying and private schools might allow more leeway compared to public. Discretion is of course, always necessary...even outside of an educational institution.

Once again, thanks all for the insights,
Matt
 
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garciajr said:
I am in my 20th year of teaching in the public schools.
I carry either a CRK Mnandi or a Small Sebenza daily.
I think you have to use common sense when you use your knife.

I hope this helps.......
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Thank you Garciajr. These are the type of responses I was looking for.

Don't get me wrong...I appreciate the others too.
 
Let me compliment you on a thoughful and reasonable reply. I'm at a private institution of higher learning so the rules are different than, say, in a public K-12 school. I do obey all state rules however. I mentioned it so you wouldn't think I was anti-carry.

I think the smartest reply was in the first paragraph from Parker 77. Basically, if you are discrete (how discreet depends on the school and community) you should be fine.

Your personal demeanor will probably play into this as well; that's how life is. If you're a solid Joe, nobody is looking to find out nasty things about you, and might even overlook a minor indiscretion on the grounds of, "he isn't the type to do something stupid". If you're loud and obnoxious, they might feel you're getting yours. Life is funny like that, and to reiterate, discretion is paramount.

As I said, good luck. I meant it last time, and still do. Teaching is a noble calling.
 
A teacher with a knife. You my friend are unfortunately public enemy #1. You may as well bring a tank to school.
 
I work frequently as a substitute teacher at an elementary school. Any knife is a definite no-no here and I'd probably be subject to arrest should I carry one. Probably the same would go if one was found in my car parked on school grounds.

Since I otherwise always have a knife on me, I have actually had a couple of dreams about accidentally carrying one onto school property. I have one time arrived in the morning, stuck my hand in my pocket and felt my Buck 301 there. I made a quick turn and put it in my trunk.

I really hate that I can't carry and use my knife on school property.
 
Wow, in GA? I was thinking maybe it was just the two coasts that were largely in the prohibitionist category.

Relayer said:
I work frequently as a substitute teacher at an elementary school. Any knife is a definite no-no here and I'd probably be subject to arrest should I carry one. Probably the same would go if one was found in my car parked on school grounds.

Since I otherwise always have a knife on me, I have actually had a couple of dreams about accidentally carrying one onto school property. I have one time arrived in the morning, stuck my hand in my pocket and felt my Buck 301 there. I made a quick turn and put it in my trunk.

I really hate that I can't carry and use my knife on school property.
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I was watching CSI Las Vegas Thursday night and the school principal in this epsiode pulled a larger knife, (than I'm used to carrying) out of his suit coat to cut down a poster with some racial/derogatory comments about some students.

I know this is Hollywood at it's best, but this kind of fueled the thoughts behind me posting this thread.

I figure, if the principal can carry, than so can we.....in TV land.
 
JNewell said:
Wow, in GA? I was thinking maybe it was just the two coasts that were largely in the prohibitionist category.
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I'm in Texas, and similar rules apply here. For the most part, Texas' state laws are pretty liberal with regard to carrying, but there are specific prohibitions in the law with regard to public schools. And, of course, there are always local ordinances which may be even more restrictive (for example, the city of San Antonio still outlaws any locking blade folders anywhere within city limits).
 
I'm currently a college student at a University of about 40,000+ students. I have seen a lot of knife clips on students, too many to count. I've yet to see a professors knife clip, that however may be due to the fact that they all wear suits and I can't see the clip especially if I'm toward the back of the room with 150+ students. However, I have seen some TA's carrying knives, and it doesn't seem to be problem. It may different where you go. I personally carry un-clipped in my RFP.

Hope this helps a little,
Canis
 
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I have been a public school teacher for 15 years and I have carried a knife everyday of those 15 years. I teach in rural Mississippi, where everyone carries a pocket knife of some sort, usually a Case. So it isn't a big deal around here.
I usually carry a Mooremaker trapper, but sometimes I carry a small Sebenza. It all goes back to common sense. I do know our principal carries a pocket knife, because earlier this year he took it out to cut open a bag of charcoal for a field day.
I guess you would want to check your district rules and see how they apply to you. They have nothing in ours about teachers and knives. Good Luck!
 
I have been teaching elementary here in Athens, GA for 15 years. It's a big no-no here. I could probably get away with it if I wanted to (being sneaky), but I can't afford to lose my job or get arrested over it. I am a gun person too and usually don't have anything more than a fork in my car or on my person while at school.
People tend to throw common sense out the window with the whole no-tolerance policies. I have seen kids suspended over toys. I just usually keep a giant pair of scissors on a pocket clip and a stapler in an IWB holster (haha).
Seriously, I hate it (not the job)! It's not so much the feeling of being defenseless while I'm at school (we do have an armed SRO officer there two-three days a week...note the sarcasm), but on the way to work and home or if I have somewhere to go after work, I'm screwed there too.
Teaching can be a very rewarding, yet trying profession! Once you step into that role, you are no longer a normal person to others. You are supposed to know everything and yet you are not allowed to do anything (example: teacher lost her job over a facebook picture holding a beer, on summer break, out of the country. Maybe you guys heard about it?)
 
When I was in high school I carried a multi tool with no blade, used it several times, in front of teachers, I never had any problems.
 
This reminds me of the recent search I did on the TSA site. You can carry scissors with 4 inch pointed blades onto a plane (according to the site) but not a tiny keychain knife.

Rules are rules. Goofy from my perspective at times, but nevertheless I am playing (or working) on someone elses playground so I gotta respect their rules. That said anyone entering my house must play by mine.
 
If you carry a knife on public school property it will likely be the shortest span of employment you ever had and you will also likely be arrested on top of it.

You would be labeled a terrorist or worse for bringing a dangerous weapon on school property.

I know here were I live you can't carry any knife on school property period.

Remember it's the Politically Correct sheeple way of doing things when talking about the Government.

It's the time of the Pansies, whimps, sheeples, and extreme left wing liberals these days and if you are talking about teachers you will be around all of them all day long everyday.

Bottom line is check with your local laws and even then it might not mean much on school property as you will be in sheeple whimp land.
 
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THG said:
It depends on your state and local laws and then on the school's policy.
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This is probably the best answer. You can't violate state law, and you can't violate any regulations your local district has in place. Violating district policy can only get you fired, violating the law can get you fined/jailed.

I left the classroom in 2001 but I was a public school teacher for 12 years. I always had a pocket knife, and I carried it with a pocket clip from the time I discovered knives with clips in the mid-90's until the Columbine shooting occurred. A lot changed in schools after that. That's when the 'zero tolerance' policies began to be discussed and when I first heard my students talk in class about school violence. It's almost like they never thought of it until the string of school shootings (Jonesboro, Paducah, Littleton) that happened toward the end of the Clinton years.

After Columbine the school administration suggested (but didn't order) that anyone with pocket knives might be better off if they left them at home, since students with any kind of weapon would be dealt with severely. Because I was a science teacher and needed a knife to cut tubing and other legitimate needs I think they turned a blind eye to my continued carry---but I no longer carried it in plain view.

If someone had challenged my possession of a Knife I would probably have been OK for a few reasons:

1) I taught in a small rural district where pocket knives are still viewed as tools. Most of the school board probably had knives in their pockets.

2) I was tenured, so I could only be fired for cause.

3) There was no official policy in place and I was never directly ordered not to have a knife, so I wasn't 'insubordinate'.

4) KY law specifically exempts 'an ordinary pocket or hunting knife' as not being a concealed weapon.

None of those may apply to you.
 
Relayer said:
I work frequently as a substitute teacher at an elementary school. Any knife is a definite no-no here
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How do they cut stuff in the kitchen?:D

If the school administration made a 'legitimate use' argument for the cooks then that would open the door for science, shop, agriculture etc. teachers to argue the same.
 
My old 5th grade English teacher carried (and still carries) a 110 on his belt. There is no pencil sharpener in the classroom. :D
 
I retired from the post-secondary system after twenty years here in Alabama in 1995, so my story is somewhat dated. As a 'junior college', we had a transient student population. I carried a Victorinox mid-sized 'Craftsman' SAK most of the time - a Buck 301 some, too. I was always being asked if I had my pocket 'tool kit' by other faculty members, who often had sharper knives.

I remember my shock one evening when a lady came in late to my darkroom lab for my photojournalism class. I heard a clunk - and saw a purse on it's side under a table. We were under safelights - but the snubby nickel-plated S&W 19 (.357M) laying next to the bag was obvious. "You know, you can't have this on campus, don't you?", I said as she repacked her bag. "Are you going to take it away from me?", she giggled. As I pondered that, she quipped,"... and I bet we won't be quite so picky about my photographs tonite, will we?". I wasn't! It was '88 or '89 - a different time.

I guess I would check before even carrying an SAK mini today. "Don't ask - don't tell!" covers something else, I think. If your career is to be in education, don't start it by getting terminated over a pocket knife. I retired too young - it was a great career - a calling to some. Find your niche. I wasn't that gifted - my students had to at least be able to read/write and tie their shoes, thus the post-secondary employment. Of course, as I found out, some made it through K-12 without acquiring those skills, too. My hat is off to you for choosing your profession.

Stainz
 
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