by Tatyana Phelps

Students are stopping school shooters by fighting metal weapons with canned weapons of steel .

These aren’t your normal weapons of steel, though. We’re talking about the steel cans that keep green beans, ravioli and chicken noodle soup contained.

As part of its active shooter response, a middle school in Valley, Alabama is considering collecting canned goods for students to throw at an armed intruder in the event that such a situation may occur.

According to a letter sent to the parents by the school officials, tossing a few cans at shooter can catch him or her off guard or maybe even knock him or her out momentarily to contact police.

Not to be a negative Nancy, but do school officials really expect a can of baked beans to stop someone with a gun? Guns are nothing to play with. What happens if the plan to “stun” the shooter doesn’t work? It could make the shooter more aggressive. Students should be taught to get away, not to stand up to the intruder.

The only positive outcome that could come of this is that a canned good could possibly do some damage to someone. However, we have to keep in mind that these are middle school children. Their bodies are still developing, so they may not have the physical strength to actually knock someone out with one of the cans. Also, more than likely the children are going to be really afraid.

What if the safest thing for them to do is run away instead of trying to stand up to the armed intruder?

The idea is a good initiative; but at the same time, the school officials need to be a bit more realistic. The school should consider a different approach, rather than something that can possibly put the students in more danger.