Paul Hankins keeps a box of smooth, colorful river stones — he calls them “fidgets” — in his classroom for students to hold when they need to soothe their nerves.
The stones also have a different purpose, as do the billiard balls and the plank from the old gym floor. They can all be used as weapons in an emergency.
“Before we go to the corner where everybody gets invisible, grab one of those,” he tells his students at Silver Creek High School in Sellersburg, Ind. “We could cause one hell of a ruckus if we need to.”
Mr. Hankins does not begrudge teachers who argue that they should be allowed to carry guns to class, especially in the wake of attacks like last week’s shooting that killed 17 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla.