Where student’s lives are a priority: Schools to offer hunter safety course

    It’s a story that has been shared tens of thousands of time online: the Clarksville and North Butler school districts have both taken the step to offer hunter safety courses to students.
    It’s a story that’s triggered heated debate as self-proclaimed experts opine across the country. Some believe Clarksville and North Butler are setting an example every school in the nation should follow. Others called the new course “nonsense,” and a “stupid waste of time” that probably originated with the support of gun dealers and shouldn’t be taught using taxpayer dollars.
    But in Clarksville and at North Butler, the announcement hasn’t garnered much controversy. No operable firearms or live ammunition will be present during the class. While national news sources headline that classes are supposedly “mandatory,” parents are actually free to opt their children out.
    For the districts, offering the course is not about politics. It’s about saving lives. And although it’s not mentioned in any official statements, locals have known the pain of tragedy.
    This spring, a local teenager, Kain Schild, died in an accidental shooting in rural Clarksville. Schild loved the outdoors, and he loved to hunt, fish and trap. His family encouraged those interested in weaponry to take gun safety courses. Hick’s Place in Cedar Falls offered a free firearm safety program for children in memory of Schild. The 2018 Pheasants Forever Youth Day was dedicated to Kain Schild’s memory and featured a firearm safety program.
    “Ginger and I lost our son to a shooting accident on May 10,” Scott Schild said following the program. “I think all children and adults should learn about firearm safety whether they have a gun in the house or not. It doesn’t matter whether they’re hunters or not, everybody should learn firearm safety.”
    This summer, Butler County Fair Queen Danielle Ison took that message to the State Fair pageant.  At the pageant, the judges challenged the girls to put a goal behind their crown—something they’re passionate about and where they’d like to see change in the community.
    Ison’s goal was to raise awareness for gun safety in memory of Kain Schild. She wanted to help see gun safety courses and Kain’s story shared in schools.
    And now, through the work of Clarksville and North Butler administrators, students will have the opportunity to learn hunter safety.
    “Whether it be for hunting purposes, or possibly for a young person to need to know how to handle them because a little one they may be babysitting finds a weapon and brings it to them, everyone may need to know how to responsibly handle a firearm at some point in their life,” said Superintendent Joel Foster. “We would prefer that they learn it the proper way, and learn to respect firearms and their capabilities though proper training by qualified and well trained individuals who educate others for a living.”
    School board members agreed.
    “I believe that teaching hunter education in our school is a valuable way to promote ethics and safety,” said Clarksville school board president Justin Clark. “Hunters education is meant to keep hunting a safe activity, and also to prepare students with responsible actions for any situation that they may encounter throughout life.”
    Regardless of whether students are hunters themselves, administrators and board members believe it’s important that they learn how to stay safe.
    “I think [it’s] very important for all kids, if you plan on using a gun or not,” Clarksville board member Tim Backer said. “All kids should have a basic knowledge of gun control and safety. Just being around guns and not shooting them, you should understand the basics of gun safety and what could happen.”
    At North Butler, school board members Eric Bixby and Bobbi Spainhower expressed a similar sentiment.
    "I am excited that North Butler is adding Hunter Safety as part of the PE curriculum," Spainhower said. "This is a great opportunity to educate our students on the responsibilities of owning a firearm. The Hunter Safety program provides our students with basic outdoor skills, [and] teaches safe handling and ... respect for firearms."
   Knowledge, to them, is key.
    “This is an excellent opportunity to make sure our kids are being taught the proper way to handle and use firearms,” Bixby said. “They may never go hunting but may be exposed to them in places they do not expect, so hopefully they should have the knowledge to avoid any tragedy.”
    The hunters’ safety course will be taught by Steve Martin of Butler County Conservation, and will be a part of the eighth-grade PE curriculum at Clarksville and the seventh and eighth grade PE curriculum at North Butler during the second semester this year, and in future years in the fall before hunting season. There will also be a voluntary class available in the evening for high school students who wish to participate. Students will receive a certificate upon completing the course.
    “The Iowa Hunter Education Program has always been about teaching safe firearms handling practices by those engaged in hunting, but completing the course will have benefits for non-hunters as well.  The Hunter Education curriculum accomplishes the goal of teaching safe firearms handling practices by including chapters on how firearms work, basic shooting and hunting skills, and how to safely handle firearms,” Martin said. “The course goes beyond teaching only safe firearms handling skills and covers topics such as ethics and personal responsibility, proper preparation, basic first aid, and good decision making skills as well.  Each of these things is something that every student, whether they hunt or not, can take away from the class and apply to other parts of their lives. 
    “It is our belief that if each student understands the importance of firearm safety and makes it a habit to apply each of the principles that they will be taught, future accidents involving firearms whether in the home, while target shooting, or while hunting can be avoided.”
    This school year, in remembering and silently honoring a life that was lost, the North Butler and Clarksville school districts have chosen to take a stand for the safety of those who live on.