CO Middle Schoolers Trade Pencils For Rifles, Shoot American Revolution Firearms

Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth graders at Avondale, Colorado’s Craver Middle School, traded pencils for American Revolution firearms in a history program in which military re-enactors taught them how to shoot and showed them just how difficult many of the shots were that Colonial troops had to make against the British Red Coats.

According to KOAA 5, the program began with re-enactors bringing the firearms into the classroom on March 16 and 17 to talk to students about the guns and how they were used. Then, on March 18, students were able to shoot “muskets” and other guns in a lesson on marksmanship. They shot at “red coats” targets at the Avondale Clay and Gun Club.

Instructors wanted students to gather some idea of how tough it was for Colonial troops to defeat what was then the most powerful military in the world.

Participating Craver students received parental permission before taking part in the course.

Twelve-year-old Shelby Plattner took part in the program and her father, Alan, said:

Guns are one of those things where some people shy away from them. They never learn about them and they fear them. I don’t think the guns are anything to fear. I think what you need to do is be educated about them and then make a good choice.

For the few parents who “expressed concern” about the program, instructor Elizabeth Blackwood said: “I see people who are very eager to teach sexual education at a very young age, and yet they’re reticent to teach them about a tool that is part of our culture. The more they know, the safe they’ll be.”

The “intensive” history course is one of nine class options for students at Craver Middle School.

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