Can there be education in the shadow of a gun?

We thought we didn't need to discuss what kind of mentality teachers, who prepare our children for the future in schools we call homes of education, should possess. But it seems some have even forgotten this fundamental question.

Most recently, the events at Atatürk High School, one of the most deep-rooted schools in Ankara, caused a major tremor not only on social media but also along the deepest fault lines of our education system. The photos of Deputy Principal Hüseyin Çinkaya posing with a rifle in his hand were shared on social media on April 17 and naturally caused a great outcry.

Imagine an administrator posing with a rifle in his hand... The setting: A high school. In the background are the desks, blackboards, and hallways where the children who are our future study... An educational environment in the shadow of a weapon! Is this the ideal teacher profile we imagined?

The Ankara Provincial Directorate of National Education immediately issued a statement saying an "investigation has been launched." Yes, a classic sentence. An investigation is launched, and the result is shared with the public "in the future." But what this photo symbolizes is not just the recklessness of one person. This picture is also a painful indicator of the decay the system is experiencing.

Because at the same time, we are living through this reality: Successful, questioning teachers in project schools who teach their students not just the curriculum but also conscience are being sent away on assignments that feel like "exile." In this system, there is no bread for teachers who are not like us, who do not think like us! But those who are reckless enough to pose with a weapon in their hand are given classrooms, positions, and authority.

Our "bread" is knowledge, while they seem to be fed by other things...

We want to see people standing before our children not with weapons, but with books, pens, and science. A role model is a teacher who will guide a student's life. Now I ask: Which parent, which student, which educator can view such an image as "normal"?

For such dark scenes not to exist within education, someone needs to say "Enough!" out loud now. A teacher's robe is knowledge and wisdom; not a grip, not a trigger!

The duty that falls to the Ministry of National Education is not to leave this incident under the heading of just an "investigation"; it is to turn the course of education back to reason, science, and conscience.

Because we want to raise our children in the shadow of wisdom, not weapons.