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"Will arming teachers make schools safer?"

I think that the author should have used armed teachers in this sentence.

If it is grammatically correct, what is the difference between the two usages, concerning the means.

Here is the news link;
http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2017/06/25/534230962/colorado-teachers-get-gun-training-as-first-responders

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    "Arming teachers" means the action of providing teachers with firearms. The writer is asking whether such a policy would make schools safer. It is perfectly grammatical.
    – Kate Bunting
    Commented Jun 26, 2017 at 11:36
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    Remember that armed teachers are a result of arming them, which is an activity. The training involved in arming is more than the weapon itself. Arming also implies that someone is performing that action. Essentially, we are arming them, and that's controversial.
    – Yosef Baskin
    Commented Jun 26, 2017 at 12:49
  • It is grammatically correct, but it is still horrible because it is grammatically correct in more than one way actually. I parse it as "will teachers who give firearms to their pupils make schools safer". Like WTF man.
    – ЯegDwight
    Commented Jun 26, 2017 at 14:42
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    The sentence says nothing about arming pupils.
    – Kate Bunting
    Commented Jun 27, 2017 at 8:17
  • @KateBunting Agreed; however, Reg might be joking a bit by suggesting that "arming" is an adjective, thus: teachers who arm [students].
    – Dog Lover
    Commented Jun 27, 2017 at 23:27

2 Answers 2

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"Will arming teachers make schools safer?"

This question is about the decision / process to provide guns / weapons / arms to teachers, for the purpose to make schools safer.

"Will armed teachers make schools safer?"

This question is about the teachers which carry guns / arms, again for the purpose of ensuring safety.

Both ways are grammatically correct and both can be used, having ultimately similar meanings - the result of arming teachers is armed teachers.

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Either-or. It just depends on whether you want to convey an action or a state/quality. However, I agree with the author's choice to use "arming", because it implies that teachers are not yet armed. If you were to say "Will armed teachers make schools safer?", it could carry with it an implication that some teachers are presently (presumably) breaking the law and possessing firearms in .

But to answer your question succinctly, yes, both the author's and your wording is correct.

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