Or you don't do that in schools and do it later on, just like driving a car? If you want to buy a gun at 18, you need to do a course beforehand?
You hit on it.
There's no reason on Earth to NOT introduce children in schools safe firearm practices. Teach them the basics when young, and they'll never forget them.
The worst thing in the world is for some parent to show a kid a firearm, and tell them to never, EVER touch it - it's dangerous. Oh! It's dangerous? Now the little one's curiosity is really stimulated! Bad move!
I made a point to take my kids out and using empty milk jugs filled with water - and show them the destruction that different firearms could do - and THEN tell them that if they wanted to see or handle a firearm - just let me know - and we'd clear it, and then they could inspect it, hold it, look at it - and thus satisfy their curiosity.
I'd drop whatever I was doing if they asked to see one - I'd pull it down - go through the process of ensuring a safety clearing - and after they'd each at different times looked at this one, or that one - in short order - it was just another tool - something to be respected - but nothing magic - nothing to fear - and thus became more or less - not interesting. Like the fireplace tools. The vacuum cleaner. The coffee maker. Just something else in the house.
Schools COULD have basic firearm training that includes marksmanship and competition shooting with air rifles, even archery. They thus learn safety, safe handling, range safety, discipline, marksmanship principles and the discipline required to enable marksmanship consistency.
It is NEVER too early in life to teach children basics. The earlier they're taught, the safer they will be. Fathers and mothers are just frikkin' lazy or have a lot of personal hang ups against firearms. And they're cheating their children by their own personal laziness or personal unjustified fears.
My sons had their first .22 rifles at age 6, and they were very disciplined and safe at that age.
One night, a former employee came to the house - drunk and ****ed off. I wasn't 'there, and he knew it. He was raising **** to get a tool he'd left behind. When he was allowed to get his tool out of the garage, he had to walk by the stairway. He almost **** himself as my 12-year old was sitting a few steps up on the stairway with his .20 gauge shotgun, and his seven year old brother with his .22 rifle, a bullet in his hand, ready to load. He sobered up in an instant, got real quiet, and real polite.
They were going to protect their mother - and even she was surprised to see them thusly prepared. Word got out among other employees - don't go messing around at my house - you **** around, you just may find out.
Lazy, sorry, permissive parents don't stress to their children the necessity to "make good decisions." Every day! You don't learn morals once you're in your twenties. You learn morals from Day One as children, and reinforced during their entire upbringing.
That's not done.
And we wonder why these kids grow up - and do horrific things.