RSS6th Grade Field Trip Subject To Fake Gun Attack By Teachers
If you have children, please keep an eye on their teachers. My wife and I constantly monitor the goings on at our childrens school as they are constantly whittling away recess or instituting silent lunches. But my children’s school is much better than the morons who are running Scarels Elementary School in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
These folks decided to stage a mock attack on the students by a gunman and then told them when they asked if it was true, that it was. How to seriously undermine the respect of the students to any authority figure and at the same time scare the living crap out of them. This incident will leave some scars.
And do you think any of the kids will trust an adult again? If I were them, I sure would not. Hey Jimmy, you are most likely going to die in the next few minutes like the kids at Virginia Tech. Just Kidding. Watch the video of a child and his mother react.
A few heads should roll on this one.
Staff members of an elementary school staged a fictitious gun attack on students during a class trip, telling them it was not a drill as the children cried and hid under tables.
The mock attack Thursday night was intended as a learning experience and lasted five minutes during the weeklong trip to a state park, said Scales Elementary School Assistant Principal Don Bartch, who led the trip.”We got together and discussed what we would have done in a real situation,” he said. But parents of the sixth-grade students were outraged.
During the last night of the trip, staff members convinced the 69 students that there was a gunman on the loose. They were told to lie on the floor or hide underneath tables and stay quiet. A teacher, disguised in a hooded sweat shirt, even pulled on a locked door.
After the lights went out, about 20 kids started to cry, 11-year-old Shay Naylor said. “I was like, ‘Oh My God,’ ” she said. “At first I thought I was going to die. We flipped out.”Principal Catherine Stephens declined to say whether the staff members involved would face disciplinary action, but said the situation “involved poor judgment.” via CNN.com.
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23 Responses to “6th Grade Field Trip Subject To Fake Gun Attack By Teachers”
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The scary part about this is that it wasn’t just one stupid subsitude teacher you usually hear about doing a dumb stunt like this but a group of teachers including a assistent principal. One would think at least one of them would say” Hey maybe this isn’t a good idea” But none did…that would scare me if I had a kid in that school.
this is a very inapropiate thing to do.
Remember folks these ppl spend the greatest amount of daily time with your children.
My son’s school just had a “INTRUDER IN SCHOOL DRILL”, just like a tornado DRILL. They were told ahead of time that this was a DRILL.
STUPIDITY IS TEACHING YOUR CHILDREN?????
Sounds like something Gerold Dompig would arrange!
NOW these idiots are just trying to cover their backsides. The CNN article quoted refers to the incident as a “learning experience,” implying it was all a deliberate plan to teach the children something and foster discussion. This is horse poop.
The initial reports that came out over the weekend (I live in Nashville, about 30 miles from Murfreesboro) all reported that it was a PRANK pulled by the teachers, not a “learning experience.” The local media reported student and parent accounts of being told that it was a “JOKE” — just the traditional prank that the teachers pull on the kids during this annual week-long trip.
In my opinion the whole lot of them should be fired.
Well, I agree to a point of how they went around this. However I feel the parents at least should have been forwarned of this drill. Especially after the seriousness of what just happened at Vermont Tech. Normally during a mock fire drill or tornado disaster they don’t get warning, so why warn the kids of a mock disaster of a gunman in the area, We want our children to KNOW what to do, not pretend its all fake. Warn the children at the beginning of the year that there may be a mock drill such as this. I dunno. Thats just my point of view somewhat.
Somebody should be fired.
“We want our children to KNOW what to do, not pretend its all fake”
Good point, but now how are these kids to know it is for real if it ever really does happen. Now they are going to be sitting there thinking…hm-mm is it real or not? You have to tell kids it is a drill to begin with so when you say it is not they believe you.
Seriously though i doubt this was a drill, as Paul said the first statement came out that it was a joke or prank, and then once the reality of what they did to these kids sank in, suddenly it was a drill. Give me a break, these are all supposed to be educated people and they can’t see that in the world we live in that this was a cruel thing to do to kids this age.
As the parent of a 5th grader, I am so disappointed in faculty that would even consider this a teaching strategy. In a ‘drill’ the children are first taught or coached in what they are to do in a given situation.
Also,if this ‘learning experience’,'prank’, or’joke’, was pulled on adults—I believe the perps would be making their ‘one call’.
#3, that was exactly my first thought – these idiots without a brain are in charge of children for hours at a time?
#8 – I totally disagree. When I was in school we knew those were simply fire drills. We still learned what to do. On cruise ships they have drills; again so that people learn in a calm manner what to do should the real thing happen.
However, yes, when the real thing happens there still is panic but fortunately, those with calmer heads have learned what to do. One of those kids could have real freaked and jumped out a window or something and either killed or hurt themselves. The real event is far too horrifying to put adults or children through just to teach them. Instead, you hold drills, you teach the children what to do and invite discussion. The purpose of the drill is to make their actions, reactions well embedded so that they just automatically do as taught.
Perhaps #8 will suggest next that we set kindergarteners on fire so we can teach “stop, drop and roll”.
That’s ‘crying wolf’. This desensitizes kids so if the real thing happens they will think it is a joke. Dumb!
#11
you have desentitization of the kids, but you also have the loss of respect. The 6th graders of today are pretty savvy folks, and if you mess with them and destroy what little is left of their niativity, they will essentially start acting like the cartoon characters they watch. You as an adult, and to a degree all adults, will be this bumbling over blown athority figure that is completely clueless and never to be trusted.
– Tom
I am a teacher…and I can’t imagine ever having a drill like that in our school (or anywhere in our area for that matter). That was very poor judgment! Let me assure you that some of us teachers do have brains…and common sense. It’s a shame that so many recent “doings” of teachers have given “teachers” a bad rap lately. I swear…some of us are doing what we are supposed to be doing!
amillerwvu
I know, we have some great ones at our boys school, some knuckleheads, but some really wonderful teachers.
I think that the more the knuckleheads are exposed, the better the schools will be for our kids.
Thanks for being one of the good ones!
- Tom
#10 what is the problem, i totally agree with you. I basically said the same thing only in different words?…WTF
The first sentence in “quotes” is from post # 6. I was responding. I should have started my part on a different line. SRY
I am both a parent and a teacher, albeit my children are all adults. I still teach and we have had these type of drills in our school. It is very interesting and I believe a true learning experience to find that when these children thought that this “drill” was “the real thing” they totally panicked. Is that what we want to happen when the “REAL” thing does occur? Everyone is ready to condemn these teachers for what they did, instead I think we shoulg be analyzing the situation, how the children reacted, and how better they can be prepared for such an event. Panic, screaming and crying, not following directions are not the reactions we would hope for in order to protect and save lives. JMO
During WW2 and the Cold War, These kind of drills happened all the time, without being forewarned, in all the schools in the country.
I am not believing the error in judgement these teachers had. I fully agree that “drills” need to be done, but My Gosh! A gunman? In light of what happened a few short weeks ago at VA Tech? Even having someone in a hooded shirt? Of course these kids panicked! Of course they cried – they thought they were going to DIE! Saying it was only a “drill” is supposed to make it OK? I think not. These kids were more than likely traumatized. Heck, if it was a group of adults, I would expect the same reaction.
Poor judgement in this, leads me to believe they would have poor judgement in other areas too.
When we had drills in school, we were escorted out of the building … there were no teachers setting fires, so we could understand what fire looked like … and thank God, no one dramatized a n explosive device… for these teachers to play out some sick fantasy as a gunman ~ saying this is not a drill.. is morbid.
Traumatizing these children and outraging their parents, the parents should be outraged! ~ I don’t think, I could send my child back into the care of an establishment like this.
I would hope there is strong disciplinary action taken against these teachers for their very outrageous behaivor…
~ talk about emotional abuse!… This is really over the top ~ Especially, with what happend recently at V.Tech (My husbands Almamyter)…
Did the principle sanction and okay this?? Or, did these teachers, act this out on their own.
Perhaps, they aught to be suspended and sent to jail for that one… just making threats as such these days, there are severe consequences! Acting it out?? If a student pulled such a prank, they’d be suspended, kicked out of school, sent to jail for such an offense… Whether it’s in Elementary/Middle/High School or on our College/University Campuses…it recently happend on a Boston Campus for someone mentioning the word…they were arrested and incarcerated.
I question these educators style of this type of “teaching” ~ that was very cruel at best and these “teachers” need some serious psychological intervention for doing what they did…
Why weren’t they fired, that’s what I’d like to know. They are lucky they are not in a jail cell as it’s a crime to even mention words now.
Well considering the children’s reaction to what they thought was the “real thing” God help them in a real crisis. Whether or not what was done on the trip was right is not the real question, nor whether the teachers should be fired. The fact remains, the children panicked, screamed, cried, when they were told to be very quiet. They showed that in a real immergency, they would cause themselves more harm. Why not quit criticizing and bashing the teachers, as those who have never taught but certainly wish their children to have the best protection possible, and would be the first to complain if the slightest harm came to their child while under the responsibility of the school.
When the Fire Alarm rings, the children never know whether or not it is “the real thing” or not. Frankly, neither do the teachers. And that is how it should be, the rules of silence, order, and teachers taking role call outside, making sure each child is accounted for, apply. The children are always reminded, you never know when it is a drill or a fire, so silence is a must!!
Due to such parental concern and contoversy concerning the correct protocol for “terror drills” perhaps each school should have a parent committee to organize the type of drill that suits them, make themselves available for drills and real emergencies, and then they can be assured of their children’s mental and physical well-being while at school, during drills and God forbid, in case their school has the misfortune of ever “coming under fire”
How can a child return to school after experiencing this mock, yet real drill… they were told this is REAL ~ that is very disturbing at best. I question the integrity of the schools leaders and no parent in their right mind would stand for such a thing.
Did the principle sanction this “drill”?? Did the School Committee?? or Superintendant??
I think, they need some intervention in how to handle this properly. Saying these teachers used poor judgement was an understatement at best ~ it was gross poor judgement.
Little Susie and Johnny would not feel “safe” now, returning to school… they should have counselors present helping them through the trauma, regardless if it was “not real” and help guide them through what happened… The teachers, they should be held accountable.
They are our childrens educators. What’s next? Let’s show them what abuse looks like?? this is real?? do we allow them to beat them next and God forbid, let them assault a child to let them get it?
The incident in Tennessee should be looked at carefully and handled correctly. They could learn from Columbine and VTech and how those establishments handled such horriffic tragedy and loss ~ we don’t need “mock drills” to throw fear into children that are already living in a very vulnerable world ~ they get it… parents get it…
There does need to be a standard for all schools in our country to follow and apply ~ that is a given… for schools to come up with their own style, that’s cause for great concern, especially with what this bunch concocted ~
Perhaps, the ATA (American Teachers Association) can come up with something along with our individual States. It does need to be addressed ~ and sadly, after VTech, it brought to light the need, even on University levels ~ and Legislators are seemingly working on this very thing.
Kids need to be safe and protected. Teachers are to set example ~ I question there style as there are severe consequences for even mentioning the words… and they bear great consequence especially after 9/11 ~ we need to be careful of our actions as well as our verbage ~ there are much better ways to teach, this was NOT one of them.
my husband was a teacher ~ we all have opportunities to teach, even without a degree… this is one to learn from.
It is time to shut the US Department of Education down and start over if what is going on is the best they have to offer.
People send their children to schools that social services would take these same children away if the environment was such as in some schools.
They discuss private matters in the guise of education and hand out drugs and condoms. They wont allow prayer, but are so very ready to educate children in the baser aspecs of life.
Encourage dependency on book smarts instead of peoples God given common sense and try to tell people a piece of paper with their approval makes the person fit in all aspects of life to lead others, even when the people are depraved.
Try to put Education as an Idol, a God, and a cure all.
Do not give children or parents time to be still and get to know themselves.
Demand children show up or the parents go to jail because, not for the educational benefits, but because they sell food and lose money when the kids are absent.
I could go on with this, but most are aware of it, but it just seems on the periphery of ones mind, just out of reach to grab it as we have all been brainwashed not to speak out against the education god. They know it all, they have it all, they run it all, or have a really good grasp on people where they are ruining families and children with their baseness in the guise of education. blue