Teachers terrorize kids

[killr_b]

Yeah, incase you forgot about your kids being in the hands of maniacs all day everyday…

Teachers Stage Fake Gun Attack on Kids

These people are sick, and you know what? This isn't the first time they've done this this year. In fact, if I can dig it up I will, students have been shot by police who were staging these attacks.

But don't worry, the government and the police love you and would never hurt you or your children…

 

[ezzie]

Yeah, incase you forgot about your kids being in the hands of maniacs all day everyday…

Teachers Stage Fake Gun Attack on Kids

These people are sick, and you know what? This isn't the first time they've done this this year. In fact, if I can dig it up I will, students have been shot by police who were staging these attacks.

But don't worry, the government and the police love you and would never hurt you or your children…

read this on CNN this morning, and i have to say, i'm just shocked at how stupid and heartless this truly was.

the icing on the cake was that the staff members told the children that it was not a drill....that there really was a gunman after them. ridiculous. i can only imagine how frightened these kids really were.

this doesn't even compare, but when i was in 11th grade, we were coming back from Florida (band trip) on our charter bus. most of us were sleeping, when all of a sudden the bus pulled over, one of the chaperones started screaming "everyone out! fire! the bus is on fire!" and we all stumbled of the bus, groggy and out of it and frightened. we all got off the bus, and the chaperone says "just kidding......we have doughnuts for everyone, so grab one on your way back on the bus." i know how shaken, irritated, angry i was about that....these poor 6th graders were feeling it tenfold, i'm sure.

everyone involved in this "exercise" should be disciplined. period.

 

[mattscott306]

Registration is required for the article, can you quote it?

 

[ezzie]

Registration is required for the article, can you quote it?

from CNN:

MURFREESBORO, Tennessee (AP) -- 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.

"The children were in that room in the dark, begging for their lives, because they thought there was someone with a gun after them," said Brandy Cole, whose son went on the trip.

Some parents said they were upset by the staff's poor judgment in light of the April 16 shootings at Virginia Tech that left 33 students and professors dead, including the gunman.

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."

 

[killr_b]

My bad.

Teachers Stage Fake Gun Attack on Kids

By Associated Press
Published May 14, 2007, 6:35 AM CDT

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. -- 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.

"The children were in that room in the dark, begging for their lives, because they thought there was someone with a gun after them," said Brandy Cole, whose son went on the trip.

Some parents said they were upset by the staff's poor judgment in light of the April 16 shootings at Virginia Tech that left 33 students and professors dead, including the gunman.

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 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."

 

[CorvusCamenarum]

Here's their press release or whatever you want to call it. spin

I'd be shopping for a new school if I were one of those parents.

Just another reason my children will never set foot in a public school.

 

[letsgorangers]

what goes through someone's head that makes them think this is a good idea? ridiculous.

i live in murfreesboro, so it's odd to hear it happened here.

 

[killr_b]

Gee, loss of pay for 13 days. And they're suspended. So, they got a two week unpaid vacation right before summer vacation…

Maybe someone from Murfreesboro should sue them.

 

[CorvusCamenarum]

Gee, loss of pay for 13 days. And they're suspended. So, they got a two week unpaid vacation right before summer vacation…

Maybe someone from Murfreesboro should sue them.

Not even a token apology, either.

 

[GFLPraxis]

Is it terrible that reading that made me laugh?

I'm not saying it's good. It's definitely wrong, and retarded. They should definitely be punished. But funny wrong.

 

[notjustjay]

Firing's too good for these people.

They should go to JAIL. That's gotta be a crime in there somewhere.

 

[dmw007]

I can not believe that the school officials thought this would be a good idea.

 

[solvs]

And to think, we were mad at some sub showing a boring movie about gay cowboys.

If any school official every did this to me when I was a kid, or one of my kids, I know I'd never trust them again.

 

[aquajet]

That's gotta be a crime in there somewhere.

They should have tried this at their local grocery. Or better yet, at a bank or in an airplane. Care to take a guess at what would have happened?

I hope the DA looks into this. At the very least we have reasonable suspicion that they were under the influence of crack cocaine at the time.

 

[hikeNM]

The question I have is, at what point does this become "outrageous" to people?

Being a school teacher I can say from first hand experience that we drill the students alot on certain situations and never tell them if the situation is real or not. It's standard procedure to have fire drills and tornado drills once a month and not tell them on purpose. Trust me you don't get the same reaction from the students and they don't take it as seriously if you preface the drill with a disclaimer saying it's not real.

From what I've read, people consider it bad that we do that with tornado and fire drills?

Obviously age has alot to do with the situation. I deal with high school. Maybe their nerves are more prepared to practice a very life like situation.

And in no way am I saying what was done with the fake gunman is right. I just want to know where the line can be drawn!

 

[ezzie]

The question I have is, at what point does this become "outrageous" to people?

...

And in no way am I saying what was done with the fake gunman is right. I just want to know where the line can be drawn!

i'm not a teacher and i don't have kids. i have, however, been in the public school system and been through fire/tornado drills. with tornado drills....everyone goes to the hallways and lines up with their heads between their knees. fire drills....everyone leaves the building through the emergency exits. shooting drills....hide, run, scream, cry, and cower, because you know how randomly and quickly kids get shot during school shootings. these kids have seen this stuff on TV, they've heard about it, and it's probably moved up a bit on their "fear" list because it's been in the news recently, like only a month ago at VT.

the other problem here is that this "drill" occurred in a state park on a class trip, not in school. when was the last time you had a fire drill on a field trip?

 

[CorvusCamenarum]

The question I have is, at what point does this become "outrageous" to people?

Being a school teacher I can say from first hand experience that we drill the students alot on certain situations and never tell them if the situation is real or not. It's standard procedure to have fire drills and tornado drills once a month and not tell them on purpose. Trust me you don't get the same reaction from the students and they don't take it as seriously if you preface the drill with a disclaimer saying it's not real.

From what I've read, people consider it bad that we do that with tornado and fire drills?

Obviously age has alot to do with the situation. I deal with high school. Maybe their nerves are more prepared to practice a very life like situation.

And in no way am I saying what was done with the fake gunman is right. I just want to know where the line can be drawn!

I think a lot of it has to do with intent. If I read the original press release correctly, which has now been replaced on the school's website, the children were expecting Generic Teacher Prank on Kids. Obviously they got something much different. Also, the event in question didn't even happen at school but on some sort of field trip. You'd think if they were aiming to prepare students for Just In Case™, they'd include the whole school.

It really scares me that we've apparently turned the corner where we need to include terrorist or disgruntled armed student drills along with fire and tornado.

I'm just waiting for the Winnie the Pooh and Spongebob branded body armor for schoolchildren.

 

[freeny]

I would sue for an appology as well as tuition to private school for the remainder of my childs grade school learning.
And Im pretty darn sure I would win.

 

[aquajet]

The question I have is, at what point does this become "outrageous" to people?

When we start using common sense. Try this in a different setting, like I mentioned once already, and see what happens.

Fire drills in schools don't normally involve setting a controlled fire in front of them, nor do we use real tornados either. We can't simulate Columbine or VT any more than we can simulate a tornado or earthquake.

What about lockdown drills? Are these employed? That would be a good start, if not.

 

[Agent Smith]

I'm an elementary school teacher, and we do lockdown drills on a random basis. I never tell the class when it comes; sometimes I'll be in the middle of a lesson (even mid-sentence) and I'll just say "lockdown". My class knows exactly what to do.

That said, I think that having an emergency procedure on an overnight field trip is a very good idea. HOWEVER (caps for the people who don't read all the words...), this situation was handled so spectacularly POORLY and INCORRECTLY it boggles the mind. That is NOT the way you teach children an emergency procedure. Those involved should be ashamed of themselves, and should seriously reconsider their professions.

 

[hikeNM]

When we start using common sense. Try this in a different setting, like I mentioned once already, and see what happens.

Fire drills in schools don't normally involve setting a controlled fire in front of them, nor do we use real tornados either. We can't simulate Columbine or VT any more than we can simulate a tornado or earthquake.

What about lockdown drills? Are these employed? That would be a good start, if not.

Yes we do lockdown drills, although nobody, even teachers, are told if it's a drill or not.

If a students freak during a drill, should we stop the drills? Would people here be up in arms because some kids were unfairly treated?

At what point does the drill go too far? It's not a cut and dry answer is it?

 

[killr_b]

i'm not a teacher and i don't have kids. i have, however, been in the public school system and been through fire/tornado drills. with tornado drills....everyone goes to the hallways and lines up with their heads between their knees. fire drills....everyone leaves the building through the emergency exits. shooting drills....hide, run, scream, cry, and cower, because you know how randomly and quickly kids get shot during school shootings. these kids have seen this stuff on TV, they've heard about it, and it's probably moved up a bit on their "fear" list because it's been in the news recently, like only a month ago at VT.

the other problem here is that this "drill" occurred in a state park on a class trip, not in school. when was the last time you had a fire drill on a field trip?

How about the part where the teacher told the kids "this is not a drill"

 

[puckhead193]

MURFREESBORO, Tennessee (AP)....
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.

They took a weeklong trip; is this camp?
what the hell were the teachers thinking....

 

[Father Jack]

OMG ..... and some people have the cheek to say the Irish are mad

Who ever thought of this should be sectioned or join Paris Hilton for a while.

FJ

 

[killr_b]

They took a weeklong trip; is this camp?
what the hell were the teachers thinking....

It's a common activity for 6th graders. Here, we called it 'outdoor' school. It was a week where I live as well.