Posted on 05/13/2007 3:04:17 PM PDT by TornadoAlley3
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."
I missed the fun of the nuclear duck and cover drills, but we got a steady dose of tornado duck and covers growing up in Green Bay, WI.
Still seems odd looking back, but not as odd as worrying about protecting yourself from falling debris from nukes.
What can you say? ^#%$tards.
Let the lawsuits begin!
“What could they have been thinking that would justify this?”
IMO the only thing that would justify telling anyone, let alone young kids like this, that they were in imminent danger is if it were real. What they did was criminal.
Home of Barrett Rifles.
dd—I agree with you. My post to Working Class Filth was a response to the memory of our atomic bomb Cold War days, when we thought life could end at any moment in a blinding flash.
As for these birdbrains in Tennessee, they should have been fired when they got off the bus when it arrived back in town.
Chow Down Red.
I AM with you. Front Sight has offered free training to teachers who security designates for their schools, http://www.frontsight.com
And maybe each one of those kids will apply for a concealed carry permit the minute they turn 18.
fire the lot of them.
when someone has shyt for brains, their thynkyng pretty much stynks.
Especially since everyone knew it was just a drill. (I remember being amused at the thought that covering over heads under our desks would somehow help us in the event of a Russian ICBM attack).
Man, I have been wanting one of those for the last 5 years.
I’m just wondering if there were some extra “anti-gun” attitude in this drama. Some of the kids might have had parents working at Barrett.
"Gosh officer, I didn't know it was a drill!"
During the last night of the trip, staff members convinced the 69 students that there was a gunman on the loose.
Cruel and heartless bullies.
Principal Catherine Stephens declined to say whether the staff members involved would face disciplinary action, but said the situation "involved poor judgment."
Ya' think?!!
I thought making terroristic threats was a felony, maybe not if you are a member of the teachers union.
This wasn’t thought out but I’m not so sure it isn’t a good idea. When we had fire drills we never knew if it was real or not and were expected to act accordingly. If parents are brought in the loop and the children aren’t frightened, I could see this as a good drill. I’m not impressed with the hiding though. If a fire or bomb threat, what do you do? You get them out.
What the hell is wrong with these people?
Preparedness is a good thing, but expecting 7 year olds to bear the weight of the world?
Its one thing for the staff to prepare. Its another thing to drag children kicking and screaming into the cold light of day.
Let the kids be kids for crying out loud
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