Massacre Drill

[slacker]

Irregular News for 05.14.07

 

Murfreesboro, TN -- 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.”

 

source

[BIGREDIOWAN]

What the hell...........

[AR Husker Fan]

I realize the reason they did it, but...WHAT THE HELL WERE THEY THINKING?!?!?!?!?!?

[NU fan in Denver]

I take it the teachers did not get approval from the administration according to the principal's statement. If so, that was a bonehead move.

[rawhide]

cya always cya

[Drowning_in_the_Sea_of_Red]

Those kids will have nightmares for weeks!

[MCAT800]

Parents should actually approve of it. So what they got scared a little bit, I mean they would probably be scared if it happened in real life.

Train them young to deal with fear and be able to still function.

[AR Husker Fan]

Parents should actually approve of it. So what they got scared a little bit, I mean they would probably be scared if it happened in real life.

Train them young to deal with fear and be able to still function.

The problem is that it doesn't teach them anything. What you need to do is drill them on appropriate actions during such an event to the point that their reactions are second nature. Then run the drill. At that point, even if unannounced, the kids can actually learn from the experience rather than just being terrified.