Teacher pranks students; children terrorized, parents outraged!

[Shady Jack]

I heard about this on my local talk radio show this morning.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=3172197&page=1&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312

Gunman 'Prank': Should Teacher Face Discipline?
Gunman-On-the-Loose Scenario Upsets Students, Angers Parents

Tennessee school officials will meet today to discuss whether any disciplinary action will be taken after a fake gunman-on-the-loose scenario orchestrated by a teacher frightened some sixth-graders during an overnight school trip to a state park last week.

The "Code Red" safety drill, described in a news release Sunday by the Murfreesboro, Tenn., director of schools as a "prank" intended to be a "teaching opportunity," outraged some parents, who felt the safety drill crossed a line -- particularly in light of the mass shooting at Virginia Tech less than a month ago.

"They are meeting on this right now," Cheryl Harris, a spokeswoman for the Murfreesboro school district, told ABC News. "Before they make a decision on something this important, they want to make sure they get the story from everyone and it is indeed like it's been told."

According to the school's release, the sixth-grade students from Scales Elementary School knew to expect a typical campfire "prank" some time before the annual sixth-grade trip ended.

On Thursday, after students had a nighttime snack and returned to dorm-style buildings to prepare for the return trip home Friday, a teacher "responsible for organizing" this year's prank told students that there were people inside the state park shooting guns.

"He added that the Park Ranger had advised him to tell everyone to take cover as precaution," the release recounted.

The teacher, who was chaperoning the school trip with the school's assistant principal, two fellow teachers and three staff members, told students to hide under tables as they would during a "Code Red" situation, the term used by the school to describe an incident involving an intruder with a gun, knife or bomb.

The school said that after being told that the scenario was a "prank," many students exchanged high-fives and laughed about how the teacher had gotten them with the joke.

But when school officials later checked on the students, several students were distraught.

The school held a meeting with parents Saturday to discuss the incident, which was attended by 42 of the 69 families that had children on the trip. Afterward, at least four angry parents met individually with school principal Catherine Stephens.

"You have to wonder about people who are supposed to be in charge of your children and educators of young minds that seemingly have no common sense or good judgment," Brandy Cole, the mother of a student on the trip, told ABC News' Nashville affiliate WKRN.

While downplaying the effect of the safety drill, the school acknowledged that the teacher overseeing the prank had used poor judgement.

"Clearly there are many versions of this situation and the coverage has been sensationalized," the release reads. "Regardless of the versions, this prank crossed the line in what would be appropriate to tell young children, especially in the light of recent incidents."

A decision regarding possible disciplinary action is expected.

I'm really curious to see what happens to this person. From what I understand it's caused quite the stir.

[Winona Ryder 2099]

god, what a moron.

[Xero Kaiser]

If you really want to teach kids what to do, go over escape procedures or teach them how to barricade a door. "OMG UR GONNA DIE!!!!" isn't going to teach them anything other than how to be scared shitless

[Jared_Humpherys]

Heard about this on the radio this morning.

Jeez, what an idiot. What was this person thinking?

[Spike-X]

Seems a bit much.

[Brian "Vash" Ashby]

I once had a teacher who wanted us to understand about trench warfare so he had us make barricades with our desk and chuck tennis balls at each other.

[Serik]

I once had a teacher who wanted us to understand about trench warfare so he had us make barricades with our desk and chuck tennis balls at each other.

hahah we did the same thing, only with wads of paper. It was all fun and games until people started lobbing books in the trenches.

Anyway, why the hell would a teacher do this? It won't accomplish anything productive, other than scare some kids. Good one, jackass.

I was an extra during a police SWAT training exercise at a middle school. Played a dead guy in the locker room as the cops and badguys had a shootout...I could feel the shell casing landing all over me. It was downright terrifying -- and I knew it was fake. I can't imagine how these kids felt.

[Kevin M.]

No one got hurt, but man, what a freaking dumbass.

[Jack Zodiac]

If a student or students orchestrated a "prank" where they faked a potential school shooting, those students would be expelled and probably arrested.

[Shady Jack]

Here's the follow-up:

http://www.cnn.com/2007/EDUCATION/05/14/faked.attack.ap/index.html

MURFREESBORO, Tennessee (AP) -- Two school employees who staged a fake gun attack on a group of students during a field trip have been suspended, school officials said Monday.

During the last night of a weeklong trip to a state park, staff members convinced 69 sixth-grade students from Scales Elementary School that there was a gunman on the loose.

The students were told to lie on the floor or hide underneath tables and stay quiet. After the lights went out, some of the children began to cry. A teacher, disguised in a hooded sweat shirt, pulled on locked doors.

Teacher Quentin Masters and assistant principal Don Bartch were suspended for unprofessional conduct and neglect of duty because of the staged attack, schools director Marilyn Mathis said Monday.

Calls to the district offices were not answered after hours Monday. A call to Bartch's home went unanswered Monday night, and a listing for Masters could not be found.

The suspension is without pay and lasts until the end of the school year on June 1, The Daily News Journal of Murfreesboro reported.

"This was not a good experience," said Alisha Graves, whose son went on the trip. "Those kids were crying, and they were terrified."

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 people dead, including the gunman.

Bartch, who was present, has said the scenario was intended as a learning experience and lasted only five minutes.

"We got together and discussed what we would have done in a real situation," he said.

[parrish]

I hope those teachers get fired over it. I hope none of those kids are ever in that situation and think "Oh, this is just another prank.." I doubt that'll happen, but you never know.

[Alan Lynch]

What a clown. The "teaching opportunity" line reeks of bullshit to me as well; I suspect they thought the kids would find it funny, then tried to cover themselves when it backfired. Either way it's a sacking offence for sure.

[Jared_Humpherys]

I once had a teacher who wanted us to understand about trench warfare so he had us make barricades with our desk and chuck tennis balls at each other.

My class did this as well. It was all fun and games, until the cafeteria food we'd eaten earlier gave us mustard gas...

[founder81]

I don't really see this as being as bad as it's being made out to be.

It's not much different then "an excaped mental patient is in the area" line of old fashioned pranks.

[Agent Helix]

You don't see how the timing of this is just a LITTLE BIT inappropriate?

[founder81]

You don't see how the timing of this is just a LITTLE BIT inappropriate?

It was in poor taste. I'll agree with that.

But having poor taste isn't anything new.