Last week the Scales Elementary School in Murfreesboro, TN took their annual field trip to Fall Creeks Falls. According to the School’s News Release dated May 13th the following transpired: Every year on this field trip there is a “campfire prank†and the students expected one this year as well. On Thursday night as the sixth grade children were preparing to leave the next day the “lead teacher†came in and told them along with the adults that there were people at the campground firing guns. They were told that the gunmen were not shooting other people but that they were “driving around playingâ€. The “lead teacher†told the children to get under tables and they did. After a short time the teacher turned the lights on and told them that this was the “prankâ€. Most of the students said it was a good prank and they had been fooled. The children then went to their dorms to prepare for bed. Three of the boys and a “few†of the girls seemed upset and were comforted. A meeting was held for the parents on Saturday afternoon. The school admits that the “prank†was inappropriate for the children.
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This is not a “prankâ€. A prank is according to Webster, “a playful trickâ€. A prank is hiding someone’s toothbrush or leaving the toilet seat up. It is not something that causes terror. These 11-year-olds have seen the planes flown into the Twin Towers causing their collapse. They watched the Amish families grieve for their young sons and daughters and brothers and sisters who were shot dead in the classroom by a deranged Charles Carl Roberts IV just a little over a month into this school-year. Not even a month ago they watched the Swat Teams converge on the campus of Virginia Tech where Seung-Hui Cho shot and killed 32 students and teachers before killing himself. It is not a joke to tell 11-year-old sixth graders away from home on an overnight field trip that there are people at the campground shooting guns in the night. This should be obvious to any adult much less to one that is entrusted with the education of America’s youth.
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Sadly, it may be time to train all young school children on what to do and how to behave during a crisis situation where guns are being fired. But this training should always be conducted by professionals and the children should know that it is just a drill. It should not be a “campfire prankâ€.
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Scales Elementary’s News Release assures us that this incident is being investigated and “will be dealt with correctlyâ€. I do hope this is an isolated incident. I do hope that it never happens again, anywhere. I am deeply concerned.
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Sources:Â
 http://tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070514/NEWS04/705140375
J. Hernandez blogs at http://www.jensview.comÂ
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12 users commented in " Elementary School Prank in Murfreesboro, TN "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackThese are the people teaching our children??? God Help us All.
http://collegecandy.com/2007/05/14/teachers-pull-guns-on-6th-grade-class/
What an outrageous story.
Thankfully, at least, the so-called teachers AND the school’s vice-principal who devised and carried out this horrific and sadistic “prank” have been suspended without pay, this according to a news release appearing today on the school’s website:
http://cityschools.net/SE_discipline.doc
NEWS RELEASE
MURFREESBORO CITY SCHOOLS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – May 14, 2007
Disciplinary Action Announced by Director of Schools
Director of Schools Marilyn Mathis has suspended lead teacher, Mr. Quentin Mastin, and assistant principal, Don Bartch, for unprofessional conduct and neglect of duty due to actions taken with Scales Elementary School students on May 10, 2007 at Fall Creek Falls State Park. The suspension is without pay and will commence on May 14, 2007 and continue through the end of this school year ending June 1, 2007.
That sounds like a mischaracterization. Makes it sound like the teacher was standing there grinning, hands in pockets, telling the kids a fairy tale.
The teacher was acting panicked, telling the students the gunman was trying to get inside, and he had a hooded accomplice outside shaking the doors.
Those kids were terrified.
I was simply amazed when I heard that story about Scale Elementary. The teacher and Principle shouldn’t be suspended, THEY SHOULD BE FIRED!
If my daughter had to go through that, I would be outraged even more than I am now. I can’t imagine how hurt the parents are to know what their children had to go through. And I can’t imagine how the children felt. This is not something that will go away over night. After the Virginia incident and then the stupid idiots play a prank like that, go to the children and have the GALL to laugh and say we gotcha, we gotcha good????
Words can express how angry this “prank” makes me.
I too am disappointed that the teacher and assistant principal were only suspended for a couple of weeks. There is no mention of training or counselling before they are allowed back in a classroom. I agree with Brenda – the “correct” action would be to fire them.
As a teacher mysef, I was shocked at this horrible story. I love my students and would never think of putting them through this terrible experience. I agree that everyone should be prepared and discuss what they would do in the event of an emergency….but it should be a “discussion” and not a nightmare! Our school has had meetings about what we would do and the teachers know the drill. This was uncalled for. Those teachers should have known better. God bless our children!
WELL UMMMH I THINK THAT THEY TOOK THE WRONG ACTIONS BECAUSE THEY ONLY TRYING TO TEACH THE STUDENTS HOW TOACT IN CASE OF A REAL ACCIDENT LIKE THAT!!!!!I ALSO WAS A STUDENT OF SCALES ELE. AND IM NOT SAYING THAT GECAUSE I WENT THERE BUT I’MSAYING THAT BECAUSE THAT REALLY WAS THE WRONG ACTION TO TAKE!!!!!!1
A couple of weeks suspension without pay is a slap on the wrist compared to the slap in the face these innocent children endured at the hands of irresponsible adults who should have known better. The “okay, they’ve been punished, now let’s all be positive and move forward” attitude reflects a cowardice and lazy attitude on the Director of Schools. If this is your best shot at child advocacy, then I thank God even more that My Children will never darken the door of Scales Elementary.
Unfortunately our educators and education administrators are clearly above the laws that protect adults. If an act would have been carried out that was designed to take 69 adults to the point of believeing they were going to die, it would be without question an act of terrorism (What is the definition of Terrorism?). Considering these are only children and the act was carried out by educators, it’s just a prank. Where is the government, FBI, Homeland Security, State Police, local police, and the DA’s? Where is the stance that things like this are taken seriously?The same educator mentality will investigate themselves, worry that girls are wearing open toed shoes, and position themselves to say “they could have not known rather than they knew and did nothing, as usual.”
Who will stand up and say enough? Who will create an active committee ensuring accountability in education administration via parent oversight? We have conditioned educators/administrators to knowingly have free unaccountable control of the most important aspect of our lives, our children. They have proven how good they are at it over and over, but then again it’s just kids who cares? Maybe the reason they don’t want cell phones at school is during the walk home the kids can having a learning experience while getting abducted. Does anyone have a say in what these schools are doing? Obviously not!
vr,
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ok, i think that all of this is nonsence. I go to this school, and its awsome!Yeah some of the teachers got together and thought that they would play a joke on us… like you have never done that before. It was a practical joke.
DUH, DUH, and DUH!!!
That was not a very good prank!!!!
I guess they will think again before they do something like that.
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