Tennessee school stages fictitious gun attack on students

Originally posted at Right Truth

This is a case of school officials terrorizing the children in their care. There is no excuse for what these teachers did. In Murfreesboro Tennessee, Scales Elementary School staff members of the 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.

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."

What if you child had been in this group?

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. (CNN)

Obviously Assistant Principal Don Bartch did not put much thought into his actions. In what was supposed to be an effort to improve procedures for protecting the children, he and the other teachers terrorized them. He should be removed from his job. I don't need to be psychic to see lawsuits in this school's future.

On another note, a new blog to me is Greenwoman at The Magical Rose Garden. The latest post, "Spotlight on: Defining Spiritual Presence". Here's a sample:

Greenwoman believes in the power of community prayer and "collective focus," so each Monday she lights a prayer candle on her site and encourages others to pray with her "for the help, health, strength and wisdom of all concerned,"