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View Full Version : Children left traumatised after Blackminster Middle School 'science' lesson



Marv
March 25th, 2010, 01:14 PM
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1260521/Evesham-school-fake-shooting-teacher-traumatises-children.html



Schoolchildren were left crying and suffering panic attacks after a school role play which saw one of their teachers apparently shot dead in the playground.

The pupils, aged ten to 13, watched aghast as their religious education teacher ran across a field without warning and fell to the ground following a loud bang.

Some were so traumatised that they were sick afterwards, parents said.

The stunt was part of a science lesson designed to teach children how evidence is brought together in criminal investigations. They were not told it was fake until ten minutes after the event.

While some pupils no doubt found the hoax hilarious, others were left traumatised by the sudden turn of events.

Blackminster Middle School, in Evesham, Worcestershire, today apologised and admitted going too far.

The 'shooting' happened on Tuesday afternoon. More than 300 pupils were called to the hall and warned there was a gun somewhere in the school before being sent back to their classrooms.

Five minutes later, the fire alarm went and the children queued up in the playground. Only a handful were involved in the stunt and knew it was fake.
[...]

A 33-year-old mother, who has a stepdaughter at the school, added: 'The children thought they were watching their teacher gunned down and were waiting for the same to happen to them.

'It is beyond belief. One pupil's father was shot dead a few years back and then they're in the assembly hall calling this role-play a 'joke'. Their wording, their timing, everything was out of order.

nopatience
March 25th, 2010, 01:18 PM
WTF kind of lesson is that?! You can't teach them w/o telling them it's not real BEFORE they are scared shitless? If their reaction is not part of the "evidence" there was no reason for not telling them it was role play. This is the kind of shit that puts teachers and schools in a bad light. Fucking assclowns!

Valasca
March 25th, 2010, 01:20 PM
shit. when i was 13, my history teacher fell in the shower and died. THAT was traumatic. This? mother night, i hope the school is prepared to pay for counseling.

Athena
March 25th, 2010, 01:41 PM
Here in the States there's been a program aimed at reducing drunk driving among teens where they literally fake a student's death, hold an assembly and don't tell kids it's fake until all is said and done.

That, like this, is in poor taste. A shortsighted individual got a bit carried away, it appears.

Twisted
March 25th, 2010, 02:10 PM
Here in the States there's been a program aimed at reducing drunk driving among teens where they literally fake a student's death, hold an assembly and don't tell kids it's fake until all is said and done.

Really? I never dealt with that one growing up. It's probably for the best, since I'd have ended up laughing at the assembly. I knew the kids that got into that trouble for real, and I knew when they died (unfortunately).

It does seem quite harsh, though. I also wonder how they get the student to go along with it. Granted, a legit week off from school is a selling point, but would it really be worth it?

We just had them bring some wreck to school where two cars were so entwined that you'd have to cut the frames to get them apart. I don't know that it worked on anyone, but I thought it would make a neat art project.

evervigilant
March 25th, 2010, 02:21 PM
You'd think they'd know better, with all the shooting deaths of young people in recent years. My area is starting to get bad again, bomb scares and such. I can't imagine why they'd want to put youngsters through that trauma.

Athena
March 25th, 2010, 03:26 PM
Really? I never dealt with that one growing up. It's probably for the best, since I'd have ended up laughing at the assembly. I knew the kids that got into that trouble for real, and I knew when they died (unfortunately).

It does seem quite harsh, though. I also wonder how they get the student to go along with it. Granted, a legit week off from school is a selling point, but would it really be worth it?

We just had them bring some wreck to school where two cars were so entwined that you'd have to cut the frames to get them apart. I don't know that it worked on anyone, but I thought it would make a neat art project.

I posted a thread about it here (http://www.dreamindemon.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4921) a couple years ago.

The programs or events are called "Ghost Outs", intended to scare kids out of driving drunk, on drugs, or even recklessly (speeding or with music too loud). In most cases now, the student body is made aware that it is fake in advance. But initially, there were stories of schools who did this without telling the student body it was fake, and it resulted in some serious trauma and controversy.

AngelFire
March 25th, 2010, 06:30 PM
When I was preggers with my 2nd son, I was taking some vocational classes. One day I had to go to admissions, I sat in the waiting room expecting the contact person to call me any minute. When 2 individuals sat next to me, I was in the middle seat, and they were seated one to my left, and the other to my right. Then the main doors open up, and I saw 2 tall, burly men in suits walk in.

They approached the people sitting next to me and identified themselves as FBI Agents. I was very curious as to what was happening. Then "gun fire" erupted and one fell on his knees. It was an excercise for the security guard program.

I started freaking out and having an anxiety attack. Now mind you, I was 8 months pregnant. The paramedics had to be called in and I ended up in the maternity ward with contractions.

My instructor, who was just the most sweetest man, but would bite your head off, gave them an earful. I could have gone into labor.