Monday, May 14, 2007

those who can't teach...

Here's one that the child psychologists will make a killing on (sorry, bad pun).

A group of teachers in Tennessee thought that it would be a good idea to discuss with their students what to do if a gunman attacked them. All in all, not necessarily an absolutely completely terrible idea. I mean, we've all heard about the school shootings, and having a pre-plan of how to deal with such a horrific situation is probably not the worst thing imaginable. But talking and doing are two different things, you could argue, so maybe it's not a bad idea to actually have a drill where you go through the routine of what you should do.

So following that logic, it is usually a good idea to talk about the exercise before being immersed in it, so that you can at least try to apply your knowledge. However, as you know, and as I know, and as everyone knows, it takes a lot of discipline to go through a drill with the same urgency as a real situation. And chances are if you discussed it first and then were suddenly thrust into a real situation, you would probably assume it was a drill. And let's face it... If adults would likely not treat it as seriously, neither would 12-year olds. I guess that's why we never knew exactly when the fire drills were going to happen in grade school. So perhaps, it's best not to tell the kids that it's a drill, and perhaps it's best not to talk about it before.

So far, the logic is impenetrable. But there's more. Surely if a gunman is going to shoot a bunch of school-kids, he wouldn't do it at, say, a school. Nooooooooo, he'd probably do it in a place that is unfamiliar to the kids. And it would probably be at night, too. Because that's when bad people come out from their poorly lit, dingy trailers.

So, what did the bright teachers decide to do? Stage an attack at night while on a field trip. They told the students a gunman was on the loose in the area, that it was not a drill, and that they should hide under the tables. Then a teacher, who disguised himself by wearing a hoodie (!), tried to get into the room while the kids cried and pled for their lives.

So who's idea was this brilliant plan? The assistant principal.

That kind of reminds me of a line somebody once wrote on a blackboard in high school. Those who can do. Those who can't, teach. Those who can't teach become principals. Seriously, though, how did this guy become a principal? And how did the teachers go along with it?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Here's a statement from the school. Yes, it was stupid, but I don't know if it was as outrageous as the media is playing it up to be.

But it wouldn't be the media if it wasn't outrageous. :-)

Mabel said...

Perhaps, though I still think having somebody come by and rattle the doors is a little over the top. Thanks for pointing out the school's response, though.

themikestand said...

I thought those who couldn't teach taught PhysEd.... but clearly there are exceptions.