7 Yr. Old Has Nightmares Over VA. Tech Shootings And Teacher To Blame!!

LuvMySoldier · 04-23-2007, 09:22 PM

Here's a situation we've been talking alot about on another forum I'm on, and I just wondered what the rest of you thought about it. Here's the situtation... (and I hope the person who started this thread doesn't mind me discussing it here!!)

A 7 yr. old girl goes to her school the morning of the VA. Tech shootings, and her teacher is GLUED to the TV...ALL DAY LONG...bombarding the kids with all the details of what went on. They were forced to watch each and every news cast on the tragedy, ALL DAY LONG, without proper explanations from the teacher, who basically gave them the impression that..."This is life!!"

The girl goes home that night, and begins having nightmares that "the shooter is going to come and shoot HER"!! When her 25 yr. old sister (who is also her legal gardian, I assume) complains to the principal and the sisters' teacher, she is brushed aside and told that "they don't think it's any big deal", and that "kids hear about the real world through TV, videos, etc. and that it was HER responsibility to explain to the girl what had happened." The sister was also told by other parents (in the sister's class) that "their kids were fine" and that they thought she was "just too young, and didn't understand, and that she was blowing it out of porportion." She was also told, "You're not even her REAL MOTHER!!"

Well, the older sister promptly took the younger one out of school, and is now homeschooling her for the summer, until she can enroll her in a different school. Do you think she was justified in her complaint? Or do you think she blew everything out of porportion? Would you have done the same thing?

Personally, I give MUCH credit to the older sister. I think she's acting very responsibly (for her age, especially) in standing up for her young sibling. She was supposed to speak at a Parent-Teacher conference tonight. Wonder what happened! I haven't heard yet....

merandmalmom · 04-23-2007, 10:35 PM

Wow! I'm shocked that anyone would expose children to that information. How scary! My oldest is 7 and I can completely see her thinking 'if it could happen to that school, it could happen to mine'. What a stupid teacher. What a stupid principal.

I think the older sister was in the right, if not a little over dramatic in withdrawing her sister. I think if the principal hadn't corrected the situation, she should have gone to the school board.

My daughter doesn't know anything about the shootings. It might be naive of me but I feel there are things that kids don't need to know about. I'll keep her in her bubble for now.

Stacey Chambers · 04-23-2007, 10:44 PM

I don't like this-I can't believe they had these kids watching this on tv all day. My daughter heard it on the news when we had it on after it happend & she mentioned something about it, and I turned it off. She is 5 1/2 years old & I don't feel that she should be exposed to all of this in this kind of manner. Now if she asks me questions then I will answer her, but when they are at a young age they get scared because they do not understand!

Kellyandgirls · 04-23-2007, 10:54 PM

The older sister is doing what she feels best!! good for her!!
I dont think that it is appropriate to be letting the children watch these things!! I have a 7 yr old girl and if she understood this she would be soo scared!! she knows things happen and has heard about this but not enough to really get it!! I am pretty open with things with her but not something that will make her scared to go to shcool!! she knows things can happen in schools we talk about that!! and she knows things are in place of lockdowns etc since she has asked me why they do this! I just tell her that they have things in place to protect you and others if something should happen!!

I know my dd teacher would not do this !! thank god!!

desertmom · 04-23-2007, 11:01 PM

That sister is doing a better job than those parents, that's for sure. It is NOT life. They do NOT get this thru TV, videos, newspaper, etc. My son is 7 and is still not exposed to this. Talk to any professional (yes, this teacher is not professional) and they will tell you that kids of that age do not have the mental capacity to sort this out. That teacher deserves to be fired. I can only imagine what other things are going on in that classroom and the level of parenting at that school.

JenJoe725 · 04-23-2007, 11:57 PM

Geez and does she watch her soaps and school also and call it sex ed. The school really needs to have a policy about the use of classroom tvs.

Jen

TommysMommy · 04-24-2007, 01:41 AM

I agree with the older sister's decision. I think it would have been acceptable to have this on a tv if this was a high school class, and approached in a way where it could be discussed as group. But 7 year olds? No way! I cannot believe how irresponsibly that school dealt with the situation.

deemom · 04-24-2007, 07:27 AM

My dd is 6 and learned about it for the first time yesterday when dh didn't get the news channel changed fast enough. I explained a bad man hurt some people. That's all she needed to know. Heads would roll if her teacher had it on tv all day. I thought the teacher's job was to TEACH not give commentary on world events. My dd would have had nightmares too if she watched bloody people being carried away from a school.

I would have gone to the school board meeting and make sure they knew this happened and that the school's response was lacking.

LuvMySoldier · 04-24-2007, 08:30 AM

I told this "friend of mine" that she should mention at the meeting (which isn't until the 30th, I now know...) that if this so-called "teacher" felt so compelled to soak up every gorey detail of the events, that she should have taken the DAY OFF to do so!! I also feel that the teacher should be repremanded, if not fired out right! I also couldn't believe how nonchalant the other parents (and principal) where about this. You can bet if THEIR child had begun having nightmares...they'd be right there with her at the meeting voicing their concerns. (Unfortunately, there's still time for this to happen before the meeting.)

And this was a school in PA., by the way. Close to the actual event. Not that it matters WHICH school in WHICH part of the country this happened, but it was pretty close to home for this little girl, if you know what I mean.

I'll also mention that the little girl took it upon herself (mind you) to send her beloved teddy bear to one of the survivors!! Talk about a mature 7 yr. old!! (Bless her heart! :love: )

3lynns · 04-24-2007, 09:44 AM

This is just awful.

Ashlynn came home last week after it happened and said that the teacher told them what happened. Her teacher told them because of the flags at half staff. She also told me some other things the teacher told them but I am not sure if that was the teacher or the kids on the playground trying to talk big. She claims that her teacher told them that after this man shot all of these people he decided to shoot himself in the head and there was a big hole with blood everywhere

I just cannot imagine that a teacher would say such a thing but I can see the kids saying stuff like that.
We were keeping them away from the news because we didn't want them to know. Now I know why Disney CHannel is on all of them time instead of the news.