Sixth graders found themselves afraid for their lives in what was really a "fake code red" on a school field trip. The teachers informed the students that there was a gunman on the loose and later compared their actions to a campfire prank. Watch the video as one student and her mom voice their concerns.
MURFREESBORO, Tennessee -- Staff members of an 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.
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 Bartches , who led the trip.
Principal Catherine Stephens declined to say whether the staff members involved would face disciplinary action, but said the situation "involved poor judgment."
Of course, it is important to have safety rules in place during a school field trip. Practice drills are okay if they are explained properly. We always know escape routes when staying in a high rise hotel. However, there is no excuse to scare children or anyone else needlessly. It makes me sad to think of how frightened those kids must have been. One has to wonder what these teachers and assistant principal were thinking. Maybe they weren't.