Attack of the 3rd-Graders?
The shocking headlines out of Waycross, Georgia— 3rd-graders plotted to attack teacher, brought knife, handcuffs —lowered the bar on school violence and raised the alarm among parents, teachers, psychologists and just about anyone with an opinion about the country’s future.
The third grade plotters—nine students between the ages of 8 and 10—were allegedly readying a revenge assault against a teacher who had given one of the children a time-out for standing on a chair.
Tipped off by a student, police seized the kids’ menacing arsenal at school, including a steak knife, duct tape, handcuffs, and a heavy paperweight. The teacher specialized in learning disabilities, including attention deficit disorder and hyperactivity, though it’s not known if any of the plotters had those diagnoses.
The sophistication of the plan—with kid-assigned jobs of covering classroom windows and cleaning up after the attack—stunned even the police.
“We did not hear anybody say they intended to kill her,” the police chief said, “but could they have accidentally killed her? Absolutely.”
The big question—who or what was responsible for the children’s shocking behavior?—was debated across the U.S. on message boards and Main Street.
The culprits ranged from peer pressure to parenting, with violent video games and television getting much of the blame. “Kids naturally think now that the solution to everything is to shoot someone like they see on TV,” one comment read. “I weep for the future of America.”
For the present, local authorities are uncertain exactly how to proceed. In Georgia, children under 13 can’t be charged with a crime. Being declared “delinquent” by a judge may be the only legal penalty, but the state doesn’t have detention facilities for third-graders.
Tell us what you think. Given the restrictions with the law, how do you make punishment for third graders fit the crime? How much responsibility do their parents bear? And what about the rest of us—should we also be accountable as members of society?
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Teaching a lesson
I am a substitute teacher. At times it is necessary to discipline the students. The prescribed punishment is usually time out of recess or occasionally a visit to the office for a firm talking to. A teacher should not be in fear of violent retaliation because of a stern tone and a time out.
I do believe that it is the parents’ failure that we are talking about. Children learn behaviors from parents (T.V., games and movies do not raise children). It is like osmosis. A child will likely take on the parents behaviors and attitudes toward life and situations. It is of the utmost importance that we teach our children to be responsible for their actions, that is why disciplinary measures are needed (when deserved).
I suggest long-term counseling and observation for the children. And I would also suggest that these parents pay more attention to the attitudes and actions of their child. If they are contemplating violent hostage situations at 8 years old, what happens when they are 18?
Murder? Parents Teach your children!
Serafina | 1 year, 7 months ago
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Hello? These kids are ONLY 8!!!
These kids are 8 and 9 years old, with developmental delays and behavioral problems. I really believe that MOST of them really had real understanding of what they had signed up for. That being said, some sort of consequence is totally appropriate. Community service is a great start, and and a formal apology to the teacher and school is a no-brainer. And of course THE PARENTS need to be involved. Seems like they all need counseling and this is a huge wake up call that the child(ren) who came with this idea need some hard core interventions before they grow up to be the next kid that shoots up their high school, college, or even middle school!
Jen Yarrin gton | 1 year, 7 months ago
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Exactly what was predicted in "Jesus was a Terrori
For those of you that have seen the film “Jesus Was a Terrorist” – this type of thing happening in real life is EMBARRASSING. I initially wrote an angry letter to the producers of that movie, and now I feel like I have my tail between my legs.
How can you discipline these kids? In IL you’re not even allowed to pat kids on the back or buckle their seatbelts on the bus because of new overprotective sexual abuse rules (I think we let the kids watch too much MSNBC, and now they cry abuse whenever they don’t get their way) – how can you discipline them when we’ve given them all the power!?
Salima H | 1 year, 7 months ago
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Shaping little souls
This sad little news account reflects the on-going diminution of real parenting in this country. I agree with Mr. Tattrie’s response, that ultimately the parents are responsible. The choice to bring a child into the world comes with vast consequences and responsibilities. One should weigh them carefully. Manners must be taught. The television should be banished in favor of books, art and outdoor experiences. We are shaping little souls, setting the groundwork for a lifetime. So many parents fund those college accounts but fail to realize the most important years are the early ones. There will always be contributing factors, but they should not cloud us from our ultimate responsibility..the hard work of shaping these little souls.
John P. Weiss | 1 year, 7 months ago
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Lessons
I am currently in college to become an elementary school teacher. My main goal is to teach third graders. This story shocked me. I believe many are correct in the forms of discipline that should be used. Community service and a letter of apology are really excellent ideals. Therapy is an excellent ideal for all the parties involved. Many go into the field of teaching to help children. The teacher must have been in shock, to find out the young minds she had hoped to mold wanted her dead. From what I gather this incident was because of a child being disciplined. Something has to be done about the growing epidemic amongst our schools but what.
Justine Theer | 1 year, 7 months ago
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We need to dump the U.S. Dept of Education once and for all, admitting that government indoctrination centers are a failure, in the context of a constitutional republic. Americans need to take back responsibility for their education and that of their children by removing that responsibility from government bureaucrats who have an agenda of their own. ALL children have an innate Love of Learning that too often in today societal makeup we destroy with the concept of ‘one size fits all’ and the nonsensical ‘self esteem/every child is equal’ educational concept. Wake up America and and take back a responsibility that is YOURS, that of educating YOUR child(ren).
Then and only then will we cease to see violence of this nature within young children who now have instilled within them a Hate of Learning attitude.
Rori Morrow | 1 year, 7 months ago
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Real Life
Are any of our children living in reality? We don’t want them to see or experience anything unpleasant or ugly yet we buy them things that create chaos, destruction, and death. Have your children ever seen a dead person? Or have we “sheltered” them from the funerals and such that teach us about precious life. Do they get everything for free? In life I learned early nothing is free, not even your actions. I think all the P.C. parenting has gone to the extreme, What ever happened to combination therapy. A little old with a little new. Let your children see and live real life, not the one you want to live for them. you’re not them. You have no idea how it must be to grow up in this new world, so much all the time. Whatever happened to just sitting in the back yard with your brother, some dirt and stick? I think maybe we should give our children’s imaginations a chance to bloom rather than another new video game or Disney movie. Just say no more TV, no more computers go play with your kids outside. This may help with A.D.D. and obesity; it’s called exercise and family time. Thank you concerned adult.
Jennifer S | 1 year, 7 months ago
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who's to blame???
So who is really to blame here? Video games, violence in the media, bad parenting skills? I am sure that this attributed in some ways to encourage them in the act. Parents refuse to discipline their children- and therefore, they respect no one. But the bottom line here is SIN. The story that comes to mind in the bible is Cain and Able. Genesis 4. Abel brought an offering before the Lord and the Lord respected his offering. But he did not respect Cain’s offering. His countenance fell, and he became angry. So what did he do?
v6 So the Lord said to Cain, “why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.” Now Cain talked with Abel his brother, and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.
Cain became jealous and angry and he killed his brother. Can we blame this on the culture? Well, what culture? There were only 4 people on the earth at the time including himself! Can we blame the media? Nope, there was no media then. There was no “government”. There were no peers to influence him. In fact, the only counsel he received was from the Lord and the Lord told him to rule over his sinful desires. He chose to kill his brother on his own. Sin was crouching at the door, and Cain let it in. He gave into his jealousy and anger- and it grew. And he murdered. Period.
The same thing can be said for these kids. Remove the media, remove the peers, remove the administration, the government, and the parents. What is left? These kids and their own sinful nature. Thankfully, the plan was leaked out to another teacher, and they were stopped before they could harm the teacher. So there is talk about community service (woopidie doo- attempt to kill your teacher and you have to pick up trash off the side of the road in an orange vest) and making them apologize for their actions because our judicial system is not set up for children. It seems to me that we should have something in place for this kind of thing, since the violence in young people seems to start earlier and earlier- maybe this is a wake-up call to our government that depravity doesn’t begin in a teenager. Maybe even a wake up call to our nation, if they will just put the blame where it is due. This is a fallen world we live in. Sin is bound up in all of our hearts. Cleaner media, better parents, more understanding teachers will not fix that. If it were that easy, Christ would not have hung on the cross.
sarah t | 1 year, 7 months ago
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Shocked?
I don’t understand why people are “shocked” about what these kids plotted to do. This sort of thing has been going on for as long as humans have been on the planet. Society can be looked at a bit, but is human nature that is a t work here…“civilized” society has developed many rules and laws to govern human behavior. We are naturally aggressive, predatory and find safety in numbers. Just because these kids are young doesn’t mean that several million years of evolutionary and instinctual survival mechanisms aren’t at play here…So it seems fairly “natural” that these kids planned an attack on a teacher that either real or imagined was a threat to the “pack”
Ben B | 1 year, 7 months ago
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Fontana
“We need to dump the U.S. Dept of Education once and for all, admitting that government indoctrination centers are a failure, in the context of a constitutional republic. Americans need to take back responsibility for their education and that of their children by removing that responsibility from government bureaucrats who have an agenda of their own. ALL children have an innate Love of Learning that too often in today societal makeup we destroy with the concept of ‘one size fits all’ and the nonsensical ‘self esteem/every child is equal’ educational concept. Wake up America and and take back a responsibility that is YOURS, that of educating YOUR child(ren).
Then and only then will we cease to see violence of this nature within young children who now have instilled within them a Hate of Learning attitude.” Rori…I applaud you…it’s about time someone said it.
Kina Barnum | 1 year, 7 months ago
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