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AIBU?

To think this isn't an appropriate subject for a class of 7 year olds.

30 replies

HappyCria · 04/04/2014 14:32

Ds has been learning about famous scots at school he has really been enjoying it and coming home all excited telling us everything that he has been told.
Last night he came home and the conversation went like this.

Ds- You know there is a famous scot who is still alive.

Me- Wow who is that?

Ds- He plays tennis.

Me- ooh Andy Murray

Ds- Yes. You know he had to hide under a table mummy.

Me- What? (thinking surely this isn't going to go the way I think it is)

Ds- How did the man with the gun get in mummy?

Me- did your teacher tell you this?

Ds- Yes

Ds does not seem at all bothered by being told about this. It's just another interesting story to him it seems no different to him then when he was learning about William Wallace or Mary Queen of scots.

Maybe I am being a little sensitive about it but I just feel that 7 year olds could be really scared by this. I was in primary school myself when the Dunblane shooting happened and I was so scared that it could happen to me.

Especially since they are being told about it while sitting in a classroom in Scotland. I think they should be allowed to feel safe in their surroundings for a little while longer without learning this sort of horrors happen.

OP posts:

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Imnotmadeofeyes · 04/04/2014 14:37

Hmm on balance I think you're bring UR.

It's a fact that Dunblane happened and sadly it's not a one off. It's a fairly tame way of giving children the idea of what they should do if they ever found themselves in the same situation.

It's not a world away from a fire drill practice.

Youdontneedacriminallawyer · 04/04/2014 14:37

Well, your 7 yo clearly wasn't scared.

I'm sure the teacher would have handled it in a way suitable for the age and sensitivities of the class. They do have experience in teaching that age group.

NatashaBee · 04/04/2014 14:40

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

BettySwollocksandaCrustyRack · 04/04/2014 14:41

YABU - it is history, the same as Mary Queen of Scots or William Wallace.

It's a terrible thing that it happened, but happen it did and I do think we need our kids to be aware of stuff like that no matter how rare it is.

As the above poster said, I am sure it was handled with care and tact as to not scare the crap out of the kids and at 7 years old kids are old enough to know the world is not a fairy tale.

neiljames77 · 04/04/2014 14:41

I suppose if the teacher emphasises to the children that security measures are in place in schools now to stop anybody just wandering in, it's better than them reading about it and then getting scared.

RedRoom · 04/04/2014 14:49

I see no issue. It is a historical event and the teacher clearly didn't tell it in a terrifying, gory way otherwise your son would not have been so factual. No, it's not a nice event, but the 6pm news would have covered it and plenty of children are still up then.

wannaBe · 04/04/2014 14:51

yabu. It was real and it happened.

If something like this happened now and was in the news would you think it inappropriate that your son knew about it?

LingDiLong · 04/04/2014 14:55

you're assuming the teacher brought it up, a child could have heard about it and raised the issue in class

HappyCria · 04/04/2014 14:59

You are all right of course. I suppose I am just looking at it through how it affected me as a child.

I have always suffered from terrible anxiety even as a child so it gave me terrible nightmares and made me frightened to go to school.

Thankfully Ds is nothing like me. I suppose I was just thinking what if he was?

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Floralnomad · 04/04/2014 15:01

I can't see the problem with the teacher talking about it in an age appropriate manner but I do wonder why it was bought up because its not got anything to do with why Andy Murray is famous .

MrsDeVere · 04/04/2014 15:01

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

HappyCria · 04/04/2014 15:03

ling that was one of my thoughts so I asked him very specifically if it was the teacher that brought it up.

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ChelworthBrond · 04/04/2014 15:03

The teacher has obviously handled it well since he's come home, remembered some key facts and isn't scared.

ChelworthBrond · 04/04/2014 15:05

Sorry, posted too soon.

Was going to say that teachers are trained for exactly this sort of thing - how to teach in a way that is appropriate to the age group they have. And we all know from the inappropriate play thread a few weeks ago how kindly teachers take to being told how to teach. And fair play to them.

HappyCria · 04/04/2014 15:05

flora that is the other thing I didn't like about it I think it takes away from the real reason that Andy Murray is famous and I think that is a shame.

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DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen · 04/04/2014 15:08

My teacher gave us whole lesson on the Yorkshire ripper,I was about the same age

Anyway, it could bed that another child brought it up. You could ask the teacher what was said.

Lock down drills are done in some UK schools as well as the US.

Imnotmadeofeyes · 04/04/2014 15:09

I don't really think it detracts too much from Murrays achievements.

Tbh I would rather the idea was introduced during a discussion about someone still alive and well who has done incredibly well for themselves than focussing on the event itself.

I was and st

Imnotmadeofeyes · 04/04/2014 15:11

Posted too soon!

Anyway, I was and am still very anxious about fire. I used to cry during drills because I'd seen my dad drag a neighbour out of a house on fire (brave but stupid). I'd still rather be educated on what to do in that situation and not be ignorant of the consequences.

StealthPolarBear · 04/04/2014 15:13

I had no idea that he was one of the children!

littlewhitebag · 04/04/2014 15:17

He wasn't one of the children in the class where many died as he is older but the gunman shot at the other classrooms so some pupils had to get on the floor. Andy was one of those children.

StealthPolarBear · 04/04/2014 15:24

OK thanks

HappyCria · 04/04/2014 15:26

imnot They weren't taught what to do if the same situation happened to them they were just told that it had happened.

Neil there is codes to get into the doors of all the buildings but they have to walk between the buildings to get to things like the library and the gym and obviously when they are outside playing but they can't secure the access into the school grounds. This is because they have have sold the old headmaster house which sits in the middle of the playground and the people that own it and any visitors they have obviously need access to their house.

So to my mind their isn't really appropriate security measures but like I've said that is most likely down to my anxieties.

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Imnotmadeofeyes · 04/04/2014 15:30

In a round about way they were - a bad man was in the school so they hid under their desks.

Not a full lesson in how to deal with intruders but it's planted the idea in your ds's head which isn't a bad thing. Situations are much scarier if we don't know what we'd do, having plans helps to ease anxieties.

whatdowedowithabouncingbaby · 04/04/2014 15:56

Yabu. It is part of history. There are lots of security measures in place now. I had to tell a class of 8/9 yo about it because a child brought it up.

It is part of scottish history, as sad as it is. It happened years ago, & there has never been a repeat in Scotland.

The only issue I had with dealing with it (& I don't know if this is ur concern) one of the girls used to worry about everything, everything. She'd cry over things that hadn't happened and be worried over anything. I spoke to her mother at the end of the day and explained what had been said, just in case the child brought it up at home.

But I had to deal with it otherwise, it would have been a scary story doing the rounds in the playground!

dancingnancy · 04/04/2014 16:00

I don't really thin it's appreciate for 7 yr olds - just unnecessary really. As for teachers always being subtle and appropriate - some of my old teachers must have missed that class.
And I don't really watch the news in front of the kids. They don't need to know lts of horrible stuff that goes on oe see Gaddafi being dragged out by the mobs.

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