What’s the world coming to…..
April 2, 2008 by ElfNinosMom
When a group of third graders plan crime to this level?
WAYCROSS, Georgia (AP) — A group of third-graders plotted to attack their teacher, bringing a broken steak knife, handcuffs, duct tape and other items for the job and assigning children tasks including covering the windows and cleaning up afterward, police said Tuesday.
The third-graders’ alleged crime kit included this steak knife, which was confiscated by officials.The plot involving as many as nine boys and girls at Center Elementary School in south Georgia was a serious threat, Waycross Police Chief Tony Tanner said.
School officials alerted police Friday after a pupil tipped off a teacher that a girl had brought a weapon to school.
Tanner said the students apparently planned to knock the teacher unconscious with a crystal paperweight, bind her with the handcuffs and tape and then stab her with the knife.
“We did not hear anybody say they intended to kill her, but could they have accidentally killed her? Absolutely,” Tanner said. “We feel like if they weren’t interrupted, there would have been an attempt. Would they have been successful? We don’t know.”
The children, ages 8 to 10, were apparently mad at the teacher because she had scolded one of them for standing on a chair, Tanner said.
You can read this disturbing article in its entirety here.
Given the ages of these children, they are too young even for the juvenile justice system. At the same time, this cannot be taken lightly, because these children are dangerous to even think up such a plot. Certainly some are more involved than others, and I think the authorities need to figure out who came up with what parts of the plot, so they can gauge which children are actually dangerous, and which ones just went along with the crowd.
What do readers think? Where on earth did these children get an idea like this? Are they being exposed to material they are too young to comprehend, such as violence in television, movies, video games? What should be done, when children this young are involved in conspiring to attack and possibly kill someone?
String the litlle bastards up!
The only think I can think of is that these kids have mental issues since they are in a special ed class. Not that that excuses anything…but I know that some parents, once the diagnosis has been made stop trying to rein in their kids behavior and teach them right from wrong because “they can’t help it”.
I don’t know if this is the case, honestly. I do know peer pressure can be a powerful thing, especially in kids that aren’t thinking correctly. I have to wonder if the children really thought it was a good idea and that they would get away with it…or if they thought it was a joke or that it wouldn’t get that far…
[...] to What’s the World Coming To … April 2, 2008 This is written in response to What’s the World Coming to written by Elfninosmom. In Waycross, GA a group of third graders at Center Elementary school, [...]
I started writing a comment but it just kept growing. You can read it here.
Sandy,
Some parents with emotionally disturbed students never even try to control the behavior in the first place.
DH
That’s true Dee…but I wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt in this case.
:-/
Sandy,
I quit giving them the benefit of the doubt after my 1st day of teaching. I was attacked by one of those “darlings”.
DH
Here is another link for a little more information I found on Comcast:
http://www.comcast.net/news/articles/national/2008/04/01/Children_s.Plot/
Interesting, Sandy - thanks!
Look, When I was a kid there was no ADD, ADHD. You got your ass whipped and that settled that. I truly believe there are a very few that have this disorder and mainly bad behavior, overindulgence, poor parenting, absentee parents, lack of discipline is the core problem. I am not advocating spanking as there are other methods of discipline such as time out, no t.v., taking privileges away. But a good swat on the butt sometimes is just what they need.
Bosco,
I disagree many with ADD or ADHD really do have the problem. In a nutshell the brain doesn’t properly process sugars, so it is a real medical condition. However, neither is an excuse for poor behavior. I agree that poor parenting and lack of discipline are mostly the real problem. I have ADHD and it was never an excuse for bad behavior. My parents insisted I learn to behave. The Big Guy does not have ADHD but his mother believed it was more important that children be happy and not enforce rules or discipline. He however was a terror as a child.
Lamar Lafong,
Make sure that you examine yourself before you cast a stone that hardcore with your words about children. I wonder if you are a parent or if you are even able to be a little sensitive to this subject. “String the little bastards up”…come on now! That’s a little harsh.
As far as a punishment…I do believe that something needs to be checked out, but I don’t think these children need to go through trial of any sort. I do believe that they should get some counseling if that hasn’t already been attained.
Sure some teachers have had their own close encounters with incidents of this magnitude or higher, but my question is, “where is the grace in all of this?” We are talking BABIES here! Why is everyone so quick to just “lock” up the problem rather then deal with it in a positive way. “Lets just sweep the problem under the rug by first running the families, of these children, name in the dirt of talk of bad parenting, then lets just fine the easiest way to get rid of the problem…put them away.” ARE YOU KIDDING? Who gives anyone the right to play the blame game anyway? Whatever happen to community parenting, where if a parent sees something out of the ordinary with a child, they could come a speak to that child and correct them with LOVE. Not anymore, main stream America wants action…I just believe that we need to be more focused on remembering that the children coming up are the next generation for running this country (doctors, lawyers, government officials…etc), so what are we doing to help make change in their lives. Lets not get too philosophical or technical here, but remembering the big picture here is helping the children, not hurting them. Love on the children and stop thinking about self. This ife is about Love and selfless acts. Without each other, WE as a people would not be able to survive…”A car with no wheels and no engine will not operate.”
For the record, I am not saying that the children were iright for what they did. Also to the teachers, families, and Americans who were affected by this incident, I send my prayers to you and I don’t say this superficially.
RTL
RTL,
When it reaches this point something drastic has to be done. It past the time for grace and just counseling. After, all the incident that sparked the whole thing was because a classmate was corrected for standing on a chair. The children need to learn there are real consequences for the actions. Whatever happens to them must be serious and they should be under some form of mandatory supervision for many years.