What were the teachers doing?

BAC'sMom wrote: http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/05/10/gradescho...t.ap/index.html

CantWait replied: That poor child. The teachers probably weren't even paying attention to what was going on in the school yard, but rather their own conversation.

amynicole21 replied: Oh God! That is scary - and horrible

3xsthefun replied: That poor little girl

Adrienne522 replied: That is terrible. OMG!!!

ashtonsmama replied:

That's so wrong. Makes me mad.

luvmykids replied: OMG that is sickening. What is the world coming to?!

redchief replied: Well, geezzz... It was recess after all; AKA teacher break time.

Disgusting! Every teacher who was even remotely responsible for any of those kids should be summarily fired, as a precursor to whatever negligence charges the police and civil authorities can come up with.

lisar replied: That is so sad. I dont know what I would do if it was my child.

C&K*s Mommie replied: Bless the little girls heart, for the emotional distress & anguish she wil be facing from here on out. How incredibly sad.
It is disgusting and despicable enough that a grown adult would concieve of taking the innocence of a child away; but how sad that it would even come to the forefront of a grade school child's mind- let alone a dozen of them to even do that.

ions_momma replied: OMG That is just awful!! That poor little girl!!

AlexsPajamaMama replied: I read the headline at the top of the article and that was enough for me! How sickening. My heart goes out to that little girl and her family

mckayleesmom replied: How awful. I am going to refrain from blaming the teachers for right now. We don't know the whole story...Teacher to student ratio or anything like that. We don't know where the bathroom was located, if it was in view of the playground or anything. We don't know all the details. When I was in school...there were like 2 people watching about 100 kids at a time...and we didn't have to ask permission to go to the bathroom...located down the hall and out of view. I think its easy to blame the teachers, but we don't have all the facts.

ilovemybaby replied:
That's what I was thinking. 6-8 year olds??!!

gr33n3y3z replied:
agreed

Cece00 replied: OMG angry doesnt even BEGIN to describe how I feel about this.

If I were that girl's mom...I would be looking into having those teachers fired, having them rewrite their policy on how many teachers/children can be out there.

I'd be pushed for more than MISDEMEANORS on those boys. And I'd be suing the SHIT out of those boys parents.

That poor little girl.

C&K*s Mommie replied: IDK... I am not an educator and I do not have children in school, but I tend to agree with Ed on this. Recess is for the kids to get out the energy they have pent up, and a chance for teachers to catch up. Possibly, meaning fewer teachers may be in the presence there. As Crystal pointed out, the policies need to be rewritten on the teacher:student ratio even for break time! Who would ever suspect/expect a 2nd grader to do such a thing?!?! Bullying, I could completely understand. Not that form of assault.

I am not defending the children, or their actions but I do not believe that they can be held fully responsible for their actions. I question whether they possibly understand. One or two of the children may have been mimicking what they have seen before ( which leads me to examine their homelife ) and the others followed suit.

OTOH, that is not to let the teachers off the hook. I think they will have just punishment following the investigation. Or at least I hope that they do.

Also, going after the parents will do no good, IMO. They entrusted the school to stand in for their children when they can not. JUST my opinions.

Cece00 replied:
Well, I see your point but what about teaching your children right from wrong, esp in situations like this?? Its not like ONE boy pulled a girls hair b/c she said she didnt like him. They sexually assaulted the girl.

If your child breaks something, like purposefully breaks a window- you will be responsible for paying for it. Similar situations would call for the same thing.

Plus, like you said, their homelife could be like this, which makes me think they need to sue the parents EVEN MORE, for allowing this to be looked at as "OK" or "Normal" or "Acceptable".

If this was my son & he joined in on something....my kid would rue the day he decided to do something SO incredibly stupid. Seriously, "grounded" wouldnt even BEGIN to cover what would happen to him. I dont beat my kids but they would learn one hell of a lesson. Military school would probably be in order.

JMO, though.

ilovemybaby replied: It could be possible that all of those boys or even just one has been in the same situation and I totally agree that they should be disciplined but given their young ages I am guessing they do not really comprehend what their actions will have caused for that poor girl. And I would be just as angry and upset if it was my daughter. I'm in no way defending them.

mckayleesmom replied: Personally, I think there should be an investigation into each of those little boys home lives as well.....Surely at the age of 6-8...one or more of them is learning that behavior at home, perhaps being abused themselves.