School kids told WW3 starting

**213th** · 01-22-11, 08:32 AM

Primary school children in Bacup, England were terrified during a school assembly when administrators told them World War III was happening and London was being bombed.
Staff at St. Mary’s Roman Catholic school led the children into a cellar when an air raid siren sounded, and set off a firework to stimulate the sound of an explosion, the Daily Mail reports.
Teachers planned the event as an exercise to educate the children about life during wartime scenarios.
“We were doing World War Two as a topic and we saw advice from schools that basically suggested that we introduced the topic as if it was really happening. We didn't foresee these problems,” said Mike Richards, headteacher of the school. “Unfortunately we made it too real. After that we spent all the rest of the afternoon explaining to them that it wasn't.”
Richards added that he had spoken to around ten parents who were concerned about the exercise, with the bulk of their complaints being that their children had nightmares after the simulation.
“You send your child off in the morning and then they are told that there is a war,” said one mother, who opted to remain unnamed. “Nobody with an ounce of common sense would have put them through it.”
Richards later apologized for the stress caused by the event.

School Staff Lead Students to Believe World War III Has Started - FoxNews.com

**ANI4ANI** · 01-22-11, 10:32 AM

I don't see the big deal. But, I'm thinking as an older adult who remembers the air raid drills in elementary school during the "Russia is bombing us" days of the early 60's. However, if one thinks of today's soft, politically correct, no bullying generation, this probably was a bad idea.

**Jenna** · 01-22-11, 11:04 AM

I think it would have been OK if they had told the kids it was just a practice drill and not real--schools do this all the time with fire and natural disaster drills, and that's useful because you want them to have some skills, experience, and knowledge about what to do in an emergency in case the real thing happens. But just telling them WWIII was starting as if it were real is a bad idea, just as it would be a bad idea to tell them that a drill was a real fire, earthquake, flood, etc., because next time when a real emergency happens they might think it's fake as well and not do everything they should do in a real emergency. Also people who really think it's WWIII might do something hasty and irrational, like hurt themselves or others, tell secrets, or give away or damage their own possessions or take or damage others' possessions, on the assumption that nothing matters since chances are high that everyone will die soon anyway. Maybe not such a risk with primary school kids, but you never know.

**Five-0** · 01-22-11, 11:05 AM

They should be happy they don't live in Israel.

**Captain America** · 01-22-11, 11:28 AM

Originally Posted by ANI4ANI

I don't see the big deal. But, I'm thinking as an older adult who remembers the air raid drills in elementary school during the "Russia is bombing us" days of the early 60's. However, if one thinks of today's soft, politically correct, no bullying generation, this probably was a bad idea.

+1. The pampered masses can't handle for 15 minutes what other generations handled for years.

**Five-0** · 01-22-11, 01:38 PM

Bingo Captain. Someone Rep him. I can't on the phone.

**Motorwaycop** · 01-22-11, 02:51 PM

God forbid that we should desanitise and conceal the real horror of war.

It's not such a far stretch that bombs might be going off in British towns and cities, well it's never happened in peacetime here has it!!!!!!!!