# Is/was it common to tell schoolchildren about national tragedies? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 22, 2014, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-was-it-common-to-tell-schoolchildren-about-national-tragedies/705365 "2014-11-22T21:46:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-was-it-common-to-tell-schoolchildren-about-national-tragedies/705365/41 "2014-11-24T15:12:07Z")
We were brought into the auditorium wherein they made an announcement regarding the Challenger. It was closer to us because it was a schoolteacher; it was overwhelming. ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-was-it-common-to-tell-schoolchildren-about-national-tragedies/705365/42 "2014-11-24T15:36:18Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > I think to some extent it’s going to depend on the specifics of the event, the school, the location etc. I wasn’t in school yet for the JFK assassination, but my understanding from those older than me is that many Catholic schools immediately told the students and then started praying. I didn’t think about teachers telling kids because they thought they could help by praying. Otherwise, the idea that “These small children need to know right away!” is weird. I’m a bit surprised it’s still being done, such as **WhyNot’s** son’s experience. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-was-it-common-to-tell-schoolchildren-about-national-tragedies/705365/43 "2014-11-24T15:42:38Z")
> [@Omega\_Glory](#): > > I didn’t think about teachers telling kids because they thought they could help by praying. Otherwise, the idea that “These small children need to know right away!” is weird. I’m a bit surprised it’s still being done, such as **WhyNot’s** son’s experience. I don’t think the teachers were telling the students in order to help JFK’s chances of survival by praying…it sounds more like they were going to tell them anyway and then prayer was the natural thing to do. I asked a close friend who was about 7 when it happened and he told me that the teachers told the kids that something terrible had happened and that their parents would tell them when they got home, and then they were dismissed. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-was-it-common-to-tell-schoolchildren-about-national-tragedies/705365/44 "2014-11-24T15:48:13Z")
> [@Omega\_Glory](#): > > I didn’t think about teachers telling kids because they thought they could help by praying. Otherwise, the idea that “These small children need to know right away!” is weird. I’m a bit surprised it’s still being done, such as **WhyNot’s** son’s experience. We didn’t pray, thank goodness, but they wanted us to know because they were in loco parentis and they had an opportunity to prepare us and avoid gossip. I think it’s an excellent idea. If the word had spread the oldfashioned way - and remember no cell phones so no texting - it would have been a major disruption to the day anyway. So why not treat it with respect and maybe take the chance to educate the kiddies on mature ways to respond to national tragedies? Anyway, I liked the way they did it. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Bredin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@John\_Bredin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Bredin)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-was-it-common-to-tell-schoolchildren-about-national-tragedies/705365/45 "2014-11-24T15:54:36Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > I asked a close friend who was about 7 when it happened and he told me that the teachers told the kids that something terrible had happened and that their parents would tell them when they got home, and then they were dismissed. Sounds like a recipe for the kids to “fill in the blank” with the most horrific thing their inexperienced but imaginative minds can conjure. :smack: How many of those kids sighed in relief when they realized one man (albeit the President) was dead rather than, say, a whole city in an atomic fireball. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-was-it-common-to-tell-schoolchildren-about-national-tragedies/705365/46 "2014-11-24T15:58:32Z")
> [@John\_Bredin](#): > > Sounds like a recipe for the kids to “fill in the blank” with the most horrific thing their inexperienced but imaginative minds can conjure. :smack: How many of those kids sighed in relief when they realized one man (albeit the President) was dead rather than, say, a whole city in an atomic fireball. :eek: Heh…yeah, I told him that sounded very creepy. “Kids, something awful has happened. Well. Bye!” He said he wasn’t frightened, but still, seems odd. I agree, **Anaamika** , there’s so much opportunity for misinformation to spread. Better to tell what you do know calmly. ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-was-it-common-to-tell-schoolchildren-about-national-tragedies/705365/47 "2014-11-24T16:09:59Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > We didn’t pray, thank goodness, but they wanted us to know because they were in loco parentis and they had an opportunity to prepare us and avoid gossip. I think it’s an excellent idea. If the word had spread the oldfashioned way - and remember no cell phones so no texting - it would have been a major disruption to the day anyway. So why not treat it with respect and maybe take the chance to educate the kiddies on mature ways to respond to national tragedies? > > Anyway, I liked the way they did it. I’m not sure word would have spread amongst the younger kids at all, until the next day. I wouldn’t think it was strange if the school set aside some time to discuss it the next day. It’s the “inform the kids about the upsetting thing right now” that seems odd to me. I would have expected **Left Hand of Dorkness** ’ school’s approach to be the way things are done. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-was-it-common-to-tell-schoolchildren-about-national-tragedies/705365/48 "2014-11-24T16:39:26Z")
Of the events mention in this thread, I was in school only for the JFK assassination. The principal went on the PA system and announced it, but I had already been told by my friend Scott who went home for lunch. I don’t recall it as being overly traumatic. When I got home I asked my father about it, and he explained that the Vice-President would now be President. I can remember gathering around the TV to hear the OJ verdict, but that was at work. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-was-it-common-to-tell-schoolchildren-about-national-tragedies/705365/49 "2014-11-24T16:44:16Z")
> [@Omega\_Glory](#): > > I’m not sure word would have spread amongst the younger kids at all, until the next day. I wouldn’t think it was strange if the school set aside some time to discuss it the next day. It’s the “inform the kids about the upsetting thing right now” that seems odd to me. I would have expected **Left Hand of Dorkness** ’ school’s approach to be the way things are done. Yes, it would have. There is a certain type of person who relishes in being the FIRST! to tell everyone the news. The older children would have told us, as fast as their little legs would have taken them. Anyhoo, some of the teachers were upset, and I still think it’s the best way - gather the children together, tell them the news, and have a safe-ish place for them to deal with it. I was 11, though, so I wasn’t exactly tiny. Old enough to understand death at any rate. ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-was-it-common-to-tell-schoolchildren-about-national-tragedies/705365/50 "2014-11-24T16:55:10Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > Yes, it would have. There is a certain type of person who relishes in being the FIRST! to tell everyone the news. The older children would have told us, as fast as their little legs would have taken them. > > Anyhoo, some of the teachers were upset, and I still think it’s the best way - gather the children together, tell them the news, and have a safe-ish place for them to deal with it. > > I was 11, though, so I wasn’t exactly tiny. Old enough to understand death at any rate. Well, I asked about kids in the 5 to 10 year old range, trying to limit this to kids in the K-4 grades, so in this scenario, you would have been the older child. I guess it comes down to a difference in schools. My area has primary schools, which are separate buildings than the middle and high schools, and there’s no chance for the little ones to come into contact with the older kids. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-was-it-common-to-tell-schoolchildren-about-national-tragedies/705365/51 "2014-11-24T19:23:59Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > Reagan’s shooting (4th or 5th grade) caused a TV to be wheeled into the classroom, which was a first. Since he was okay, I didn’t understand what the big deal was. Now I realize the teachers were all reliving the Kennedy assassination. Jeez, your schools were late with the TV thing. They turned on the TV in our classroom for all of the Mercury launches, from Alan Shepard on. (Yeah, I’m old. ;)) And JFK’s assassination. ---
**Author:** ![KRC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/45deac/32.png) [@KRC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KRC)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-was-it-common-to-tell-schoolchildren-about-national-tragedies/705365/52 "2014-11-24T19:39:38Z")
My sister learned about Lennon’s murder at school from hearing other kids talk. She cried and the other kids teased her by yelling “Bang bang.” No announcement, she came home and asked “Is it true?” and I said it was. My brother had a schoolmate with the surname Chapman. No announcement when Lennon was murdered, but you know how news spreads. The other kids chased him saying “Did your daddy kill Lennon?” ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-was-it-common-to-tell-schoolchildren-about-national-tragedies/705365/53 "2014-11-26T00:47:50Z")
I was in 4th grade when JFK was shot. Principal came over the loudspeaker and turned on the radio for a news broadcast. After about an hour, they got school buses to take us home early, with Friday off. Same school used to have everyone in the auditorium to watch Mercury space launches. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-was-it-common-to-tell-schoolchildren-about-national-tragedies/705365/54 "2014-11-26T02:38:10Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > We didn’t pray, thank goodness, but they wanted us to know because they were in loco parentis and they had an opportunity to prepare us and avoid gossip. I think it’s an excellent idea. If the word had spread the oldfashioned way - and remember no cell phones so no texting - it would have been a major disruption to the day anyway. So why not treat it with respect and maybe take the chance to educate the kiddies on mature ways to respond to national tragedies? > > Anyway, I liked the way they did it. Very well put. IME around here it’s not something that would be done in our schools for just any violent incident or tragic event or major news story, but for something on the stop-the-world level of, well, of a presidential assasination or of 9/11. And yes, there is an important teaching duty to “treat it with respect and maybe take the chance to educate the kiddies on mature ways to respond to national tragedies”. Because it is proper that children should learn these things happen and when they do, how you should approach it with respectful reflection, avoid panic, and maybe button your lip about incendiary things Dad says at home after a couple of drinks. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-was-it-common-to-tell-schoolchildren-about-national-tragedies/705365.md?page=2)