Soccer-style Stampede at School, Hurt Kid

Please, please, please inform the the entire staff of the facts. Tell his teacher, the nurse, the principal, the vice P, the front office staff....Someone needs to contact the speaker and tell him that a child was hurt during that request too. Sounds like the Wal-Mart stampede that killed a worker.

You are not overreacting. You are your child's voice.

EDIT = just remember that children are notoriously poor historians...so just go at it with an open attitude of wanting to collect the facts from who was around, s/o should inform the speaker, etc. Go at it constructively, not like your trying to press charges.

Something like this happened to my daughter in gym class. She was tripped, then trampled on during a routine run. At the time she was a very little 3rd grader and her classmate was not such a little boy. The nurse called me, when I went to get her, SHE suggested I go to the hospital to please make sure my daughter was OK. I did and yes everything was fine , but my daugher did have a CAT scan that afternoon.
So I would ask Why wasn't I called?
Talk to the principal. If you are not satisfied, talk to the superintendant's office. And if your child is still hurting today take him to the pediatrician. He could have been seriously hurt and something could have been missed.

This is totally unacceptable. 1. That it happened. 2. That no adult saw your son being injured. 3. That no adult walked your son out to your car to tell you what happened. I'm outraged just reading this!

I would absolutely file a complaint with the school. They have no business letting a situation like that unfold at their school. Kids have the right to be safe at school and that situation was way out of control.

S.,

You are not overreacting. You should go to the school and ask to talk to the administration (principal) and report exactly what your son told you. It is better for things like this to be discussed in person rather than on the phone or through e-mail. Although it is normally best policy to go to the teacher first in most cases, in this situation, the incident took place outside the teacher's classroom, and it is a bigger, school-wide issue that must be addressed appropriately by the administration.

It could start something like this---"When I picked my son up from school yesterday, he had an ice pack on his head, and when I asked him why, he told me......" Then just report what you stated in your question. Tell the principal, "I'm telling you this because I think it is the responsible thing to do, in order to help ensure that something like this doesn't happen again and that no other child gets seriously hurt." Try to remain emotionally neutral (even though you have every right to be angry and upset) and emphasize your belief in doing the responsible thing by reporting this.

You could also add something like, "I'm wondering what your school policy is regarding supervision during non-classroom activities such as assemblies?" and "how many staff will be supervising non-classroom activities, such as assemblies, in the future?"

Thankfully, your son did not get seriously hurt, and I hope the school will be receptive to what you have to say so that no one gets put in that kind of position in the future.

Best to you and your family,

J. F.

Call the school, or better yet, go in and visit in person. Instead of asking what happened at the assembly, tell the principal and your child's teacher what you have posted here. Keep it factual, not emotional (difficult if your kid has been hurt). Then express your concerns about what this says about the adult supervision at the school and the safety of the children. Then go and thank the nurse for helping your child and ask whether this sort of thing is common at this school.

First, this will make them aware that there was an incident that someone should have prevented, or at least been paying attention to. Second, it lets them know that YOU are paying attention.

Yes, that was very irresponsible on the man giving the assembly's part, his teacher and the administration. There would have been multiple adults witnessing this and none stepped in. I would be throwing a huge stink to the principle about this. I was a cheerleader and we hosted pep rallies all the time. We knew our little contests could get physical and so we were always prepared just in case, with several coaches and teachers ready to step in just in case... and this is coming from a group of cheerleaders. The administrators and teachers definitely failed your son on this one.

I would call up and talk to the school principal. I would tell him your son got hurt at the assembly yesterday, and you were wondering what happened that would cause him to get hurt at an assembly. They need to be made aware of the situation because if your son or another child got hurt worse and they did not know they would be in very big trouble, and also they can make sure that entertainer is not allowed back at the school for an assembly.

At the school I teach at we are required to send home carbon copy incident reports detailing exactly what happened, where, what time, and what the injury was. We are to sign it, give it personally to the parents, if possible, and if we are not able to give it to the parents then to make a follow-up phone call to make sure the parents got the paper.

I would go in personally and talk with the principal to see what happened and what they are going to do about it. Your child or any other child could have been seriously injured and not to have teachers there to break it up or try and control it is a great cause for concern.
the teachers were most likely there, but as to why none of them were there to help your son up needs to be discussed. If it were my son, I would be really upset. Just ask to talk to the principal- let him/her know what it is concerning and then tell what you have posted here- what your son told you and then give her a chance to tell her view. Ask about school policies on softy issues like this and assemblies.
If it is a good school staff that is concerned with the safety of their students, they will be happy that this was brought to their attention and will work with you.
Good luck!
~C.

Wow! I'm so glad your son is ok! I also have a first grader, and can't imagine something like that happening to him. I would go in to the school and talk to the principal tomorrow. Maybe afterwards someone spoke to the man with the money (what was he thinking??!) and maybe the "stampede" was addressed. The nurse obviously had to have heard what happened if she had to get an ice pack, so I would hope it's already been handled. But in case it wasn't, I would bring it to their attention. And for your peace of mind, you will feel better if they can assure you that nothing like this will happen again. Good luck, and let us know what happens!!

I would call no your not overreacting and i would rip alot of hide from the school board down. this could have been deadly and for other kids safety not to mention your own kids safety hides need to be ripped and people need to give answers for their irresponsibility. your good relationship with the school staff has nothing to do with this. this is a major safety issue. you will have more respect from staff after ripping hides. trust me been there done that.

Yes, I would talk to the school. I would set up an meeting with the teacher first. Just tell her that your son got hurt at the assembly and you want to know what happened. I would not go into any more detail. I have a hard time believing an assembly was organized and no teachers or principal were there supervising. I am not saying your son isn't telling the truth, I think he was scared and he is telling you the way that he remembers it.

WEll, that dude was an IDIOT that's for darned sure! I think you should say something at school just so they say something to him so that incident never gets repeated. Actually, I bet it scared that guy. I bet he was ignorant to what was going to happen.... and then there wasnt anything he could do about it when the mob formed rapidly.

I would definitely go in and talk to the school about this. I would want to talk to the nurse and whoever was in charge at this assembly time. Of course you can just come in peace as a concerned parent etc, but they need to realize that when you mix ages you have to be much more careful. I am so glad your son is fine, but yeah, I'd bring it to their attention.

I would talk to the school. I am a teacher and as a teacher I could not imagine this happening and not telling the parent at all...that is just crazy. And if she was not there, then that is a problem too. Just for your sanity sake and to clear up the situation talk to them. It should not ruin your relationship with the school...you are just a concerned parent which you should be! Good luck ::)

Yes, you need to call the school immediately and talk to the principal. I am sure there are two sides to every situation, but this seems like a bad occurance. You need to find out where the adults were and ask fo rsure why no one tried to help your child after the incident. With the problems with bullying in school growing, you need to hold someone accountable for this.

I would certainly say something. Let the principal know you wish to be called if your son is injured, even slightly (unless it's a skinned knee or something). Discuss the assembly because the speaker was an idiot! Find out why they got him and what his point was supposed to be. The school needs to know parents are NOT thrilled!