Civilization ends, postscript: Third-grader on classmates’ plot to kill teacher
posted at 6:18 pm on April 7, 2008 by Allahpundit
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Nothing to worry about. They were just going to throw pies at her — which is why they needed the duct tape and enormous knife. Sample quote from the accompanying article: “One would cover up the window, while another would clean up the mess.”
Number of 8-10-year-olds charged with assault: Three. Click the image to watch.
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Holy. Crap.
Of course, silly. The duct tape was to cover the windows while the knife was to cut and enjoy the pies later.
amerpundit on April 7, 2008 at 6:22 PM
Just another bunch of victims of society no doubt.
TooTall on April 7, 2008 at 6:25 PM
Typical white people.
lorien1973 on April 7, 2008 at 6:26 PM
Hmmm… anyone know who her pastor is? Maybe this is should be considered a hate crime if the teacher is white? I dunno. the look on that kid’s face from your screencap – that’s cold, baby.
Fishoutofwater on April 7, 2008 at 6:26 PM
I couldn’t make it through that interview it got on my nerves. But were there any pies confiscated?
TDBURN on April 7, 2008 at 6:34 PM
That “grandmother” sitting next to the perp on the pic at the link has a 5 o’clock shadow that puts Nixon to shame.
Guess if granny is a tranny, that might ’splain sum.
Joe Mama on April 7, 2008 at 6:35 PM
God, listen to that little creep recite her lines.
Yeah, and ten years from now she would be the girl who took part in the Knoxville killing of that couple.
I repeat: Start cracking down on kids. If they have adult motives in mind, and adult crimes they want to do, they can do adult time.
MadisonConservative on April 7, 2008 at 6:38 PM
I thought the kid looked as smug and indignant as her grandmother. I don’t think the school over reacted. If something happened to that teacher we would rightfully say “Who was monitoring these kids?”. Instead, the school administrators did their job. Well done.
Claypigeon on April 7, 2008 at 6:38 PM
I’ve been around schools for many years. Believe me when I say that many teachers and admins are bullies. And it’s the word of the child against the adult.
And I know that some adimns enable student bullies.
For this reason, and many, many more, we need vouchers.
davidk on April 7, 2008 at 6:38 PM
I thought the kid looked as smug and indignant as her grandmother. I don’t think the school over reacted. If something happened to that teacher we would rightfully say “Who was monitoring these kids?”. Instead, the school administrators did their job. Well done.
Claypigeon on April 7, 2008 at 6:38 PM
Notice the lawyer saying there has to be something more to this then what has been said to make 9 kids want to plan something like this…throwing out the race card and labeling the teacher a white racist in 3…2…1
Liberty or Death on April 7, 2008 at 6:38 PM
Have any of these kids watched Lord of the Flies
while engaging in heavy drinking of Koolaid?
How about,have any of these kids watched Redacted
or Stop Loss,without heavy Koolaid drinking!
This one I’m going to tread ever so carefuly,have any
of these kids gone to a certain Church,or listen to a
certain sermon from a certain preacher,or listen to a
certain recordering of certain speach by a certain
preacher!I think I Kabuki danced this one!
canopfor on April 7, 2008 at 6:40 PM
This sort of thing just doesn’t surprise me any more. I almost expect it.
LimeyGeek on April 7, 2008 at 6:41 PM
Well kids aren’t rich and pies aren’t cheap. Maybe the knife was to cut up the pies and throw “pieces” of pie to make the endurance of the prank worth while. /s
Lucky for the teacher the kids weren’t slaves of Allah.
BL@KBIRD on April 7, 2008 at 6:41 PM
This is all over a chair,and she had pants-pulling up
issues!
Mark my words,the Peace Moonbat Thugs have found a new
cheerleader,I can see the nutcase’s on this one,the childs
parent is in Kuwait,and wait for it————–oh the
War has caused her child to snap!
Just a theory,election cycle and all,the Peace moonbats
are desperate!
canopfor on April 7, 2008 at 6:50 PM
The girl on the video was not accused of anything except failing to report the alleged crime before it was to take place. That girl apparently is being treated the same as the other kids. Yet if the girl only failed to report, she should be given an easier time.
I agree though that third graders who do this should receive very serious penalties, maybe even time in a detention center.
indythinker on April 7, 2008 at 6:55 PM
I’m impressed you were able to decipher the mutilated jibberish she struggled to enunciate.
What an appalling state of affairs. Disgraceful.
LimeyGeek on April 7, 2008 at 6:56 PM
Hey Mon, don’t take this as an insult but you do realize it’s a long way from Waycross Georgia to Chicago don’t you? Doubt that little girl had ever heard of…that preacher…but ya never know.
Oldnuke on April 7, 2008 at 7:00 PM
only a parent can instill in the mind of a child true right and wrong. in this case, a lack of said training led directly to 10 year olds simply lacking any sense of decency.
the question I would like to see asks goes like this, “What if they had actually succeeded?” In my hometown two high school freshman girls (13-14 years old) actually assaulted a pregnant teacher with a hammer. Children, as I said earlier, NEED a parent to instill in them right and wrong. If they do not, as was the case with the highschoolers in my city and these children here, they decide that hammers and steak knives are the proper tools to deal with their emotions.
but alas, as an academic guest on a television show I work on stated today, plans are being drawn to build a working majority around the idea that the STATE, not the family, needs to educate a child from 0-3 years old. our classrooms cannot churn out high schoolers that can identify iraq on a map with any consistency, but they need to be watching over our infants during their most important developmental years.
this is insanity
ernesto on April 7, 2008 at 7:03 PM
She’ll be doing a guest sermon at the Obama church of choice.
SouthernGent on April 7, 2008 at 7:07 PM
I’m impressed..
LimeyGeek on April7,2008 at 6:56PM.
LimeyGeek: I’m hooked on Ebonics,actually I have a
Liberal DE-Speak-alator!Haha
canopfor on April 7, 2008 at 7:12 PM
Government schools. How far we have come.
JellyToast on April 7, 2008 at 7:13 PM
Why in the hell did the lawyer say the parents were waiting for the school to tell them why their kids were so angry?
Shouldn’t the PARENTS be finding that out?
And the grandma is a liar pure and simple.
They were gonna throw pies?
What bullshit! Any pies found? No, I guess they were going to bake them or something and just didn’t have time.
Those kids are criminals and I hope they get some serious punishment or they will actually carry through on this type of plan when they get a little older.
Where is the girls dad? MIA as usual.
http://armyaunt.johnmccain.com/
ArmyAunt on April 7, 2008 at 7:16 PM
Hey mon,..
Oldnuke on April 7,2008 at 7:00PM
Oldnuke: My grand conspiracy Kaball rest’s on
the little tike obtaining the DVD’s
from a certain source,wink wink!
canopfor on April 7, 2008 at 7:16 PM
Out: indiscriminate shooting sprees by one or two high school/college age crazy students
In: hostage-taking/torture/murder by nine 9-year-old crazy students
Given all of the horrid public-school-related news stories (shooting sprees, teacher molestation/rape/pregnancy, blind-eyes turned to student abuse), sending your child to an American public school is playing Russian roulette with not only their educations and futures, but their very lives.
I went to public school from kindergarten to high school graduation in a middle-class rural/suburban area, and I refuse to subject my future children to a system dedicated to quashing the inquisitive soul of a child and replacing it with intellectually-destructive mediocrity. I don’t care how much it strains our time and/or our bank account, my children will be educated either in a private school or at home.
Harpazo on April 7, 2008 at 7:17 PM
Gee…Can you imagine the press if this were somewhere up north and 10 white kids were charged?! Anyway…what was the name of Fred Sanford’s evil sister in law? Immediate thoughts as I listened to the grandmother.
trader67 on April 7, 2008 at 7:17 PM
Hey, it’s a Jeremiah Wright kinda world now. I’m curious as to what the body language expert would have to say about all the eye rolling…
Zorro on April 7, 2008 at 7:19 PM
I detest public schools. They have become overrun with political correctness, leftist ideology and fear. My 12 year-old came home pontificating the greatness of “allah” last year and when I asked her if she was being informed of the other side of Islam she looked at me said I was being racist. Needless to say she does not go there anymore.
My experience in public schools consisted of dodging bullies in between cultural awareness assemblies, over crowded classrooms and hippy teachers. (California)
My kids are in private schools now and supplement their education here at home as well. I refuse to let my children become products of the liberal madrassas.
Claypigeon on April 7, 2008 at 7:35 PM
HATE CRIME!
Mo2Do on April 7, 2008 at 7:43 PM
Do doubt these are graduates of Rev Wright’s distance learning Bible school.
Hening on April 7, 2008 at 7:44 PM
More than 20 years ago I read a quote from a Toledo (ohio) judge who said (more or less):
. . .he recognized the accused, a 16 year old girl, as she had been in his court room previously, on other charges. He also noticed the girl’s mother was in the court room. He recognized the mother as having been in his court room numerous times, and he also recognized the girl’s grandmother for the same reason. The judge then concluded that if Toledo could just, somehow, convince about ten families to move somewhere else, the crime rate in Toledo would drop 90%.
rockhauler on April 7, 2008 at 7:49 PM
…..and it goes back to Bush and Iraq. (I knew it)
This is an A B student. That stands for ABnormal.
Hening on April 7, 2008 at 7:50 PM
All of the comments I’ve read are valid. These kids are future sociopaths.
Isn’t it funny how after VaTech, everyone went nuts because the killer had a “history” of odd behavior and of making threats… and no one did anything about it?
Well, here we have an example of the school actually doing something about it, and the left is saying that the school is overreacting and implying that the “whole story” hasn’t been told.
Uh, huh. They always want it both ways. They screamed and screamed about Bush having his head in the sand with respect to 9-11, but now they want all the terrorists who were caught ahead of time set free.
This is why our world is so freakin’ crazy. The left ALWAYS screws things up.
Gartrip on April 7, 2008 at 7:57 PM
Grandma’s doing a bang up job.
yo on April 7, 2008 at 8:03 PM
To this day, I am convinced that Kennedy got it wrong!
OldEnglish on April 7, 2008 at 8:31 PM
But what ever you do, don’t give the parents of the other children school vouchers……….
Seven Percent Solution on April 7, 2008 at 8:49 PM
That kid was lying through her teeth. She was coached–heavily. Watch her make that face when she looks at her lawyer and then smiles before she answers a question.
Grandma has that spaced out look because she sees dollar signs in her future.
Pies my a**.
Guardian on April 7, 2008 at 8:58 PM
Malcolm in the Middle goes reality.
These little buggers need a scarier teacher.
profitsbeard on April 7, 2008 at 9:00 PM
This is exactly why we should have Pie Control.
bloggless on April 7, 2008 at 9:12 PM
Not my child. . .Not my child. I’ve heard that more
than I care to recall. Send the parents and the little
sods to gitmo.
Where is principle Joe Clark when you need him. . . .
http://www.asama.org/news/2006/07/10/clark.asp
Texyank on April 7, 2008 at 9:16 PM
Oh for the days when teachers had a ruler for more than just measurement. Not that I lived back then, just saying, it must have been nice.
Grayson on April 7, 2008 at 9:17 PM
I think the little African-American child is just too precious for words and that the teacher is obviously at fault and should be permanently banned from the teaching profession and perhaps brought up on some sort of racial harrassment charge.
argos on April 7, 2008 at 9:45 PM
It’s easy to blame the little girl or her parents but let’s not overlook the real culprit of this unbelievable scenario. Every person in that little girls life that leads her to believe that she is a victim, every influence in her life that guides her to reject personal responsibility, every negligent person in her life that missed the opportunity to teach her that character matters, every one of us that allows this kind of child abuse to fester and grow in the country is to blame. Period.
Claypigeon on April 7, 2008 at 10:13 PM
Good Morning America should not have had the kid on the show. Kids do not need to think that if they do something wrong they’re going to get their 15 minutes of fame.
What’s wrong with the grandmother? IMO the kid should have been spanked, and she had to keep up with her class by doing her schoolwork at home. The grandmother should also have figured out some form of discipline, such as extra work in some capacity, to drive the point home.
After looking at the weapons on the video this grandmother should be hoping that she doesn’t get sued.
INC on April 7, 2008 at 10:13 PM
Okay I got a question. Mom is deployed, child is living with grandmother, where is the father?
Just A Grunt on April 7, 2008 at 10:14 PM
There’s got to be more to this than is being reported. Some children though, no matter what their age, have real potential to cause harm to others and often they are leaders that can influence others. Something none of us likes to hear, but is never the less true.
jeanie on April 7, 2008 at 10:16 PM
The real culprit? Your words set the girl up as a victim of society’s influence. Society has an influence, but the name of the game is taking responsibility for what you do. The school sounds as if they’re trying to drive that point home.
The little girl choose to do as she did.
Her mom/grandmother chose to make the decisions they did.
Society has a role, but society is made up of individuals. The individuals closest to this girl are the ones who bear the heaviest responsibility.
INC on April 7, 2008 at 10:18 PM
Good question. You just have seen a real life consequence of a fatherless family.
INC on April 7, 2008 at 10:19 PM
That lawyer is gearing up to accuse the teacher of causing this entire incident. I taught for 17 years. I had a little darling call me a liar and when I excused him from class and let the assistant principal take care of him, his mother asked to have a conference with me. She wanted to know what I did to make her son act the way he did. I left teaching that year and have never wanted to return.
This teacher will get the same treatment. Wait for it. She will become the villian and the innocent little third graders will become the victims of her evil plot to deprive them of their freedom of expression.
Public schools are broken and many parents take no responsibility for their children.
armygirl on April 7, 2008 at 10:24 PM
Obviously you missed the point. Her parents and guardians are primarily guilty, but it does not stop there. To say society’s role in this does not matter is 100% wrong. Our society tolerates, accepts and even condones things like abortion, drug crimes, gangs, deviant behavior etc. (See Jerry Springer) And let’s not mention the fact that we conservatives are so impotent when it comes to standing up to douchebags like Shartpton, Jackson and the like for FEAR of being called a racist or worse. We call them out on forums and blogs but we do nothing about the havoc they have caused. To our shame, the fact is that we do accept these things in our society. Personal responsibility starts with the parents for sure however when the parent fails, (like in this girls’ case) having a society that allows this kind of thing to happen has to share some of the blame for doing nothing or not enough to prevent it.
Claypigeon on April 7, 2008 at 10:50 PM
BTW, if society has no role in this then why do we care about abortion, the high rate of single parents, crime, drugs and to a much lesser extent the Jerry Springer show?
We should do nothing then… We’ll just lock them up as we go.
*Wait* we do that now. We’ve done nothing and we’re all out of ideas.
Claypigeon on April 7, 2008 at 10:57 PM
This entire video is full of contradictions.
First Tmanni says that she didn’t have any idea of what the other kids were going to do to the teacher. Then she says that the kids had no intention of hurting the teacher and were just going to throw pies at her…..she starts giving details about how the knife was just there so they could cut the tape, etc….
So, which is it? Did she not know anything? Or did she know the details, but it was just about throwing pies? Or she knew the details and it was about stabbing the teacher?
Also, everyone kept saying it was just about throwing pies at the teacher (though, it doesn’t look like the cops retrieved any pies in what they siezed from the kids). And yet, the lawyer later says, “What I want to know is what the teacher did to get 9 kids angry enough to hurt her.”
Aside from the fact that they are pulling the old “blame the victim” idiocy….what’s the truth? Did the kids just want to throw some pies or were they angry enough to hurt the teacher?
JadeNYU on April 7, 2008 at 11:08 PM
There is no such thing as “society”. We are each responsible for our own life and actions. No group (society) has any natural right to impose itself on others.
In the case of a minor, responsibility rests solely with its guardians – period!
OldEnglish on April 7, 2008 at 11:09 PM
I wonder if it would be of benefit to this child if someone were to teach her English. Does anyone think that learning to speak, read and write English would help her assimilate into American society and be productive?
It seems like an interesting question to me, and this question might also give us insight into other important and controversial stories in the news recently.
Jaibones on April 7, 2008 at 11:19 PM
Sorry but that’s nonsense.
so·ci·e·ty:
An organized group of persons associated together for religious, benevolent, cultural, scientific, political, patriotic, or other purposes.
That’s like saying these things do not exist. Dime-store philosophy aside, your theory or statement only works if you are on an island. The fact is that when a parent fails, WE (our society) have the right to impose rules on others in the form of laws to protect ourselves. BTW, don’t misrepresent my position. I am saying that her guardians are squarely to blame but when they make the decision to fail their child, We (our society) does not have to merely accept it.
Claypigeon on April 7, 2008 at 11:30 PM
Typically in a pack mentality there is one who directs all the others. This is accomplished mainly through fear and intimidation. I believe we will find that the student with the multiple assault charges aggressively motivated the other students to follow. And as far as not telling authorities, this is what child molesters’ have thrived upon since the beginning of time. This is especially true with the absence of a strong male figure in their lives.
Perhaps they were going to put the knife and paper weight in the pie. You know, like in jail.
Zaire67 on April 7, 2008 at 11:36 PM
Hear hear.
My father would have kicked my a$$ if I did something like this. What did her grandmother do? Hired a lawyer. Pathetic.
Claypigeon on April 7, 2008 at 11:42 PM
As defined, no nation can be one society. All are made up of disparate groups, each vying for dominance over the others. As for laws to protect against wrongdoing, they are the result of a prior action – not to take the place of those who should have prevented it in the first place.
Many people like to think of themselves as belonging to some group or other, and in leu of a specific group, they use the term “society” to include all others into their idea as to what should be main-stream. This is presumptuous. However, all people have the right to not be subjected to the failures of others – hence The Law.
OldEnglish on April 7, 2008 at 11:48 PM
Keeping in mind that eight-year-olds are suspended for drawing pictures of guns and six-year-olds have the cops called on them for touching a girl, what kind of question is “was this an overreaction?” No, dear, it was an underreaction.
BTW, um, did anyone else notice that little girl’s horrendous English? She might’ve just been nervous, but I couldn’t listen to it.
amkun on April 8, 2008 at 12:01 AM
JadeNYU on April 7, 2008 at 11:08 PM
The unplanned results, of the good intentions of welfare.
Johan Klaus on April 8, 2008 at 12:04 AM
The Great Fatherless Society strikes again.
baldilocks on April 8, 2008 at 12:36 AM
Sorry Old-E but I disagree.
By default, America is a society and if you are born here you are indeed a part of it unless you choose to reject it. Also, the existence of sub-societies or groups does not exclude the existence of a larger one. (I.e. American society) The general public via organizations such as law enforcement and the legal systems creates, enforces and lives by rules established to shape the society in which they wish to live.
I reject your premise that laws are the result of prior actions and therefore not the responsibility of those who should have prevented a crime in the first place. There are many laws that make those who fail to avert a crime culpable. (Examples: causing an accident and leaving the scene, child neglect, those obligated to prevent a crime etc.)
Getting back to the point, this issue is about a major shift in American society from an internal locus of control to an external locus of control.
I’ll give you the last word… ;-)
Claypigeon on April 8, 2008 at 12:48 AM
“Well from I understand, this was just a prank. They were just gonna throw pies at the teacher.”
Oh, That makes the story all better
Patriot811 on April 8, 2008 at 1:02 AM
Wow… ya’ll drilled almost every thought I had while viewing the clip.
-Where is the father?
-Why is the skool the one to answer up regarding what went wrong with these little angels?
-God forbid the parents get involved. That might imply they are responsible in some way.
-She knew nothing regarding the details of the plot, but then knew everything about the invisible pies?
-The facial expressions… OMG!
-And I won’t even touch the language barrier. Oh, wait…
What was up with the fawning attitude of the interviewer? She said “Thank you” enough times to satisfy someone who just saved her life. Like the little angel was being so brave to come forward with her victim tale. She was almost being treated as some kind of hero. Or Martyr. I guess she (the interviewer) was being nice just in case she would need to interview her again in the future following another attack of victimhood. Just like they do with scumbag lying politicians who they “need” for future shows. “Thank you for doing our show Sen. Scumbag, please come see us again.” “Oh, I will. I love answering your fawning softball questions. It’s not like I’m under oath or anything.”
And, what’s up with “everyone” having a lawyer on speed dial? Or, do some people just automatically have lawyers line up at their door when their children are involved in hiding a potential crime? The day I need to look out my front door and hope to see a queue of lawyers for my child is the day I know I failed as a parent.
Ugg…
TheCulturalist on April 8, 2008 at 1:05 AM
Pretty strange story, and I’m sure the investigation will draw clearer conclusions than have been offered here, and yes, eight year olds planning an assault with weapons or cream pies is way out there, but I don’t see this little girl as the evasive sneering criminal mastermind that some of my fellow commenters have suggested. And I imagine she is nervous and uncomfortable.
But goodness gracious, lots of highly negative assumptions being made here: welfare? The child’s mother is in or near a war-zone serving in the US military, welfare is not an issue here. If you want to slam Grandma for presumed welfare dependency, then give kudos to her daughter for rising above that. Oh, and some women of color have uneven skin tone that apparently begs less than gentlemanly types to sneer about five o’clock shadow, but what do you want the lady to do about it, pull a Michael Jackson?
I am far more uncomfortable reading many of the comments on this thread than I was listening to the child’s speech.
Maquis on April 8, 2008 at 1:16 AM
Strange? Insightful word choice.
I’m sure more investigation will follow, what with national attention being paid to it. However, conclusions seem to have already been drawn, what with the penalties and all…
ya think?
You could be right. Perhaps you are far more insightful. To me she appeared less nervous and uncomfortable and more coached and full of “self esteem”.
Now you might be on to something here. I feel the same way regarding the mother. However, the comments weren’t about these people being on welfare, but rather what the welfare state has done to the culture. The acceptance, if not actual elevation, of the fatherless, single mom (dare I say it? Murphy Brown) household.
Gotta admit, I didn’t quite get that one either.
That would make sense, given your earlier comments. I was raised by parents who cared about my ability to communicate in English. Perhaps that should be expected of more people? Unless you feel that high standards shouldn’t apply to certain groups of people? I feel that people rise to the level of expectation. Or, conversely, sink…
TheCulturalist on April 8, 2008 at 1:56 AM
Flav va Flayv.
2Tru2Tru on April 8, 2008 at 2:26 AM
I’m all for high standards myself. Unfortunately, as you’ve rightly alluded, not all groups are equally challenged in that regard, and public schools don’t seem to be high on the list of those with the courage to do so. (Perhaps we have discovered the overarching grievance of the eight year olds in question? ;)
True, the investigation must have reached some level of certitude of the children’s individual culpability; but that would speak to me that the school has already assessed this child’s role as minimal, and the harshness I perceived in the comments to be then not quite fully warranted. (Yes, I accept that those were my own perceptions)
I don’t claim to have special insight, we all have our perspectives hard-earned in one way or another. My own children (two young step-children, one infant) don’t speak much English yet, but I am indeed looking forwards to teaching it to them. We have three primary languages in our family, so I guess I’m not a stranger to communication struggles, and maybe that’s influenced my response.
There is a broad disparity of cultural expectations in our country regarding things both educational and moral, that I don’t think many are willing to address. I certainly would like to see schools step up to that plate, but as has been noted here, families come first in that role. I agree on the problems that our culture suffers due to the defining down of destructive behaviors and such, just hard for me to see a little girl at the receiving end of such ire.
Maquis on April 8, 2008 at 2:39 AM
I think I’ve got you there, Claypigeon. First your mention of American society seems to assume that all people living in America share the same view about the “American Way”. They don’t. Witness the existence of the Democrats :)
Second, the laws you mentioned above were instituted after it became necessary to do something to prevent prior activity.
As St. Paul said:- the law is made for the lawless.
OldEnglish on April 8, 2008 at 3:15 AM
Grandmother?
Where is her mother?
*****************
This is not the first time, but it is annoying how on every interview the attorney is on camera with the interviewee.
Of course, if he or she was a decent attorney, the attorney would advise the individual to stay off television because the individual might say something incriminating.
slp on April 8, 2008 at 8:52 AM
Although, I think the school may have overreacted by calling in the law, it seems they merited some punishment. The article as usual is poorly written. Were the knives confiscated at school? I’m not sure. Once the law is broken it’s pretty much out of administrators hands. To protect themselves from lawsuits they must follow the district guidelines.
roux on April 8, 2008 at 9:52 AM
Johnny can’t read ’cause LaMont can’t sit still and pay attention. Keep pouring money into a hopeless cause. School vouchers are the answer for children of all races. If school was a priviledge, maybe kids would take it seriously.
adamsmith on April 8, 2008 at 10:12 AM
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