To try to change that perception of black men, the school janitor, who is black, has made special trips into the classroom to associate with all the children with special treats such as rides on makeshift buggies.Ĭlinging to someone for reassurance-a fellow student or an adult-appears to he one of the more common habits among many pupils since the incident. There was one instance in which a white girl became separated from her classmates during a lunch period and upon seeing a black man, one of the teachers, burst into tears and ran to cling to someone. Some children, particularly white girls, displayed a fear of men in general and particularly black men. There was bed wetting among a few who had not done so before the incident. Some children had a fear of going to school. In the weeks just after the shooting, some parents reported that their children were unable to go to sleep or that some had nightmares. Within a few days the students were moved into a different classroom, painted by the parents and stocked with accessories, including pets, by Mrs. She has graduate degrees in learning disabilities and curriculum develapment. they recruited Emma Jean Tillman, a veteran black teacher in the school system who has been innovative in her approach to teaching. McCaster, who had been at the school for less than three weeks. Danto, a forensic psychiatrist here who specializes in helping people deal with death and drew upon the expertise of their own social worker and psychologist. To help the parents and children, he and his staff called in Bruce L. Hauck said, recalling the first meeting that school officials held with parents several days after the shooting on Nov. assuming that the kids would erase this from their minds, but the majority wanted to do something,” Mr. “Some parents didn't want to do anything. Burt is an integrated school in a mostly working‐class community of whites and blacks. This is the district in northwest Detroit in which Burt Elementary School, where the incident occurred, is situated. Hauck, superintendent of region 4 of the Detroit public schools. “We told them that we didn't have all the answers,” said John F. And because of that, no one had solid answers as to how school officals, the pupils and their families might handle the fears and anxieties generated by death under such circumstances. And this has caused those involved to agonize over whether they have dealt properly with the impact on children of violent death.įor the pupils it Was a trauma that few people ever have to face at any age. But there still are some signs of permament scars, distrust of the school and hostility toward black men (the assailant and victim were black). Today, three months later, most of the children have returned to normal lives.
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