Worst Disney surprise ever!!

[Cynt]

IT WAS A JOKE! And I hate to say it but kids pull worse jokes on each other.

I could see if they built the trip up over two or three weeks or days and they started collecting deposits and sent the info home. However it was in one setting probably w/in 30-60 minutes and it was over. Kids now a days are just drama kings and queens.

I'm sure the 80-20 rule applies to this. 80% of the kids probably never believed it anyway and shrugged it off and walked out cracking up. While the other 20% went crying home to mom and dad w/ disappointment. Instead of mom and dad shrugging it off and telling the kids it's no big deal, get over it, they made it a big deal and kept feeding into the kids disappointment. My dad would have said girl you know the school can't afford to pay for that. Use your brain and think thru what they're saying - if it sounds to good to be true then it probably isn't true.

 

[Reddog1134]

This reminds me of "Deep Thoughts by Jack Handy" from Saturday Night Live.

"One thing kids like is to be tricked. For instance, I was going to take my nephew to Disneyland, but instead I drove him to an old burned-out warehouse. 'Oh no,' I said, 'Disneyland burned down.' "He cried and cried, but I think that deep down he thought it was a pretty good joke. 'I started to drive over to the real Disneyland, but it was getting pretty late."

 

[RedHeadedFairy]

This reminds me of "Deep Thoughts by Jack Handy" from Saturday Night Live.

"One thing kids like is to be tricked. For instance, I was going to take my nephew to Disneyland, but instead I drove him to an old burned-out warehouse. 'Oh no,' I said, 'Disneyland burned down.' "He cried and cried, but I think that deep down he thought it was a pretty good joke. 'I started to drive over to the real Disneyland, but it was getting pretty late."

 

[grimley1968]

I hate jokes that are based on laughing at someone for having a normal reaction to a situation. It's cruel and makes no sense.

Bingo! I totally agree.

An appropriate "teachable moment" in the case of the one student who peeked at the teacher's desk would have been to pull that one student aside and explain that that is not appropriate behavior. If that student spread rumors based on misinformation from peeking, then stop the rumors with an announcement. There was no need to pull this stunt on other students who did nothing wrong.

Getting the kids worked up with a slide show about going to WDW (saying the flights were "super-cheap" perpetuated the prank when one of the students expressed skepticism) and then pulling the rug out from under them is cruel, IMO.

I have a girl getting ready to enter 8th grade in the fall. She and her peers may act "too cool for school" and dismissively talk about how they're not interested in WDW, but she's pretty gleeful about our upcoming trip in the fall. I can't imagine how hurt those kids must have been.

Any teacher in on this prank should be fired, IMO. Not only was this single act cruel, but I wouldn't trust my kids to be under their care each day from here on. If you can't trust a teacher's judgment in such a simple matter as this, it's hard to imagine trusting that teacher in other situations. I wouldn't be all that happy with the principal either, if my kids were going to that school. Sure, the principal can't stop their teachers from doing a single stupid thing, but I'd be curious as to how much other garbage goes on with those teachers that the principal DID know about.

Unfortunately, all those students learned was how cruel and insensitive people they had trusted could be. Shame on those teachers who were in on the prank.

Editing to add: I was promised a car for my 16th birthday. I got a toy Porsche. I don't believe that was cruel in the way this prank was cruel because I had no reason to truly believe I was getting a car (my two older siblings also did not get cars on their 16th birthdays, we weren't exactly a rich family and I was 16 not 13-14), but lots of schools do take kids to Disney for year-end trips (though around here it's more likely to be a trip to King's Island). It was not unreasonable for those kids to get their hopes up, IMO.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

I am willing to bet the teachers involved were probably rather new.

 

[Maleficent Dragon]

ha ha thats hilarious.wish I could have been a fly on the wall to see this


Posted from DISboards.com App for Android

Maybe you don't have a be a fly. Maybe somebody will play the same joke on you some day.

 

[Maleficent Dragon]

anyone else remeber the Brady Bunch episode where Peter is snooping on everyone. the other kids decide to teach him a lesson and make sure he overheard them that there was to be a big surprise party for him.

the parents thought the lesson was mean, so they surprised the other kids by realy having a surprise party.

boy am I showing my age!

This episode was on a few weeks ago during a Brady Bunch marathon.

 

[superdisneydork]

I think this is hilarious.

It's a joke, I'm sure the kids are over it, except the ones being hyped up by over coddling parents. I would have thought this was hilarious if my teachers did it to me, and I would still be laughing about it a decade later. I am sure the kids got over this disappointment in the time it took to tweet it to everyone, and I'm sure many of them are never going to forgot the time their teachers pranked them.

I mean, really, it's not cruel, they didn't tell them something horrible, they didn't scare them, they teased them, and I think this whole thing is getting blown wildly out of proportion. My teachers had done much worse to us in the past, and we were no angels in return!

This is the same generation that is taught they need to have their cell phone on 24/7 in case of emergencies, that can't watch violent cartoons or ever say anything that might offend someone somewhere. Every little thing is celebrated and every little disappointment is cushioned, which is why, shockingly enough, kids take these things hard at all. It's silly.

When I was going in to 7th grade my parents surprised me with a trip to Disney World, only they hid the envelope with the tickets well out of my reach and told me I couldn't go because I wasn't tall enough to get it. Took hours before I finally managed to clamber up enough pieces of furniture to reach it, and they cracked up. Was it embarrassing? Yeah a little. Did I really care? Nope, I laughed, and I laughed about it when telling my younger cousins the story last week, and I'll laugh about it again later. It's fun, when did everyone get to be so afraid of fun?

People need to be cry less and laugh more in general.

Matt

 

[kymom99]

IT WAS A JOKE! And I hate to say it but kids pull worse jokes on each other.

I could see if they built the trip up over two or three weeks or days and they started collecting deposits and sent the info home. However it was in one setting probably w/in 30-60 minutes and it was over. Kids now a days are just drama kings and queens.

I'm sure the 80-20 rule applies to this. 80% of the kids probably never believed it anyway and shrugged it off and walked out cracking up. While the other 20% went crying home to mom and dad w/ disappointment. Instead of mom and dad shrugging it off and telling the kids it's no big deal, get over it, they made it a big deal and kept feeding into the kids disappointment. My dad would have said girl you know the school can't afford to pay for that. Use your brain and think thru what they're saying - if it sounds to good to be true then it probably isn't true.

Schools don't pay for field trips, parents do. At least that is the case where I come from. My son is going on a pretty nice trip this week with his 8th grade class. they raised all the money themselves and had some left over. Had they come up short, the parents would have paid the difference.

Also, I have to throw this in: my son graduates from 8th grade in 2 weeks. He has received a scholarship to help pay for high school. He had to take an entrance exam as well as a test to get into honors algebra. The transition from a K-8 catholic school to high school is a VERY big deal. No reason why it should not be celebrated as such.

 

[ttintagel]

Does anybody seriously think that the fact that it was a joke somehow magically makes any behavior OK?

 

[superdisneydork]

Does anybody seriously think that the fact that it was a joke somehow magically makes any behavior OK?

No, of course not, there is a laundry list of horrible, horrible things that aren't OK if they're done as jokes. This just isn't one of them. Seriously, what was cruel about this? It's not as if they're 1st graders that don't know any better, by 8th grade your child should be able to take a joke.

Matt

 

[Rhongepooh]

This reminds me of "Deep Thoughts by Jack Handy" from Saturday Night Live.

"One thing kids like is to be tricked. For instance, I was going to take my nephew to Disneyland, but instead I drove him to an old burned-out warehouse. 'Oh no,' I said, 'Disneyland burned down.' "He cried and cried, but I think that deep down he thought it was a pretty good joke. 'I started to drive over to the real Disneyland, but it was getting pretty late."

Oh my I almost peed on myself that was so funny!

 

[ttintagel]

No, of course not, there is a laundry list of horrible, horrible things that aren't OK if they're done as jokes. This just isn't one of them. Seriously, what was cruel about this? It's not as if they're 1st graders that don't know any better, by 8th grade your child should be able to take a joke.

Matt

I'm a grown-*** woman, and if you told me I was getting a trip to Disney World and then said, "Ha ha, just kidding," it would be just as cruel as if you did it to an eighth grader or a first grader. The age of the victim doesn't change the meanness of the prank. It's not about "taking it." It's about the a-holes dishing it out.

 

[superdisneydork]

I'm a grown-*** woman, and if you told me I was getting a trip to Disney World and then said, "Ha ha, just kidding," it would be just as cruel as if you did it to an eighth grader or a first grader. The age of the victim doesn't change the meanness of the prank. It's not about "taking it." It's about the a-holes dishing it out.

The age of the "victim" (really? we're using the word victim?) absolutely changes things. A first grader will not have the understanding or life experience an 8th grader has, and certainly not what a fully grown adult would have. People learn and grow as they get older, otherwise there would be no need for movies to be restricted based on age/maturity, nor driving licenses or anything else that is age restricted.

I am not traumatized by the jokes played on me by family, friends or teachers. My family let me get some scrapes on my knees, physical and otherwise and I'm stronger, wiser and overall happier for it. I'm sorry you feel as if such a joke would be cruel towards you, but I'm an adult and I'd laugh at it, I'd probably also plot some good natured revenge and rankle my "tormentor"s feathers with a prank or two of my own. After that I'll move on with my life, because it's just silly to get so offended about a joke.

Matt

 

[JoWiJo]

I could see the teachers leaving info about Disney in their desks, letting the snoop find the stuff and jump to their own conclusions, then deny everything when pressed by the student body -- leaving the snoop looking like a fool.

But this punitive prank was over the top -- particularly when they made the students a spectacle. I don't think they deserved to be fired over this act alone, but they do need more than a reprimand.

Wouldn't it be funny if the teachers had to pay to send all these kids to WDW? Maybe the school board pays and then docks the teachers pay checks for the next couple of years? It would never happen of course but it would be just.

The trip wasn't to be for free, so I don't think they should pay for a full vacation for 60 students. Especially for the kid that was looking into the desks in the first place. What lesson would all the kids learn from that? Do something a little naughty because you might get a big reward if the authority figures mess up?

-Hey Johnny, you were just caught going through your teacher's desk! What are you going to do now?
-I'm going to Disney World!

No, the trouble-making student doesn't deserve a free trip to WDW, despite the prank (as wrong as it was). I would counter your suggestion with the idea that the other 59 get the promised discounts, with the difference in actual cost from the teachers' salaries. Let the other kid stay behind. But we know how the world works. Send 59/60 students to Disney World on the cheap, and one or more parents will pity the one to be left behind and pay the full price so they can go too. So in the end, that kid still gets rewarded.

I understand all the empathy about sending the kids to the Happiest Place on Earth, but that may not be the best solution to the problem. That may be an overreaction to another overreaction.

Just the same, I'm guessing one or more families decide on their own to reschedule their summer plans for a trip to Disney because of this.


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Bonnie Stewart, mother of twins who attend Grade 8 at Roseland, came home at 5 p.m. Friday to find both her kids already in their beds. She woke her son, who told her everything.

A little off topic, but it's in the article. I have to ask, is 8th grade in Canada the same thing as 8th in the U.S.? I know that some countries count down, meaning you'd graduate after completing grade 1 instead of 12. I have to ask because it sounds odd for two 8th graders to be in bed at that time of day. Just curious.

 

[AndiSlamberg]

8th Graders are 13ish just before starting high school. The kid was probably in bed because he was super depressed about the prank.

 

[FigmentChick]

This was a horrible "prank" to play. I don't know what a proper solution would be, but I do think the teachers have to do more than "own" their mistake.

 

[LSpell619]

A little off topic, but it's in the article. I have to ask, is 8th grade in Canada the same thing as 8th in the U.S.? I know that some countries count down, meaning you'd graduate after completing grade 1 instead of 12. I have to ask because it sounds odd for two 8th graders to be in bed at that time of day. Just curious.

I think they were in bed because they were upset. I remember when we were younger my brother used to go to bed when he got home after having really bad days at school.

 

[jaykorf001]

I'm not sure which is worse--lying to 8th graders that they're going to Disney World or telling them they're "graduating".

I graduated from the 8th grade. Ceremony with a valedictorian and everything. I think that part may be fairly common and true. The prank, however, was ill-advised.

 

[kymom99]

I graduated from the 8th grade. Ceremony with a valedictorian and everything. I think that part may be fairly common and true. The prank, however, was ill-advised.

I also graduated from 8th grade, and that was 34 years ago. So not exactly surprising, nor a new trend for that matter.