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Any one have more information on this ?
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"Parents have been left questioning how a woman was able to walk into a primary school and allegedly take a child during a busy morning drop-off."
Hate to burst the bubble on the general impression that schools are safe at all times of the day. Because I can so easily see this happening.
I'm a male casual primary school teacher. It's my job to show up at a school in the morning, check in at the office, go find my classroom and teach whatever I have been assigned.
I have a teaching registration, am experienced, have been vetted etc......but at 850am who on the school grounds knows this?!
Typically one member of the office staff will have seen me. Most teachers on the grounds who might see me walk through the school would have no idea who I am. The kids don't know me...parents dropping off kids may think I'm just another parent (or a teacher they don't know).
I've been put in situations where I need to walk up to a group of kids sitting in front of a door prior to the bell and ask, "is this Grade 2As classroom?"
It can be very awkward in new environments because while kids and other teachers will naturally assume I'm a casual teacher, I could be some rando off the street.
Some schools manage this well by escorting you to your classroom (I like this because it's common courtesy and you don't get lost). Others will give you a bright coloured lanyard, identifying you as an approved visitor.
Others will have gates and only allow kids (no parents) to enter at the start of the school day.
But most schools don't do these things...and at these schools it would be incredibly easy for anyone to come in and do what they like without being questioned.
The gate model is brilliant btw...the school I taught at recently did this and it helped in multiple ways. You didn't have kids roaming around the grounds unsupervised 15-20mins before the start of the day, and as teachers we didn't have to worry about parents coming to ask questions etc. (we accept parent engagement but not during all important lesson setup/greeting time)
Once they were allowed in, the school day (with supervision etc) began, and they got used to this.
I know many parents love the social element of dropoff, but we need to move on from this idea. Pickup is a bit easier to manage (because with younger students, you wait with them until they point out their carer, where you hand over responsibility)
https://www.9news.com.au/national/melbourne-alleged-child-stealing-woman-arrested-fitzroy-school/41a8383b-dd10-4075-9b8e-ceacde5e89f6
Sounds like a mental health issue.
That poor kid, what a harrowing experience. To have your sense of safety and security ripped away like that...
Yes but spare a thought for the 5 year old, though
Indeed. That poor kid, what a harrowing experience.... It is absolutely awful for that child, their family and the community around them.
I kind of am starting to suspect that my post has been misread.
There's nothing in that article that suggests a mental health issue.
Kidnapping kids is not normal behavior
"It's understood the woman has no fixed address."
AND randomly kidnapping a child, impulsively, and opportunistically, absolutely, definitively, are clearly leading indicators that this act was the result of mental health issues. There was no apparent premeditation, no plan to abscond with the child to any other location. She led the child to an open park with no plan to actually abduct the child away from the immediate area.
What indicated to you that this is the work of somebody that is organised, acting with forethought and logic? Rhetorical question, by the way.
I clearly interpreted this differently to you. I took that to mean that she's homeless.
You may well be correct but what you're suggesting is baseless speculation and only serves to explain away shitty behaviour.
Yes, that is clearly the implication from the news report and part of my conjecture. I am not saying that all homeless people have mental health issues and I am not saying that all kidnappers suffer a mental illness. This is far more nuanced...
If I have triggered you, please understand that many decent, wonderful human beings have mental health issues. This is not a slur in any way to all people in this situation.
I'm not certain that you understand the term 'baseless speculation'.
Looking at the information provided, any health professional would be reasonable to come to the conclusion that there is a mental health issue clearly, directly, influencing this person's behaviour.
It does not in any way 'explain away shitty behaviour', it does however explain a core component of this awful, serious, damaging, potentially life threatening behaviour. This person should not just be excused, I never implied any such thing.
As I mentioned originally what has occurred is awful, especially for that child. And also for her family and that school community. The teachers responsible for all of those children's safety are going to be traumatised, too.
I hope you understand, and if not, please come back to me or DM, we can talk it out.
I hope you are well. 🙏🏻
Everything is a mental health issue if you want it to be.
From how little it was covered on the news, unless more information is out now it seemed like it could be someone known to the girl.
News had more tonight, woman was unknown to the girl but lived nearby the school. Child ended up at the childrens as they said they’d been punched in the stomach twice.
So it was a random kidnapping, hopefully the 6pm news reported it more seriously than the morning news.
It was a lot better in terms of information bites. There was fuck all info this morning and set off every scenario in my head, rational or not.
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I’m impressed how you managed to shoehorn in something unrelated to provoke an argument
@ Mods, respectfully, that wasn’t hate speech but I respect the power dynamic here.
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I feel like there are a lot of more likely explanation than that....... like come on, who thinks of that first when they see a kid with a woman and get a "something's not right" feeling?
it's so much more likely that the kid was acting scared and that's what the person noticed.....
Yep or the woman was acting erratically/ was visibility in an altered state of consciousness. The absence of detail in the article means any and all possibilities are open to speculation.
I’m not gonna get into the semantics of the fact that a trans woman isn’t a man, but if this is about stats alone; how many child abductions are perpetrated by trans women vs ciswomen that would cause this to be your instinct?
More info on the news tonight. Random attack, offender lived nearby and isn’t known to the child, offender has mental health issues allegedly punched child who had to go to the children’s.
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thanks, the mods
hello,
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thanks, the mods