The coffin in the classroom was one of the stories which engaged the attention of online readers last week.
A teacher at a primary school took the coffin to school as a teaching aid, but the sight of it reportedly traumatised another teacher and some of the children. The matter has drawn the attention of the Ministry of Education and lawyers are also said to be involved.
Some readers lauded the teacher for thinking outside the box, but others held a different point of view, as seen in their comments below.
Deejay Drew: Respect to this teacher who went all out with apparatus to help widen the kids’ imagination. This is what I would call “thinking outside the box”, literally.
Epaphras D. Williams: I know a lot of people who will not go near a coffin at a funeral and to have one in your classroom unbeknownst to you . . .
Pam Cummins: Not everyone can tolerate the idea of being near a coffin, including me, just like there are people with a phobia about spiders, snakes, etc. The teacher maybe should have used slides/video instead.
Mervin Errol: What I find disturbing is that adults who are supposed to give guidance and to assist those in their charge to manage the unexpected, will themselves behave worse than the children. I commend the teacher for the initiative, but would humbly advise that for the future, he get clearance from his immediate supervisor.
Carol Toppin: It never ceases to amaze me how some adults forget the “silly” things that used to scare the daylights out of us when we were little. Some feared the dark, others were scared of clowns while others were terrified of anything with more than four legs.
Tee King: Maybe communication would have helped.
Veronica Straker: Much ado about nothing at all.
Bells Reid: It’s a part of life and I see absolutely nothing wrong with this.
Michael Blenman: The classroom is not the place for a coffin. There are other ways to do things.
Derwood Ricardo: Creative, imaginative and outside the box; [I] like it. Visual aids like this bring out the curiosity of children and they ask questions based on the story.
Paul Sivers: I always hear my grandmother say you shouldn’t be afraid of the dead; it is the living you have to worry about.
Cherise Unique Rock: I think the teacher probably upset the children through her fear.
Ameko Edwards: Things like this happen when people go beyond the call of duty. I’ve seen soldiers and policemen/women display guns on career showcase days. What’s the big deal about the coffin?
Margaret Lorde: Oh please, these same children watch all types of shows on TV with all types of subject matter, and why would a teacher be traumatised. How naive is she?
Ken Montero: All that’s going on and this is really something to get upset about? Steupse.
Sherrylyn Toppin is The Nation’s Online Editor.
