Reality Check: Elementary School Kids Learning Gun Safety
DETROIT (WWJ) - The lesson plan for the day in one Detroit school wasn't just reading, writing or arithmetic -- it also focused on gun safety.
More than 700 K-8 grade students at Regents Park Scholar Academy took part in the Detroit Police Department's gun safety seminar.
Why? "The kids need to know what to do in case they find a gun, and the message is 'stop, don't touch, leave the area, tell an adult,' that's what we are preaching and teaching on today," said DPD Neighborhood Officer Dale Dorsey.
Using props, video, music, magic and sometimes a mascot to reach the younger students officers from DPD told the kids about how to avoid getting near any gun they see.
Principal Crystal Bice says they've declared March 'safety month' at the school.
"A lot of kids are seeing guns in the homes every day - we've had some tragedies in our building and we just want to make sure that we don't have any more," said Bice.
Officials say it's better for them to teach students now - than for an accident to happen later.
"We are educators, it's our job to teach," said Bice. "So, we have to talk about those things that are tough and that some of us shy away from but our kids are seeing this everyday."
"That's how we have to reach our kids now, we are in an information age, we are at an age where the kids want instant gratification and they are driven by music and entertainment - so we have to send that message to them through that venue."