A classroom assignment given to students at an Australian school is being criticized amid reports the assignment asked students asked to plan a terrorist attack “to kill the MOST innocent civilians in order to get your message across.”
According to news reports, students were asked to pretend they were a terrorist planning a chemical or biological attack in Australia. Grades were apparently based on students’ ability to analyze information they had learned on terrorism and chemical and biological warfare and apply it to a real-life scenario.
Having written a few ‘Red team thinking’ papers myself and while I see the value of doing this in one of the classes I teach (EMS Management and EM/HS), this strikes me as a bad choice for the age group involved. I think the concept of teaching the planning process, doing research and developing a paper to communicate the idea is good, the premise is not. Let them plan something else – LAN
Good Grief!
While on first blush, this may appear somewhat irresponsible, some valuable insights may be gained from both students and those charged with protecting them. As a key component of risk assessment includes evaluating potential threats with implementation, I suspect the students will come up with some ideas “professionals” haven’t contemplated. I’m sure most readers have had “out of the mouths of babe’s” experiences. Food for thought.
I think that this is an imaginative and forward-thinking exercise. Australia has grasped the nettle of harnessing their entire nation’s intellectual resources in fighting asymmetric wars. They will reap the benefits of a generation of thinkers who are intellectually ready to counter terrorism effectively.
We could do much worse than follow their example.
I agree with Larry N., partly. As a retired police officer I see both sides. I am a counterterrorist professional myself and we cannot disregard the intelligence of the high school students today. They are much more aware than younger generations were and we need to understand that. Remember, to catch a terrorist, or at least circumvent their activities…you must think like a terrorist. There is no doubt in my mind that we have some very bright young men and women in our schools today who will be our next team of counterterrorists. Like Larry N., I think the topic could have been assigned in a better manner. Instead of thinking up, a terror strike, maybe they could have an assignment where they need to deal with the aftermath and what the “first-responders” will have to deal with….how to save lives, and to make a secure perimeter. Most terrorists do not plan an “exit stragety,” so they have no intention of coming out alive. How about identifying terrorists who are lurking around the scene but intermingling with the first responders? What about the safety of the first responders and the “mob” of people who just want to “view” what has happened? How to prevent a catastrophe from getting worse? How to set up a place for medical treatment, and the necessity of having a triage far from the scene yet close enough to save the lives of those who are dire need of immediate medical care? The ones where minutes can make the difference of whether or not they survive. I really do believe we need all the brain power we can muster in order to keep an attack as minimal as possible…and that means examining the positive side which is saving lives instead of losing lives. Once the damage is done we need to focus on containment, capture of any extraneous terrorists in the vicinity, and constant awareness of immediate priorities. Plan for the worst and hope for the best. God Bless America.