Teacher’s act of bravery goes viral.

Wow this teacher displays one heck of a cool head. Check out the link below to see the video of her keeping her students calm and singing with them during the shootout.

A brave teacher in Monterrey, Mexico, who sang with her kindergartners to keep them calm during a drug shoot-out outside her school, has gained worldwide attention since the video of the episode went viral over the weekend.

Last Friday, Martha Rivera Alanis told her 15 pupils to place their faces on the floor, and repeated over and over again that everything was going to be fine. While gunmen shot and killed five people at a taxi stand nearby, Rivera led her students in a Spanish-language version of a song from the TV show "Barney and Friends." They sang about chocolate raindrops, until the shootout finally ended.

Rivera recorded part of the encounter with her cell-phone video camera, and the powerful footage of her young students' trustingly following her instructions quickly went viral. (You can watch the video below.) She uploaded the clip to her personal Twitter account, and then a local news station found it and put it on YouTube.

Incredibly, the 1.2-minute clip has already been viewed more than a million times, and the story of her bravery traveled far outside her northern Mexican hometown to the UK's Guardian newspaper, Al Jazeera and dozens of U.S. newspapers and blogs. You can watch the AP report of the story below:

Locally as well, Rivera has become something of a star. The Nuevo Leon state government awarded her with a medal for "civic courage" this week, and the mayor of Monterrey also recognized her bravery.
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That link doesn't work.

This should be ok,

Teacher’s act of bravery goes viral

Your link came up Page not found...so I went searching and found this
www.telegraph.co.uk...
Sorry Jude!! Didn't see you...


On Topic...It is extremely sad that any child should have to go through such things while trying to get an education...

.......cant!........resist!........

Rivera led her students in a Spanish-language version of a song from the TV show "Barney and Friends." They sang about chocolate raindrops, until the shootout finally ended.

reply to post by rockhndr


I agree, it's horrible that this is such a common occurance in many countries around the world. Here in the US our school shootings get lots of press but really they are rare. Still I have heard of schools here in bad neighborhoods having to be vigilant, guess this could happen anywhere.

BTW choc rain = ROFL

I personally don't think she had any right to video tape it, and put out there on twitter..

If I was the parent of one of those children,,I'd be fuming mad,and talking to a lawyer.

What she did might have been great..to video tape is just ridiculous...and very self serving.

Really hope she gets an earful for that, and a lawsuit.

Originally posted by gabby2011
I personally don't think she had any right to video tape it, and put out there on twitter..

If I was the parent of one of those children,,I'd be fuming mad,and talking to a lawyer.

What she did might have been great..to video tape is just ridiculous...and very self serving.

Really hope she gets an earful for that, and a lawsuit.

edit on 2-6-2011 by gabby2011 because: (no reason given)

You would be mad that she kept your child from panaking and probably keeping your child from being permanently emotionally scared for life ? really ?

People like you just get mad just because you can.....We get it....you like freedom

reply to post by LucidDreamer85

You would be mad that she kept your child from panaking and probably keeping your child from being permanently emotionally scared for life ? really ? People like you just get mad just because you can.....We get it....you like freedom

Absolutely not mad that she kept my child from panicking ,and when my child told me about it, i would thank her.

BUT, I would be LIVID for her taking a film of my child while it was experiencing a serious trauma...and even more so..when she put my child on twitter...

For what purpose..but to brag about herself??

That is my child,and she has no RIGHTS to film him/her during distress,and then to post it on twitter...wtf was she thinking!!!! This wasn't a documentary,and she had no right to be filming it ..NONE !!!!!!!

Totally self serving from the get go

reply to post by gabby2011


I understand what you're saying, but honestly I think this video will bring more awareness to the horrors they have to go through on a regular basis than any kind of statistics or news report will, and for that reason I'm glad she recorded what they went through.

If people don't hear about these things, then they won't care. Out of sight, out of mind. The more we bring this type of stuff into the public eye, the better. Things like this video engender sympathy from people who, for the most part, are unaware of just how bad the situation is over there.

If enough people around the world start demanding something be done to prevent children from having to avoid being hit by bullets while learning their ABC's, then maybe the governments of the world will start to put more pressure on Mexico to seek foreign assistance in their war against drug cartels.

Originally posted by Epiphron
reply to post by gabby2011

 

I understand what you're saying, but honestly I think this video will bring more awareness to the horrors they have to go through on a regular basis than any kind of statistics or news report will, and for that reason I'm glad she recorded what they went through.

If people don't hear about these things, then they won't care. Out of sight, out of mind. The more we bring this type of stuff into the public eye, the better. Things like this video engender sympathy from people who, for the most part, are unaware of just how bad the situation is over there.

If enough people around the world start demanding something be done to prevent children from having to avoid being hit by bullets while learning their ABC's, then maybe the governments of the world will start to put more pressure on Mexico to seek foreign assistance in their war against drug cartels.

Ok..I get what you are saying,and that is a very valid reason. BUT..if that being the reason she did it, why not get the parents permission, and do a whole documentary on it...or at least send it to a media station,that can give it proper coverage..again with full consent of parents,as well as the children.

To post it on twitter, seems like whole different purpose..which seems to be self serving to me, as well as violating the rights of the children.

Originally posted by gabby2011

Ok..I get what you are saying,and that is a very valid reason. BUT..if that being the reason she did it, why not get the parents permission, and do a whole documentary on it...or at least send it to a media station,that can give it proper coverage..again with full consent of parents,as well as the children.

To post it on twitter, seems like whole different purpose..which seems to be self serving to me, as well as violating the rights of the children.

She's an elementary school teacher in Mexico... You can't really expect her to have the resources, time, or ability to make a documentary. As for sending it to a media station, it likely wouldn't have gotten anywhere near the coverage it got from being on twitter/youtube, and there's a good possibility they simply wouldn't have done a story for it.

I'm wondering how it is self serving? She really doesn't have anything to gain from it. Sure, she'll get her 15 minutes of fame, but then she'll just go back to the reality where she has to worry about being shot or kidnapped every day. I don't think there's strong enough of a motive to accuse her of doing this for selfish purposes.

To sue her for putting up that video would be self serving. The kids rights aren't being violated. What's so bad about a 5 year old's face being shown for a couple seconds in a blurry recording?

The REAL rights being violated that we should be focusing on is the right to an education without being disrupted by gunfire, the right to walk to school in the morning without being kidnapped or hit by a stray bullet, and the right to learn about math and science rather than about why men are killing each other outside their school.

Also, I'm not sure about Mexico's privacy laws, so I can't say whether or not it's actually illegal to show people's faces in videos without their consent, but either way, to get hung up on such a legal technicality is really just missing the whole point and ignoring the much more serious issue here.

Bravery? More like stupidity.

What happens when whichever cartel or gang was involved is able to ID her and those kids?

Going to the press doesn't stop murder in Mexico. Being cavalier is only going to get a target painted on her back.

I think most anyone that bothers to read the news anywhere in the western hemisphere is somewhat aware of the 'trouble down south'. Want it to stop? Legalize dope.

Doing what you are supposed to do isn't bravery, it's common sense. Part of her job is keeping children safe. Are those 15 kids safer now that their faces have been shown to the world? She may have actually put them in far more danger than they were with the bullets flying around outside.

Somebody wanted her 15 minutes.

Hero FAIL.

If it had been one of my children in that class, I would have been too thankful to even think about a lawsuit. A lawsuit really? Maybe she had a self serving reason for doing it, maybe she didn't, does it matter? Did you she the children's reaction? They felt safe.. At least one was smiling. She kept the distracted, and didn't panic, which would have really lead to trauma. Those kids experienced less trauma thanks to her.

reply to post by Epiphron


It wouldn't be too difficult for some resourceful gangsters to find where she and all of those kids live. They kill for less you know. Their reach extends far past that of a school teacher or local cops. She won't stay protected forever.

Okay she did a good job keeping cool and by keeping the kids calm. She blew it though, by posting it on line. The images may have been blurry and recorded with a cell phone, but I doubt it would make little difference to those dudes tearing it up on the street. If they knew what was going down in that classroom the body count would have tripled... and people would still call her a hero.

Just looking at this from a tactical standpoint.

To hell with a lawsuit, they need witness protection.

reply to post by SlackOps

I'm not quite sure I understand your point. Why would any "resourceful gangster" WANT to kill her or the kids, or bother with them at all? Her video didn't name any gangs, didn't catch anything it shouldn't have, didn't make any statement about them at all.

What would be their thought process? "Oh no, she got these kids to sing while we were instilling fear, and now it won't work! Better kill them all!"?

It makes no sense.


EDIT: According to the article, she wasn't the one who uploaded the video (but I suppose she linked it to her twitter).

Originally posted by calstorm
If it had been one of my children in that class, I would have been too thankful to even think about a lawsuit. A lawsuit really?

Maybe she had a self serving reason for doing it, maybe she didn't, does it matter? Did you she the children's reaction? They felt safe.. At least one was smiling. She kept the distracted, and didn't panic, which would have really lead to trauma. Those kids experienced less trauma thanks to her.

She wasn't exactly calm through the whole process,only at the end did she start singing...

and any half decent teacher ,would have tried to keep the kids calm.

As far as a teacher filming my children ,and putting it on twitter, without my permission..yep..they better be damn well ready for a lawsuit. I don't care what it is about.

It thoroughly amazes me what is considered to be brave ,and heroic these days. That's just common sense around children,even adults,when any type of SHTF , that you really can't do anything about.

Okay so she posted it on twitter.. what's the big deal? The drug cartels aren't going to go after her or the kids just because she filmed them lying on the floor while the shooting was going on outside!!
What possible reason could they have for going after them

As for the above statements saying that she would be sued for filming this, I think someone is just trying to stir a bit of controversy!!

Originally posted by gabby2011
I personally don't think she had any right to video tape it, and put out there on twitter..

If I was the parent of one of those children,,I'd be fuming mad,and talking to a lawyer.

What she did might have been great..to video tape is just ridiculous...and very self serving.

Really hope she gets an earful for that, and a lawsuit.

edit on 2-6-2011 by gabby2011 because: (no reason given)

WTF...some peeps are far to highly strung... You want this teacher charged with a crime. I was glad she filimed it, it was an amazing thing to see. Did you watch the video, I doubt she did it to be self serving. Dont judge another book by your own cover...

reply to post by gabby2011

Ok..I get what you are saying,and that is a very valid reason. BUT..if that being the reason she did it, why not get the parents permission, and do a whole documentary on it...or at least send it to a media station,that can give it proper coverage..again with full consent of parents,as well as the children. To post it on twitter, seems like whole different purpose..which seems to be self serving to me, as well as violating the rights of the children.

Maybe the laws in her conuntry do not dictate that she get permission from the parents to put it on twitter. Did you know that laws and cultural beliefs vary through different regions of the earth. Not all of earths people decide to phone lawyers, some people talk to each other instead...
Again, dont judge another book by your own cover...

Originally posted by purplemer

Originally posted by gabby2011
I personally don't think she had any right to video tape it, and put out there on twitter..

If I was the parent of one of those children,,I'd be fuming mad,and talking to a lawyer.

What she did might have been great..to video tape is just ridiculous...and very self serving.

Really hope she gets an earful for that, and a lawsuit.

edit on 2-6-2011 by gabby2011 because: (no reason given)

WTF...some peeps are far to highly strung... You want this teacher charged with a crime. I was glad she filimed it, it was an amazing thing to see. Did you watch the video, I doubt she did it to be self serving. Dont judge another book by your own cover...

I think I have a right to my opinion..and I personally would never film my students at a time of such trauma.
Almost looked like a set up to me...but most likely wasn't.

When you have your child filmed during an emotional stressful situation..and put up on twitter, for the world to see..come talk to me about it...I stand by what I say...and that is all I will say on the topic.