Possums

I have to admit to being somewhat amused at both the story and the talk back around the possum that was killed at Spotswood college in New Plymouth.  The fact that I went to school in New Plymouth and already had views on Spotswood from that time probably increased my personal hilarity at the story, however my views actually tend to revolve around the reporting of the story:

The possum was not "bashed to death", its skull was staved in with a hammer - these are very different deaths.
Spotswood is a high school - was this a 3rd form / 5th form / 7th form class that was involved (yes - I havent got the hang of this new "years" thing).  There is a huge difference between getting a 13 year old and a 17 year old to smack in the skull of an animal.
The defense of this being no different to what these kids see on the farm - New Plymouth isn't THAT much of a hick town; most of these students ARE NOT farmers.  And most farmers in the region send their kids to NPBHS / NPGHS anyway.
To those claiming trauma of the children - most of them were probably high anyway at the time - particularly if this was after Horticulture class.

All in all I say good on the teacher - what better way of teaching those invading Australians that they should be more careful where they tread...
Tags: nz, new zealand, new plymouth, possum