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'Jarring' nursery rhyme shows the reality facing kindergarteners

A young mother has revealed her shock after discovering a “jarring” nursery rhyme taught to pupils at her five-year-old daughter’s future kindergarten.

Georgy Cohen, from Somerville in Massachusetts, took to Twitter on Wednesday to share an image of the five-lined recital that prepped young pupils for potential shootings.

“Lockdown, lockdown, Lock the door,” the rhyme reads.

“Shut the lights off, Say no more. Go behind the desk and hide, Wait until it’s safe inside.”

Ms Cohen captioned the picture saying: “This should not be hanging in my soon-to-be-kindergartener’s classroom.”

Her post was quickly inundated with comments from users taken aback by the harsh reality of the changing face of the US education system.

“How are we doing this parenting thing again? I am so scared,” one mother wrote.

“That’s to the tune of the alphabet song and Twinkle Twinkle… what a horrifying contribution to the songbook,” another user commented.

Ms Cohen told The Boston Globe on Thursday the poster hit home when she saw it taped to the classroom blackboard.

The rhyme shocked Twitter users across America, with some “horrified” by its introduction. Source: Twitter/ Georgy Cohen
The rhyme shocked Twitter users across America, with some “horrified” by its introduction. Source: Twitter/ Georgy Cohen

“When I was in kindergarten, we had fire drills. It was different — we didn’t have these same types of threats,” she said.

“These are the things they unfortunately have to do. I get it… part of their job is to educate and keep my kids safe and I feel confident they are going to do both of those things to the best of their ability.”

A statement from Somerville Public Schools told the Huffpost the rhyme’s introduction was in fitting with today’s society.

“As much as we would prefer that school lockdowns not be a part of the educational experience, unfortunately this is the world we live in,” the joint statement from Mayor Joseph Curtatone and Superintendent of Schools Mary Skipper read.

“It is jarring – it’s jarring for students, for educators, and for families.

“Students in Somerville and across the country know how unnatural this is,” it continued.

“Yet we all know that one of the most important roles we have as educators and community leaders is to ensure that all of our students and staff members are safe and prepared in case of an emergency.”