Dishonorable discharge

STORY: St. John's Military School Sued For 'Disciplinarians,' Allegedly Let Students Punish Each Other Through Gagging, Urination


Penis envy


STORY: Utah Sex Education Bill To Teach Abstinence-Only Vetoed By Governor


VIC TOE REE


We wrote about this district in an earlier post, and are heartened to see they have seen the light. Minnesota's largest school district has developed a model to address harassment and bullying of GLBT students that may serve as a national template. Stay tuned and see if this momentum even carries into the deep south bastions of homophobia.

STORY: Anoka-Hennepin School District Settles Lawsuits Over Gay Bullying, Gender Neutral Policy


So cool its hot


 How this girls T-shirt disrupts the orderly operation of the school is beyond our comprehension. Supreme Court rulings put the burden of proof on the school district...not left to the whim of some misguided school administrator. Lynn High School VICE Principal (vice...that explains it!) Joe O'Hagan told the girl that the shirt was political and offended some people. WE find Gingrich for President buttons highly offensive and obviously political, but support the right to wear them. Say it ain't so Joe!

STORY: 'All The Cool Girls Are Lesbians' T-Shirt Sparks Controversy At Massachusetts School (VIDEO) (POLL)


Yes massa


We see this as deeply rooted racism that is institutional and endemic to public education policy. Another way to maintain an uneducated and underemployed population of workers for generations.

STORY: Minority Students Face Harsher Discipline, Fewer Options, New Federal Data Shows


Cash for clunkers


We have commented about this issue before...nothing new except that college students are rightfully ticked off at higher costs, debt, and no professional jobs in sight. We hope that college students will unite and engage in protests around the country. Cuts to education are the worst case scenario pre-K through post graduate.

STORY: Occupy Education: Dozens Of Protesters Demonstrating In State Capitol Arrested (VIDEO)


y'all a good man charlie brown


Finally...Alabama has exposed the crew of Peanuts for what they are...illegal immigrants. We say round up Linus, Lucy, Charlie Brown, Schroeder, and Pig Pen and deport them. These are clearly a bunch of illegals brought to the US by Charles Schultz. They never seem to age either which suggests an alien like quality!
Actually, the get tough Alabama law requires that all companies doing business with the state provide documentation that no illegals work for them. The company in NYC that holds the rights to the play was reluctant to provide the required paperwork to Pelham High School, holding up production. The show must go on! This will be the most important theatrical performance ever in the state of Alabama! We also think that the use of a football requires approval by Crimson Tide coach Nick Sayban.

STORY: Alabama Immigration Law Puts Pelham High School's 'Charlie Brown' Play On Hold


Wrath of Khan


For anyone who has not explored the Khan Academy offering of courses, free, on-line, interactive and highly effective...get moving on this. We are fully behind this project and note the rapid expansion of courses beyond the sciences and math. School districts need to take note as well...beats sitting in lectures with limited and untimely corrective feedback and lack of student engagement. Get on the Khan and leave no child behind!

STORY: Khan Academy iPad App Launches With Free, Educational Videos On Apple Tablet


Meaner than a junkyard dog

Looks like the old bait and switch to us! Minnesota-based Junkyard Prophet, a Christian youth ministry promised an anti-bullying and anti-drug message at the assembly in Dunkerton, Iowa. Instead, the kids got lectured on the evils of homosexuality and pre-marital sex. The group told the high school students that "anyone who is gay will die before they reach age 42." The students are pissed and the superintendent promised that this will never happen again. We hope these Christian prophets did not get paid for the shameless performance and that they will actually deliver on what a youth ministry should promise...lots of religious bullshit! Oh wait, they did deliver!
STORY: 'Junkyard Prophet' Shocks Iowa School With Anti-Gay Messages At Assembly (VIDEO)


Bummer camp


Given the overwhelming body of evidence that points to the power or high quality early childhood education, it saddens us to think that there are "coveted spots" and that parents have to pitch tents to get kids into kindergarten classrooms. This investment pays high dividends and the folks in Sacramento need to be provided with unfettered access. We would advocate that all of the parents "occupy" the school grounds until all children are registered.

STORY: Parents Camp For Kindergarten Registration At Lincoln Crossing Elementary School In California (VIDEO)


And the truth shall set you free


Jada's controversial essay made "comparisons between a slavemaster discouraging Frederick Douglass from learning to read and modern education struggles in her district." Her voice joins the thousands who have studied unequal access to education based on race and socio-economic status...but she was summarily harassed at school, transferred to another school where her parents saw little difference and an unsafe environment. While the superintendent admits they didn't handle her free speech very well (no kidding) he at least recognizes her right to dissent. The issue here is not only that the school does not seem to welcome free speech...they don't seem to like students to tell it like it is either!

STORY: Jada Williams, Student, Allegedly Harassed For Award-Winning Essay Comparing School To Modern Slavery (VIDEO)


Sledge hammered!



Brother (not sister) Sledge is one of a dirty dozen individuals under a federal investigation. The former assistant superintendent of Pontiac Schools has been indicted for money laundering and theft of $236,000 of school funds. The district is 24 million in debt and it looks like they have misspent or spent without proper authorization ten's of millions. Now that's educational leadership at its best! Is this why GM no longer manufactures Pontiacs?

STORY: Jumanne Sledge, Former Pontiac Schools Official Charged WIth Stealing $236,000 From District


Chain, chain, chain



Seems like a bit of an overreaction by Shaw Heights Middle School in Adams County, Colorado. Maybe a bit of cabin fever, or just an inability to resolve a difference of opinion with an 11-year old...the cops were actually called and cuffed Yarija because she was rude to the principal. Does the school use capital punishment for late library books?

STORY: Yajira Quezada, 11-Year-Old, Handcuffed For Being Rude (VIDEO)


WE got slimed!


Take some nasty ground meat, treat with hydrogen peroxide, add connective tissue, beef scraps and trimmings and you have what has been referred to as SOYLENT PINK!!!!!!!!!! When approached to purchase this slop for burgers, three five-star world renowned restaurants declined (McDonald's, Burger King, and Taco Bell... are you kidding me, Taco Bell even turned this down?). But, the US Department of Agriculture will be serving this up at a school cafeteria near you. It was approved with minimal standards under pressure by the George HW Bush administration. More shitburgers from the Bush family!

STORY: Pink Slime For School Lunch: Government Buying 7 Million Pounds Of Ammonia-Treated Meat For Meals


Paid for porn



An arbitrator recently ruled that this pervert gets his job back at Glacier Middle School, plus back pay and benefits estimated at over $200,000. All he did was look at porn at school BEFORE the district enacted a stricter policy...hence...off the hook. So here is the solution if the school district fails in an appeal ( they have already spent over $300,000 on this case)...students should simply refuse to be in his presence. Parents can work to organize these kids and make sure his science classroom stays empty. Then the district can reassign him to...Internet Specialist!

STORY: Andrew Harris, Teacher Who Looked At Porn At School, To Get Job Back, Back Pay (VIDEO)


High Heel sneakers and an alligator school bag


The US Supreme Court has ruled on school dress and grooming, essentially finding that the school may impose limits, if dress "disrupts the orderly operation of the school." Seventeen-year old high school junior Asante Coleman is openly gay and simply dressed in 6 inch heels, cargo pants, shirt and scarf. The school is claiming that the heels posed a "safety risk" and suspended Asante when he refused to peel them off. Look...if the kid wants to wear high heels, so what...but the fashionista's say:  definitely give him a talk about them cargo pants, please!

STORY: Asante Cotman, Gay Student, Allegedly Suspended For Wearing High Heels To School (VIDEO)http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/05/asante-cotman-gay-student_n_1321329.html


If you can't beat em', beat em' anyway!


Port Arthur ISD Principal Bessie Johnson (Travis Elementary) is accused of using corporal punishment to "motivate" a group of fifth graders to perform better on standardized tests. She allegedly had the students kneel in front of their individual test scores and walked along beating them down the line. Shades of the Old Deluder Satan Act in colonial Massachusetts (1657?)...children are born evil and we need to beat goodness into them...or at least better test scores. And this level of brilliance is still pervasive in 18 states in the USA that still allow corporal punishment in schools. Corporal punishment does not work, does not teach, and does not motivate. The state needs to strip this idiot of her certification and send her for alternative training...Jiffy Lube perhaps.

STORY: http://blog.beaumontenterprise.com/bayou/2012/03/07/mom-alleges-port-arthur-isd-principal-gets-physical-to-increase-staar-scores/


Pale face speak with forked tongue


Well, now that the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) has solved all of the sexual abuse cases, they can turn their attention to more pressing matters. Sacred Heart Catholic School teacher Julie Gurta asked that Miranda be punished for committing what must be a mortal sin at Our Lady of Perpetual Motion...saying "Thank you" and "I Love You" in her native tongue, Menominee Indian. This must not be one of the "speaking in tongues" recognized by the RCC! Miranda was barred from playing in  the girls basketball game and we are guessing was given a few Hail Marys and Our Fathers as well. Gurta and the basketball coach have since apologized, but Miranda's folks are questioning their sincerity after the fact.

STORY: Miranda Washinawatok, Wisconsin Student Punished For Using Native Tongue, Receives Apology From School (VIDEO)


Import, export...deport


With all of the vitriol spewed forth by the far right in this year's GOP campaign, this story does not come as a surprise. Daniela came to the US from Columbia at age 4 along with her family. She has a 6.7GPA in the international baccalaureate program and dreams of being a heart surgeon after completing studies at an Ivy League school. Damn...another illegal deadbeat sucking at the tit of public welfare! Kudos to School Superintendent Alberto Carvalho who voiced his opposition to the judges rejection of her application for a green card and issuance of the deportation order..."over his dead body!" And, kudos to the overwhelming outpouring of support from her classmates. As for the judge and the whole "get tough on immigration" policy...you are just another brick in the wall.

STORY: Daniela Pelaez, Valedictorian At North Miami Senior High School, Faces Deportation Order (PHOTOS)


I can't believe its not butter


The more we read about the sex abuse scandal at Miramonte Elementary School, the sicker we get. In a hyper-vigilant mode, the school now must ban the use of blindfolds for non-visual sense reading lessons, and the science experiment in which kids get to make butter. Why? Accused perp Mark Berndt allegedly blindfolded children and fed them his semen on cookies. The school is drawing a correlation of science class manufactured butter on crackers to Berndt's actions. Not sure how the school will survive this but our hearts go out to all in this troubled school community.

STORY: Miramonte School Scandal: Blindfolding Banned From LAUSD Lesson Plans (VIDEO)


Jersey jokesters


They was just funnin' don't ya know! Two janitors at Gregory Elementary School in Long Beach, New Jersey, are under investigation for binding and gagging two 10-year old students in the school lav. Their defense...just a little joke. We are hoping that the full force of the law will be exercised here, and that the kids will not suffer any long term harm. In the meantime, these two geniuses are on paid leave. We are wondering if they are behind Hoffa's mysterious disappearance.....no joke!

STORY: New Jersey Janitors Accused Of Binding And Gagging Students In Bathroom (VIDEO)


Weeding them out


Another teenage crush has turned sour in south Florida. Honor student Justin Laboy fell in love with a 25 year- old undercover cop posing as a high school senior coed. She asked him to buy her some weed, which he did, and...love hurts. Justin was busted along with several others in the sting operation in Palm Beach. Looks like entrapment to us. After all, as Meatloaf profoundly put it..."I'll do anything for love." The kid just didn't listen to the rest of the lyric!

STORY: Teen Falls In Love With Undercover Cop In Marijuana Sting, Gets Arrested


Driven to drink


Hey, if you didn't bring enough to share with everyone... Anne teaches at Bayshore High School in Manatee, Florida, and was tested at 0.112% blood alcohol level during the school day. Not sure if there was a kegger going on in the teachers lounge, or if she just had a five martini lunch! She was busted by the principal who smelled booze on the breath. Either Anne needs to get into the 12 steps or should switch to vodka and orange juice. Bottoms up!

STORY: Anne Wampole, Florida Teacher, Breathalyzed At 40 Percent Above Legal Alcohol Limit At School, Put On Leave


Silly putty


Talk about getting perky with a health care perk! Buffalo public school teachers have a sweet health care rider that provides any plastic surgery procedure, including botox and tummy tucks at a cost of nearly 5.2 million dollars to the school district last year alone. The teacher's union is not really interested in negotiating on this coverage, even though budgets are tough and teachers have been laid off. While we fully support health care coverage, this has morphed into a ridiculous burden on taxpayers and the millions of dollars going to a booming cosmetic surgery industry in Buffalo ought to be invested in the students.

STORY: Buffalo, New York Teachers Get Free Plastic Surgery (VIDEO)


No early out


You can stick that retirement option! Congrats to Olivia who has been teaching since 1935. Imagine all the dizzying pendulum swings she has seen in education. She currently teaches reading to Kindergarten and Pre-K children at Ashburn Lutheran School in Chicago. Considering that half of today's crop of teachers leave the classroom within five years, this is an incredible accomplishment.

STORY: Olivia Neubauer: 100 Years Old In 2 Weeks And Still Teaching At Chicago School (VIDEO)


Value-subtracted analysis in NYC


More misguided folks blindly following shoddy research that supports value-added analysis in education.
Grounded in the Tennessee STAR Study, which has been essentially discredited, the political attack on public schools pretends to use data and statistical analysis, now to rate teachers. Here is the direction we would like to go...have all elected officials submit to value added analysis and publish the results to the electorate. Better yet...base their salary on the value they have added to the economy. For example, once unemployment reaches 7% or lower, start paying them 50%. When it hits 6%, up the salary to 70%. Once it dips below 5%, full salary. And as a bonus (merit pay) when we stop going to war for one year, throw in health care....but no contraception!

STORY: New York City Teacher Ratings: Teacher Data Reports Publicly Released Amid Controversy


Immigrants need not apply...to college



Georgia lawmakers are tough on undocumented immigrants. They want all members of the University System of Georgia to ferret out these students from the total enrollment of 318,000 to make room for "real Americans." A recent audit reveals that there are about 300 undocumented students enrolled (about .09%). We are guessing that Georgia will have to search far and wide to fill those 300 seats with "real Americans" (whatever that means). Ludicrous way to spend legislative effort but Georgia wants to follow Arizona in getting tough on these folks. Red meat for the red states.

STORY: Georgia’s immigration law targets universities


Chicago joins South Africa



Likening the closing of under-performing schools in Chicago to apartheid is gross hyperbole and does little to advance what will be done to improve the education of the nearly 7500 students impacted. Will they be moved to high performing schools? What metrics are being used to determine performance levels of the schools themselves? Is funding being shifted with them or to some for-profits that will operate the schools? This debate is political and to suggest that education and politics are not necessarily intertwined is naive.

STORY: CPS Board Approves 17 School Closings, Overhauls, Teachers Union Calls Vote 'Education Apartheid' (VIDEO)


Slash and burn



The Michigan budget surplus was highly touted by GOP presidential hopeful and Flip-flopper in Chief Mitt Romney. Mitt not only likes the size of the trees in Michigan...he loves the down-sized education budget pushed through by Governor Rick Snyder. We can expect the same under Romney...cut education funding at a time when we need to invest more heavily in public education.

STORY: As Michigan Primary Nears, Mitt Romney, Gov. Rick Snyder Praise Budget -- Despite Education Cuts


A Clockwork strange


A fine mess at Noble Network of Charter Schools (NNCS) in the windy city. The organization operates 10 charter high schools in Chicago, serving about 6500 students. From 2008-2011 NNCS collected nearly $400,000 in fines from the high school ruffians for egregious conduct, including:


  • Not tucking in shirt
  • Tardy to class
  • Potato chips brought to school
  • Dozing in class


And our favorite infraction...not tying shoelaces properly.

About half of the kids fail the mandatory state exams each year, but they are really getting a great lesson in misapplied behaviorist theory.

STORY: Some Students Really Pay for Breaking the Rules


Tough times


This is truly a sweet deal for execs who run for-profit colleges and universities. Given the high pressure of new federal regulations that have cut into the profit margin, about 60 exec needed a break in Tahoe, hitting the spas and cocktail lounges for some serious networking and R & R. They are understandably stressed over new fed regulations that have resulted in closer scrutiny regarding student debt and no job prospects as they graduate. The for-profits garner over $30 billion/year in the form of student loans and grants from the fed. The payback?
Disproportionate loan defaults and low job placements. Solution... bottoms up and hit the hot tubs heavy in Tahoe.

STORY: For-Profit College Chiefs Unwind At Lavish Tahoe Resort


Big Bloomberg is watching


NYPD conducts routine surveillance on Muslim college students, including daily reviews of student websites, blogs, and most recently undercover presence at a rafting trip near Buffalo attended by Muslim undergrads from the City College of New York. Although Mayor Bloomberg defends such invasion of privacy, we must agree with Yale President Richard Levin who stated 


"I am writing to state, in the strongest possible terms, that police surveillance based on religion, nationality, or peacefully expressed political opinions is antithetical to the values of Yale, the academic community, and the United States." 

STORY: Bloomberg And Yale President Richard Levin Face Off On Police Surveilling Muslim Students


A tough pill to swallow

If Utah State House Bill HB363 is passed we expect a big baby boom coming to our Mormon brethren. Under the bill which appears to have enough traction to pass into law, schools would have two options:


  1. Teach abstinence only sex education classes
  2. Eliminate sex education from the required curriculum.
Forget about STD's, planned parenthood, and while your are at it, masturbation. Save yourself for a polygamous marriage and do not wed anyone from another state where primitive thinking like "knowledge is powerful and choice is good" prevails. And please stay away from those damn liberal Europeans! In fact, incest may be the best way to maintain purity in Utah.


STORY: Abstinence-Only Sex Education Bill In Utah Prohibits Teaching Contraception


A pox on your people


Once again, sports bring out the best of us! At a recent hockey game between the University of Minnesota-Duluth and North Dakota, fans "peppered" the Fighting Sioux with war woops and small pox blankets. The pox blankets were in historical reference to claims that white settlers infested the native tribes with blankets carrying the deadly disease. Time to pull the goalie on this nonsense. Ban the fans from all future games until they act like normal hockey fans...just get drunk and start fights!

STORY: Fighting Sioux Hockey Game Site Of Offensive Chants


Rotten Georgia Peach


Tanya serves as the Director of Concerned Women for America in Georgia. She recently testified as the sole voice of opposition to a state bill that "would ban discrimination against LGBT state employees -- like public school teachers." Her comparison of homosexuality to necrophilia, voyeurism and pedophilia may be based on personal experience! Or perhaps her husband has likened their sex life as corpse-like in nature. Despite all other testimony supporting the bill, it has been tabled...dead on arrival!

STORY: Tanya Ditty, Georgia Teacher, Compares Homosexuality To Necrophilia, Voyeurism, Pedophilia (VIDEO)


Gimme that old time religion


Alabama State Rep. Blaine Galliher introduced a bill on behalf of Joe Kennedy, former teacher who was fired from his teaching position because he refused to stop reading the bible and teaching creationism in the public schools. If passed, students could opt to take creationism courses off campus, at churches, to study creationism for credit. Perhaps they can substitute these courses for actual science classes, hence avoiding nasty evidenced based science...science is too hard for Bama, but the bible tells us so! Such a curriculum would really serve these kids well as they enter the job market in the 17th century.

STORY: Alabama Bill Will Allow Churches To Teach Religion Classes To Public School Students


Your cheatin heart will make me weep


The Atlanta Public School System placed 120 teachers on paid leave this year while the investigation of one of the nation's largest cheating scandals evolves. Because the investigation may continue for some time, 90 tenured teachers may have their contracts renewed for next year in order to protect their property rights to employment under tenure rulings. We support due process, but if these teachers are found guilty, they should be immediately terminated and forced to repay salary and fringe benefit costs, including this years paid leave.

STORY: Atlanta Teachers In Cheating Scandal Could Get Another Year Contract


There's an app for that



This new application of a very simplistic behavior management tool continues to push forth an approach that lacks a critical element in shaping positive behavior...it does not engage the children in the understanding of what is important. ClassDojo jumps on the tech bandwagon with glitz...student avatars, smart phone applications, cool graphics...which are fine...but promotes the view that classroom management is something we do TO kids as opposed to something we do WITH kids. Big difference.

STORY: Is ClassDojo A Teacher's Answer To Controlling The Class? (VIDEO) (PICTURES)


Spittin nails



More wonderful adult modeling of how to handle a confrontation comes from Beach Channel High School in the big apple. Mr. P was caught on video swatting and spitting on students. Dave has been reassigned to administrative offices, and it is rumored he must spend the entire day watching My Big Fat Greek Wedding scenes...spitting on someone is good luck...as he prepares to defend his behavior.


STORY: David Pecoraro, 'Serial Spitter' Teacher, Swats At, Spits on Student (VIDEO)


Steer clear!


No bull at Pioneer Career and Technology Center in Shelby, Ohio!  Kucic was attacked while conducting an on-site classroom meat processing demonstration. The 1,200 pound steer was on his way to be put down when, in a last ditch effort to stay his execution, he flipped Kucic in the air. We hope Bill recovers and we encourage a VO-Agriculture course in Veganism to prevent future mishaps.

STORY: Bill Kucic, Teacher, Attacked By Steer At School (VIDEO)


Big return on investment



As mom and dad and their high school seniors wrestle with making final choices for post-secondary education, our friends at College Humor offer some critically important information generally left out of college recruiting brochures. We recall a college recruiter from the dark ages (1970) who informed us at a college fair, that his university had 51 bars within a 3 mile radius of campus and that 3-2 beer was served in the student union. Never made it to all 51 bars during the freshman year but sure did make an honest effort to do so. By the way, the student union started serving at 11am!! Bottoms up.!

STORY: The Top 10 Slacker Colleges


Occupado


Higher education is cashing in on the Occupy movement by offering a variety of courses at a number of colleges and universities. Let's suggest that they include in the curriculum disclosure as to how heavily invested the institutions are in Wall street, how many donors are 1% ers, and why so many college grads leave with huge debt and no job prospects. Other wise, sexy title to a course, but probably little else.

STORY: Occupy Wall Street Heads To Class With College Courses On The Movement


Show me the money


With an abysmal 14% graduation rate in 2010-2011, Charter school Dohn Community High School in Cincinnati seems desperate! They will pay, upon graduation, $25/week to seniors and $10/week to underclassman to show up on time and behave. Learning anything important appears optional or perhaps kids will get huge signing bonuses. This kind of lame approach will continue as long as the curriculum and expectations fail to engage kids as active partners in  learning.

STORY: Ohio High School Paying Students To Show Up, Behave In Class


Home cookin in DC

This guy must have had his butt kicked regularly playing one-on-one, and always went home crying out "I'm taking the ball with me!" Ricky is so distraught over public schooling that, if elected (please God, NO!), he will home school his kids. Great way for the president to engage in public school reform...just withdraw. Problems with the Department of Agriculture? Plow up the White House lawn and plant your own crops. Problems with energy policy? Sink a well right next to the Rose Garden! Global warming? Just crank up the AC in the Oval Office. Ticked off at health care? Just give the kids a daily dose of castor oil! Problems in the bedroom? Don't even want to imagine that scene.

STORY: Rick Santorum Slams Education System, Will Home-School Children At White House


Abnormal curve


Don't call him a genius! Moshe disdains this label...he is just a kid who enrolled in college at age 8, earned two Associates Degrees by age 11 (perfect 4.0 GPA), and is set to graduate from UCLA with a degree in mathematics at age 14. He has published the English version of his book, We Can Do, thanks to inspiration from professor Richard Avila at East LA Community College. Moshe' advice...


  • ANYONE can realize their dreams.
  • Be focused and totally committed.
  • Limit TV to 4 hours per week. 
We believe him. Our current metrics that attempt to measure human potential are woefully inadequate and serve to limit rather than expand optimal learning.


STORY: Moshe Kai Cavalin, 14-Year-Old Boy Genius, Writes Book Revealing Life In College At Age 8 (VIDEO)


Cashing in


While this may seem heresy to some, we see great potential in shifting decisions to the consumers...the actual students. Under the proposal, students in grades 9-12 would have $6,400 per year to spend on their customized, individualized plans of study. They could enroll in courses at the public high schools, universities, technical schools and/or public on-line offerings. Any money left unspent would move into an individual account to be used for post-secondary education. Imagine...students selecting classes and teachers as well! Theoretically, great teachers would be in higher demand, perhaps garnering them higher salaries. Poor teachers = less demand= lower salaries. We fully support this debate and always support empowering choice made by students! Power to the pupil as it were.

STORY: Utah Bill Would Give Public Education Money Directly To Student 'Savings Accounts,' Not Schools


Sex ED


The recent scandal at Miramonte School is underscored by a recent AP investigative report that found 2,570 sex offenses committed by educators between 2001 and 2005 for which the educators were terminated. This calculates to nearly 3 offenses per school day across the nation. The report also suggests that the offenses are under-reported across the nation. There are nearly 3 million teachers in the US and although the sex offenders represent a very small percentage of the profession, the conduct of a few casts a long shadow on the profession.

STORY: AP: Sexual misconduct plagues U.S. schools


Aye Chiuaua!


Lets blame Title I, high stress assessment, Friday and a tough week for this lapse in professionalism! Throw in solar flares, full moon and PMS while we are at it. Shirley was distributing Title I forms to her eighth graders at Barnett Junior High when a student asked for the Spanish version. Not an unreasonable request given the high % of Hispanic students in the school district. Bunn tried to explain that this was not available in Spanish (why not?) but the student persisted..."I'm Mexican." Bunn's response..."then go back to Mexico."  She is on a paid leave while the school district determines her ultimate fate. This reminds me of a high school science teacher who once lamented that the Puerto Rican students ought to only speak English at all times in school. If they were going to try to be Americans, they needed to talk like Americans. When I informed him that they were indeed American citizens, he said..."No they aren't, they're Puerto Ricans!" Scary but true story.

STORY: Shirley Bunn: 'Teacher Of The Year' Suspended For Offensive Comment, Telling Hispanic Student To 'Go Back To Mexico'


No Child Big Behind


Another "Too big to fail" story. The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention  reports that nearly 17% of US children are overweight or obese...a three fold increase over the previous generation. As a result, school furniture manufacturers are seizing on this as a  "growth opportunity" (couldn't resist this) by designing the bigger and better school desk. We are envisioning huge lazy-boys with built-in beverage holders and snack trays. They should continue to profit as long as schools try to solve budget problems by slashing Health and Physical Education Programs, extracurricular wellness programs, limit and/or eliminate recess, and continue to pimp sugary beverages and snacks in the vending machines.

STORY: School Desks Too Small For Obese Children


Hot for teacher


Van Halen goes to higher education! A 56 year-old college student completed journal entries as part of his Advanced Critical Writing class at Oakland University in Detroit. He found his professor attractive and likened her and another female prof to characters from Gilligan's Island (Ginger and Mary Ann). The result...a one year suspension and mandatory sensitivity training. Joe was asked to stop after his first entry was found to be offensive, but he just couldn't help himself. The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) finds this suspension a "wild Overreaction" and plans to appeal the suspension. Oakland University should put in place some preventative measures...cease to hire attractive faculty members, or impose a strict faculty dress code...perhaps recycling prison jump suits. Finally, try to block transmission of episodes of Gilligan's Island little buddy.

 STORY: Joseph Corlett, Oakland University Student Barred For Calling His Teacher Hot In His Writing Assignment


 
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