It really doesn’t get much dumber. I know teachers are encouraged to be creative, but common sense needs to prevail. This dude is lucky if he just gets fired. He should expect the feds at his door:
From the Daily Caller:
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — A Jefferson County geometry teacher was placed on paid administrative leave Tuesday after being accused of using a hypothetical assassination plot on President Barack Obama as a way to teach geometric angles.
School Superintendent Phil Hammonds said Corner High School teacher Gregory Harrison could face possible termination.
Hammonds earlier said the teacher remained at work and there were no plans to fire him. But in announcing that the teacher was being placed on leave, the superintendent said his office had been flooded with calls from people around the nation, mainly upset that further action hadn’t been taken against the teacher.
Roy Sexton, special agent in charge of Birmingham’s Secret Service office, said his agency spoke with the teacher after being told about his comment, but no charges were filed and the investigation was closed.
“We did not find a credible threat,” Sexton said.
Hammonds said he will talk to teachers and students before recommending to the school board what action, if any, might be appropriate. It was not immediately known how long the teacher may be on leave.
Hammonds said the school system in Alabama’s most populous county was embarrassed by what Harrison said.
“There is nothing that can be said to rationalize what he said. We take this very seriously. There is no place in our society for a person to make these comments,” Hammonds said.
Attempts to reach Harrison for comment were not immediately successful. Calls to Hammonds were referred to the school system’s attorney, Burgin Kent, who did not immediately return a call for comment.
Joseph Brown, a senior in the geometry class, told The Birmingham News that the teacher “was talking about angles and said, ‘If you’re in this building, you would need to take this angle to shoot the president.’
This lesson was so stupid on so many levels. In the first place, most schools have anti gun and weapons rules. Shooting anyone should not be played up in a school setting. The next level of stupidity is ever making anything that could be constued as a threat at an elected official, in particular the President of the United States.
In an unrelated story, we have another example of classroom no-nos.
Read about the teacher who brought in Michael Moore’s Sicko to be analyzed as the exam. When a student objected, the teacher called her a ‘tea-bagger.’
Read about this incident in the Daily Caller. Click here for the story.
LOL! IDIOT.
And I have never seen “Sicko,” but from the title, it sounds like maybe you shouldn’t show it to your class.
On the other side of the extreme, my daughter had to have a permission slip signed in order for her to see “Phantom of the Opera.”
What a weird world.
If he had really wanted to use an assassination plot for geometry lessons, he could have added a history lesson to it and used the Kennedy assassination. Now THAT’S geometry. Maybe his class could solve the mystery of the knoll or the magic bullet.
America is a civilized nation. We do not assassinate our elected officials when we disagree with their policies. We hold them accountable by voting them out of office. This is how civilized peoples live and govern themselves. Someone should tell this stupid idiot that we do not live in Afghanistan or Iraq.
Starry, wish I could believe you when you say we are civilized.
Cargo, you make an excellent point. The JFK assassination is very much a geometry lesson and one he could do without it being threatening.
To get the angles right – sure. But, you still have to compute for windage, drag, bullet drop, acceleration, and load. Let’s not also forget about air density and hardness of the target.
Man. If that was the stuff we were learning in math class I think I would’ve stayed awake!
I almost want to crack open an algebra and geometry book. Almost. 😉
Marinm,
The iPhone now has an app for that……
Moon — Where did you get that picture of the teacher with the yardstick? You are giving me traumatic flashbacks of the 8th grade!!! Although, as I recall, my teacher carried a telephone pole instead of a yardstick. She also had blue hair. Boy, you never fell asleep in that class, I tell you.
@ Wolverine: It was with the story that I linked to. It seemed long so I figured people could read it on their own.
@Posting As Pinko
I actually can understand that. Phantom is dark. It is also scary. It is pg-13. (brief violent images). I think it is school board policy for any pg-13 film shown in middle school.
@Moon-howler
Since they don’t have to get permission to see films on the holocaust and other wars (7th grade), I guess I thought Phantom was pretty lame by comparison. But you never know what parents will complain about, I guess.
Good point. I actually know the answer to this, I think. I think the other films on holocaust and war were approved at either the county or the state level as to age appropriateness. Those are films that are owned by the county so therefore have been deemed fit.
However, Phantom is not owned by them and therefore hasn’t passed muster. I do think it is state muster but wouldn’t swear to it.