Search Results for: blog when the gym teacher goes nuts

Sexual Innuendo Gets Teacher Fired

I don’t know about you, but when I look at the state of Florida on a map, the last thing I see is a phallic symbol. Of course, I haven’t seen science teacher Ryan Haraughty’s recent depiction of the “Sunshine State.” If I did, I might have a better understanding of why Shawnee Mission school district administrators gave Haraughty the boot a couple of weeks ago. According, to the former Mission Valley Middle School teacher his firing was instigated by a drawing and comment he made about the state of Florida. The Kansas teacher says as part of a lesson … Continue reading →

Is Gym Class Too Dangerous?

Forget about those reports that hail gym class as a savior in the war against childhood obesity. According to a new study, injuries to American children enrolled in school physical education classes increased by 150 percent from 1997-2007. Interestingly, the reason for the dramatically high number of injuries is not due to schools instituting vigorous exercise regimes; rather the study claims lack of adult supervision is to blame. The study’s lead author notes that lively gym programs are commendable; however, a decline in school nurses and larger class sizes have the potential to negate benefits gained through rigorous P.E. classes. … Continue reading →

When the Gym Teacher Goes Nuts

I think it was Woody Allen, who once wrote: “Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach. And those who can’t teach — teach gym!” You might think that there is some truth to that statement after you learn what a gym teacher in New York did to land himself in hot water. According to police, a substitute gym teacher lost it with an 11-year-old student during an innocent game of dodgeball last week. Police say 58-year-old Daniel Sanabria of New Rochelle, got into a fight with the sixth grader at the end of a gym class dodgeball game. Sanabria … Continue reading →

The Benefits of Breaking Up

Next week, we find out the name of my daughter’s third grade teacher and get a sneak peek of who her classmates will be for the upcoming academic year. I’m dreading it like a bout of head lice. Truth be told, I’m not too worried about the teacher; rather, it’s the potential classmates that give me the hives. I really, really hope the school took my bullying concerns to heart and decided to separate my daughter from some of the children who spent the better part of last year tormenting her. For my part, I spent the better part of … Continue reading →

Country Kids Get Beat

… in school… by their teachers… and it’s not against the law. Add this to the list of reasons why I am so glad I don’t live in Florida. According to NPR, Florida is one of 19 states that still allows teachers the right to paddle students who misbehave in the classroom. The right to use corporal punishment to discipline kids has been in place for decades in rural parts of the south and Mountain West region. In those areas state law doesn’t require school administrators to get parental consent before paddling a kid. According to the NPR piece, the … Continue reading →

What Really Happens in the Classroom?

My 7-year-old and I play a little game on the ride home from school each day called “High Low.” After we clear the madness that is the school’s parking lot we take turns telling each other one high point and one low point of our respective days. A couple of weeks before Christmas my daughter shared a “high” of crafting Christmas cards for her teacher’s 20-something-year-old unmarried daughter who couldn’t make it home to Wisconsin for the holidays. I didn’t get all the details, but I from what I gathered, the teacher’s daughter had to remain in Texas for some … Continue reading →

Stupid Is as Stupid Does

Most parents send their children to school with the expectation that their offspring will learn something of value and apply those lessons to better their future. It’s too bad that some schools can’t deliver on this reasonable assumption. Apparently, Will C. Wood High School in Vacaville, California, has different ideas on how to educate kids. Actually, I take that back. Apparently, Will C. Wood High School health teacher Steve Cuckovich has different ideas on how to educate kids. And by educate I mean mess with their heads in order to promote to his own twisted agenda. Cuckovich is making headlines … Continue reading →

The BFF

My daughter has a wonderful BFF. Make that 20 BFFs. At the end of each school day she tells me about all the fun she had playing with her BFF… du jour. My kid is an equal opportunity playmate and sees everyone as a potential best friend. She’s seven. At first I thought it was sweet that she rotated BFFs amongst the gaggle of girls and boys in her grade. Then, I wondered if she was the only kid in the class without a true blue pal. However, after reading a new report about bullying and the social ostracization of … Continue reading →

Ready, Set, School: Bullying

Now that my daughter knows that she will be getting the teacher she prayed for (and by pray, I mean saying a healthy dose of novenas and lighting enough candles to burn down a Cathedral) she is happy to be heading back to school. Me, not so much. I am a bit concerned about the bullying problem that surfaced last year. I am hoping that the school has come up with a new approach to addressing the issue rather than simply putting a band-aid over it. We’ll see. School starts in two weeks. In the meantime, I’ve been consulting with … Continue reading →

Dread

Four words you never want to hear your 6-year-old utter: “Mommy, what’s Dr. Phil?” I wish the question had been prompted by a random commercial for the daytime talk show, but alas, that would be too easy. No, my daughter’s query about the man, who implores millions of people to “get real,” had nothing to do with an errant encounter with a TV ad and everything to do with a run-in with a socially “mature” 7-year-old on the school playground. “Where did you hear about Dr. Phil?” I asked, trying hard to hide the panic in my voice. “Ella,” my … Continue reading →