[Tampa Bay’s 10]

Land ‘O Lakes, Florida — The stories in the news about inappropriate relationships between teachers and students have been overwhelming.  There was even a substitute teacher in New Port Richey who got in trouble after investigators say she had a relationship with an underage student. Well, another Pasco County substitute teacher’s job is on the line, but this time it’s because of a magic trick.

The charge from the school district — Wizardry!

Substitute teacher Jim Piculas does a 30-second magic trick where a toothpick disappears then reappears. But after performing it in front of a classroom at Rushe Middle School in Land ‘O Lakes, Piculas said his job did a disappearing act of its own.

“I get a call the middle of the day from the supervisor of substitute teachers.  He says, ‘Jim, we have a huge issue.  You can’t take any more assignments.  You need to come in right away,’” he said.

When Piculas went in, he learned his little magic trick cast a spell that went much farther than he’d hoped.

“I said, ‘Well Pat, can you explain this to me?’  ‘You’ve been accused of wizardry,’ [he said]. Wizardry?” he asked.

Read more here.

[From me]

I guess I need to quit doing my cut off finger trick!

What do you think?

[TBO]

A Gibbs High School science teacher was arrested today on charges that he engaged in inappropriate behavior with a student, police said. The official charge against Darren Snieszko, 25, of St. Petersburg, is interference with custody, a felony. According to an arrest affidavit, Snieszko encouraged a 16-year-old girl attending Gibbs High to go on what he called a field trip to Lowry Park Zoo, but there were no other students or teachers involved with the trip, the affidavit states.

Snieszko paid for the girl’s admission with his Pinellas County teacher’s discount card, said St. Petersburg police spokesman Bill Proffitt. The spokesman characterized the outing as a date.

Read about it here.

[From me]

I’ve never heard of a 2 person field trip. What is in the water in Florida?

[Seattle Times]

A Day of Silence inside Mount Si High School meant to show support for gay and lesbian students erupted in noisy protests outside.

More than one-third of students didn’t show up for classes Friday. Principal Randy Taylor said 495 out of 1,410 students weren’t at school, including 85 athletes whose parents had asked that they be excused for their personal beliefs.

About 100 people joined the Rev. Ken Hutcherson, a prominent anti-gay-rights activist, in prayer and song that questioned the dedication of a school day to what they said was a controversial political cause.

Snoqualmie police placed yellow crime-scene tape between Hutcherson’s supporters and about 40 counterdemonstrators, including some former students, who tried to drown out the pastor by beating drums and chanting, “Go home.”

Read about it here.

[From me]

I will remain silent…

What do you think?

[Fox News]

A student and his family have filed a federal lawsuit demanding that a popular European history teacher at California’s Capistrano Valley High School be fired for what they say were anti-Christian remarks he made in the classroom.

Chad Farnan, a 16-year-old sophomore, says the teacher, James Corbett, told his students that “Jesus glasses” obscure the truth and suggested that Christians are more likely than other people to commit rape and murder.

Farnan recorded his teacher telling students in class: “What country has the highest murder rate? The South! What part of the country has the highest rape rate? The South! What part of the country has the highest rate of church attendance? The South!” Farnan said he took the tape recorder to class to supplement his class notes.

Corbett’s attorney, Dan Spradlin, says his client has been teaching at Capistrano Valley High for 15 years and is in no way anti-Christian. According to Spradlin, Corbett was not trying to offend anyone but to inspire his students to think.

“The purpose is not to indoctrinate, but simply to provide a basic starting point to provoke discussion,” Spradlin said 

The Farnans say that if the school agrees to put Corbett through sensitivity training and requires him to apologize to the students he offended, then the family would consider dropping their lawsuit. The school district has yet to comment on the offer.

Read about it here. 

[From me]

Sounds like this man has been hurt by a Christian or the church in the past.  This kind of talk by anyone is sad.  Christian teachers shouldn’t be trashing other religions either.  I think the family is right here.  They sound like they just want an apology and the teacher to change his ways. Hopefully this can end with a peaceful solution.

What do you think? 

[Fox News]

 A Tomah High School student has filed a federal lawsuit alleging his art teacher censored his drawing because it featured a cross and a biblical reference.

The lawsuit alleges other students were allowed to draw “demonic” images and asks a judge to declare a class policy prohibiting religion in art unconstitutional.

“We hear so much today about tolerance,” said David Cortman, an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian legal advocacy group representing the student. “But where is the tolerance for religious beliefs? The whole purpose of art is to reflect your own personal experience. To tell a student his religious beliefs can legally be censored sends the wrong message.”

Tomah School District Business Manager Greg Gaarder said the district hadn’t seen the lawsuit and declined to comment.

According to the lawsuit, the student’s art teacher asked his class in February to draw landscapes. The student, a senior identified in the lawsuit by the initials A.P., added a cross and the words “John 3:16 A sign of love” in his drawing.His teacher, Julie Millin, asked him to remove the reference to the Bible, saying students were making remarks about it. He refused, and she gave him a zero on the project.

A Buddha and Hindu figurines are on display in a social studies classroom, the lawsuit claims, adding the teacher passionately teaches Hindu principles to students.

Read about it here. 

[From me]

Where is the tolerance for this boys beliefs?