Florida? Or Just Happy to See Me?

Oh man, this one is a winner for sure. I really never tire hearing about how teachers make the dumbest mistakes in front of students. I was a teacher myself for a few years and while inappropriate comments related to teaching material would often come up in my mind, I knew better than to share those silly revelations with my 6th graders. The folks over at DetentionSlip never cease to entertain with their reporting on such stories.

A Kansas City 8th grade science teacher got fired for comparing the shape of Florida to an erect penis. If you read the article, it's interesting because he never even says the words "erect" or "penis". Apparently, he draws a map of the US, Florida is out of proportion, a student calls him out on it and he says, "Florida got excited." Inappropriate? Probably. Does the guy deserve to be fired? Hell no. Especially when you know every 8th grade boy in that class was thinking the exact same thing before he even pointed it out. If he called Florida a penis to a class of 1st graders, we might have a bigger problem.

Turns out his students are pissed. Several students cut class to protest and many have been picketing on street corners demanding that he be allowed back. To have a bunch of 8th graders go out on a limb like that for a teacher? This guy must be good. Let him back in. The parents agree. A ton of them showed up to the termination hearing to urge the board to keep him.

But don't get your hopes up. With every glimmer of hope, there's a bitter bureaucrat waiting to bring the buzzkill. From the article:

"Leigh Anne Neal, a district spokeswoman, said the student demonstrators will be marked as absent without an excuse. School officials notified the students and the parents of the students who demonstrated outside the school rather than attend class that they will not receive credit for missed work."

Ugh! These kinds of administrators are the worrrrrrrrrrst. Standing behind a decision just to stand behind it. If you ask me, these are the people we should be keeping our kids away from. As far as I'm concerned, Leigh Anne Neal can go suck a Florida.