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Tag: School

  • 14-Year-Old Hacker Mastermind Infiltrated School Network, Charged with Felony

    A Florida eighth-grader is facing felony charges after accessing his middle school’s computer network and changing a teacher’s background.

    Hacker extraordinaire Domanik Green, 14, has been charged with offense against a computer system and unauthorized access after he “logged onto the school’s network on March 31 using an administrative-level password without permission. He then changed the background image on a teacher’s computer to one showing two men kissing,” according to the Tampa Bay Times.

    The sophisticated hack that allowed Green access to the impregnable system involved looking over a teacher’s shoulder and watching her type the password. It turned out to be the last name of a teacher at the school. Edward Snowden weeps.

    One of the main points of contention for authorities is that one of the computers Green ‘hacked’ contained FCAT questions on it. Green didn’t access or alter these files, however.

    “Even though some might say this is just a teenage prank, who knows what this teenager might have done,” Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco said.

    And he’s right. He most certainly could’ve hacked the mainframe and accessed the terminal. There he could’ve swapped out the launch codes for Microsoft Paint pictures of penises.

    It’s a good thing Green was caught when he was, as he appears to be a serial offender. According to the Times, he was once part of a criminal enterprise that involved logging into school computers and snapping selfies with the webcams.

    “You have somebody that clearly doesn’t learn their lesson. You have somebody who had the ability and if they had the intent could mess around with the FCAT system,” Sheriff Nocco told WTSP.

    If Green beats this rap, word on the street is Anonymous is looking to recruit.

    Image via Thinkstock

  • Snapchat Has to Be Thrilled with This Little Anecdote

    What’s so terrifying that it’ll make high-school students panic like they’re seven and someone just took away their recess?

    Apparently, it’s not a giant zit on prom night or the revelation of a secret burn book. It appears that the worst thing on planet Earth is one goshdarn moment without Snapchat.

    Kansas high-school teacher and possible Snapchat plant Tracie Schroeder says that she can’t remember anything disrupting her classroom more than the latest Snapchat update.

    What did Snapchat do? Well, yesterday, they finally fulfilled the promise of their name by adding a chat function to the primarily photo-based message service. Not only that, but they also added live face-to-face video chat. Apparently, it was so distracting, that Schroeder had to start taking phones away. And then things went south. Fast.

    As she tells Business Insider:

    Today was the first day in a long time I actually took phones away. I have no idea what all was included in the update, but you would have thought it was crack. They seriously could not keep away from it. I even had one girl crawl under the table with her phone.

    At that point I took all the phones away and we had a little reminder chat about when it was appropriate to use your phone and when it was not. Also that it was rarely appropriate to hide under the table.

    For quite awhile now, kids have had a real anxiety about being separated from their phone, but today it was near panic. I am hoping by tomorrow some of the novelty will have worn off and we can get back to business.

    Separation anxiety, it seems.

    Teens be lovin their Snapchat. And this little anecdote has to be sweet, ephemeral music to the company’s ears.

  • Student Gets Psych. Evaluation For Pencil Twirling

    Listen. It’s okay to have your Nerf Guns, your first person shooter video games, and maybe your second amendment – but by God, if you even so much as engage in pencil gymnastics suggesting anything more than mere stimulation out of boredom, you’re probably insane or a terrorist.

    The location is Glen Meadow Middle school in Vernon Township, New Jersey. The culprit is seventh grader Ethan Chaplin, whose crime was twirling a pencil in math class. The punishment? Media outlets report conflicts of whether or not Ethan was suspended, but he was definitely psychologically evaluated.

    According to News 12 New Jersey, Ethan was twirling a pencil with a pen cap on top when all of a sudden another student yelled, “He’s making gun motions! Send him to juvie!” Ethan, who said that the student had been bullying him earlier that day, was just trying to get him in trouble, and that the interpretation of his pencil twirling was all blown out of context.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRjD7cv_fPk

    Ethan said administrators ignored his side of the story when he mentioned the bullying. Instead, the 13-year-old had a little visit to the principal’s office, where, according to News 12, “he was suspended, pending the outcome of a psychological evaluation.”

    “I was shocked because I’m like, how am I not going to come back to school? I didn’t even do anything.” said Ethan.

    Ethan’s father, Michael Chaplin agreed, stating: “I’m livid. I’m absolutely livid. I think it’s gross misconduct at its finest. They took something so minimal and took it so far over the edge.”

    Charles Maranzano, the Vernon Schools Superintendent, sides with the principal and said she was just doing her job. School policy as well as the law requires that administration investigate any situation where a student feels uncomfortable or threatened by another student.

    “We never know what’s percolating in the mind of children, okay. And when they demonstrate behaviors that raise red flags, we must do our duty.” Maranzano said.

    Ethan underwent a five-hour physical and psychological evaluation which came back clean.

    Chaplin told Infowars that his son had to endure a five-hour long physical and psychological evaluation:

    “The child was stripped, had to give blood samples (which caused him to pass out) and urine samples for of all things drug testing. Then four hours later a social worker spoke to him for five minutes and cleared him. Then an actual doctor came in and said the state was 100 per cent incorrect in their procedure and this would not get him back in school.”

    On Monday, Ethan returned to school after missing two days – most likely due to media pressure exposing the sheer intelligence of an academic intuition’s methodology of proper pencil twirling punishments. WPIX 11 reported that the Vernon Township School District leadership stated Ethan Chaplin was never taken out of school.

    “I don’t think any district in New Jersey or America would ever suspend a student for twirling a pencil. That’s ludicrous.” said Maranzano.

    Images via YouTube

  • School Sorry About Black History Month Lunch Menu

    Fried chicken, watermelon, and cornbread – what’s not to love for the lunch menu of Black History Month at an all-girls Catholic school?

    Well, when you’re Principal Nancy Libby of Carondelet High School for Girls in Concord, California, you’ll wind up having to hold an assembly to discuss the incident as a means of appeasing upset students and parents. Buttered up apology letters from Principal Libby were sent to the students’ homes that read:

    “I’d like to apologize for the announcement and any hurt this caused students, parents or community members. Please know that at no time at Carondelet do we wish to perpetuate racial stereotypes.”


    So is this all okay to do?

    Maybe not, as it leaves the fowl bitter taste of alluding perpetuated stereotypes in one’s mouth; it’s because blackface-era cartoons always portrayed lewd caricatures of African-Americans eating these foods.

    “Quite offensive because they put everything that we’ve accomplished into a menu,” Dr. Doris Limbrick, principal of Acts Christian Academy in East Oakland told KPIX 5.

    Yet, there’s always room for the neutral perspective: Professor James Taylor of the University of San Francisco saw why some students and teachers would find the choice of cuisine offensive, despite no ill-will:

    “Chicken, watermelon, collard greens — these stereotypes of black Southern culture that come from the same place where the N-word comes from.”

    But others like Elizabeth Williams of the Contra Costa County Equal Opportunity Commission and a member of the NAACP mentioned that the food wasn’t offensive at all; these delectable delicacies deserve devouring and decompressing.

    “What is the big deal?” Williams told CBS SF. “Historically and even now, we like our chicken and I’m not going to stop eating my fried chicken, nor my cornbread, nor my watermelon.”

    “Let’s move on. Let’s be more progressive. Let’s not be so insulted about something so minute.”

    But how did this all happen? Who allowed such food items to be placed on the menu and why?

    Last Thursday, further damage control came from the school’s Director of Communications Christina Ditzel in the form of a PDF letter posted on the school’s website. Essentially, there was a communication gap; even without the approval of administrative knowledge or permission, the menu was still dished out.

    Whoopsie doodle.

    Image via WikiCommons

  • Florida Kid Sent a Bomb Threat to His School via Facebook Message

    Florida man kid strikes again!

    The first rule of anonymous bomb threats is that they are anonymous. Interestingly enough, that’s also the first word in “anonymous bomb threats.”

    Most Americans who have gone through the public schools system are quite familiar with the school bomb threat. We’ve all had to evacuate the building, line up outside at a rather unsafe distance (depending on the size of the possible bomb), and watch the fire department sweep the building. Most of the time, school officials never really figure out who called it in. It’s most always just a prank. Stupid kids, right?

    Well, for one Winter Haven, Florida school, the search was quick and easy.

    From WTSP:

    A 14-year-old middle school student on leave was arrested Monday for sending a bomb threat in a Facebook message to his school.

    Winter Haven Police say the Denison Middle School student sent the private message via mobile device saying, “I’m gonna bomb this school,” to the school’s official Facebook page on Jan. 24 and it was picked up by school administrators.

    Cool, bro. Direct and to the point.

    Apparently the kid also chased a classmate around with a kitchen knife and told him he’d be coming back for him the next day. Our little troublemaker was taken to juvie and charged with aggravated assault with deadly weapon and threatening to discharge a destructive device.

    “Any inappropriate posts or comments will be deleted and the user will be banned. If unsure about a comment, it is probably best not to post it,” says a disclaimer on Denison’s Facebook page. In order to clarify, I guess the school should have also discussed bomb threat direct messages. I know, but you gotta spell everything out these days.

    Our future is bright, you guys.

    Image via Denison Middle School, Facebook

  • Mary Kay Letourneau: Scandalous Ex-Teacher Arrested, Again

    Mary Kay Letourneau, the schoolteacher arrested in 1997 for sleeping with her sixth grade student, is in trouble yet again.

    The fifty-one-year-old was arrested Monday morning in Seattle, Wash., for “failing to appear in court for a suspended driver’s license case.”

    According to Julie Murphy, the state’s spokeswoman for King County Adult and Juvenile Detention & Community Corrections, Letourneau was released on a $5,000 bond the same day.

    In the late 1990s, Letourneau became one of the most controversial headliners in the news.

    Her relationship with Vili Fualaau, who was 12 years old at the time, became one of the most shameful acts in the nation at that time.

    At 34, Letourneau found herself attracted to her student, which led to sexual encounters. After the story made its way to court, she was convicted of raping Fualaau and served seven years in prison.

    However, she and Fualaau never denied the attraction they had for one another and actually admitted to being in love.

    After her release from prison in 2003, they married in 2005 and had two children.

    Although there has been many other teacher-student romances or teacher-student rape cases, Letourneau’s trial remains one that will forever be remembered by many.

    Letourneau next court date is scheduled for Tuesday, which she plans to attend.

    Image via Youtube, Tyrone White 

  • Deion Sanders Fired From Prep Academy, Again

    “Neon” Deion Sanders has been fired, again.

    Sanders co-founded Prime Prep Academy in the Dallas-area in 2012, and for the second time this year, Prime Time himself has been fired. This time it has affected the students and players.

    While Sanders was being told to leave by security, about 75 students and players walked out of class.

    On Tuesday, while the Dallas County Deputy Constable kept Sanders at bay in the school’s parking lot, Sanders said, “I never dreamed this. I just dreamed of having the best academic and athletic institution in the country, and we are going to have it. We are going to have it…we just have to get this mess out.”

    The mess Sanders is referring to is the bitter power struggle he and Prime Prep Board President T. Chris Lewis are facing against the administrators. The same administrators who fired Sanders.

    Lewis told the Dallas Morning News, “I did not approve this dismissal nor would I have made that decision. I would imagine some of the board members would want to know the rationale for this firing.”

    “This is nonsense. We are sick of it. The kids don’t deserve it. Over-paid, under-qualified administrators never worked in a school in their life. Total chaos. We have a formula to restore what the was the dream at Prime Prep,” said Sanders.

    Right now the school is being run by Prime Prep’s general counsel, Dallas attorney Kimberly Carlisle, who took over after co-founder and former CEO and Executive Director D. L. Wallace resigned on November 21, 2013.

    Wallace resigned just a day after WFAA-TV questioned him about using school operating funds to make some mystery rent payments.

    Carlisle also seems to have a conflict of interest in running the school. According to Sanders, Carlisle’s mother is the cater for Prime Prep Academy.

    A meeting will be held this Friday and Sanders hopes the Board of Directors will fire the current administrators. Sanders said, “Right now they are trying to overthrow the board and do everything that is not legal and lawful. It’s unbelievable.”

    And like so many, Sanders took to his Twitter to make some cryptic and motivational comments about what is going on.

    Sanders has found a new mantra apparently, which he has tweeted out at least four times today.

    [Image via Sanders’ official Twitter.]

  • Man Gets Arrested For Picking Up His Kids At School

    It’s 2:00PM on a Thursday, and the children at South Cumberland Elementary school in Crossville, Tennessee have been dismissed for the day. A father arrives on time to pick up his kids, but he is arrested. The school’s new policy only allows students to be picked up at 2:00PM if their parents are picking them up in cars, you have to wait until 2:35PM if you’re walking.

    Jim Howe and his fiancée, Amanda Long, bothered by the long line in traffic of other parents, decided to pick up their two children at the school at 2:00PM by walking.

    “You don’t need a reason as a parent to go get your children,” Howe told the school officials.

    But Avery Aytes, a sheriff deputy and school resource officer, disagreed – preventing Howes from leaving the school with his kids. As seen in the video below, Long captured the whole interaction between her husband and Aytes.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8r-bdcvx8E

    In the video, Howe doesn’t raise his voice and appears to be engaging in a civil discussion about picking up his kids. When Howes brought up how the new policy was illegal, Aytes threatened him with jail time.

    “I’m going to call some help down here and we’re going to take you up to the jail right now,” said Aytes to Howes.

    “I’m not putting up with this today. You’re being childish and it’s uncalled for.”

    The discussion continued until Howe mentioned that the state law was on his side; Aytes decided to arrest Howes for disorderly conduct.

    “I’m not standing here arguing with you, you’re disorderly,” Aytes added.

    The school had no words for the press, but the sheriff’s office did. They told an ABC local news channel that Aytes acted responsibly.

    “The resource officers are there to enforce the law,” said Cumberland County Sheriff Butch Burgess in a statement.

    Despite the commotion, Burgess did agree with Howes about inefficient pick up system, and that it was causing disorder. The cars are back up so far that they’re seeping into the highway, causing safety concerns.

    Currently, there’s a fundraiser for Howe’s legal expenses; the family’s goal is to raise $10,000.

    (Pictures via YouTube)

  • Minecraft Can Now Be Played In School

    Move over, Oregon Trail. Minecraft, the popular sandbox game where players build worlds out of 3D boxes, is being used for the first time in an elementary school in Davie, Florida. The game, which has no real end and no way to lose, allows students to use their imagination to build and explore their own worlds.

    Matt Munro, a computer science teacher at the elementary school, says that the game allows students to explore engineering interests, while at the same time develops technology and science skills. Munro explains that the gameplay “could raise cognitive learning for students by as much as 12 percent and improve hand-eye coordination, problem-solving ability and memory.”

    Minecraft’s gameplay is completely up to the player, who uses the resources provided in the game to build a world of their wildest imagination. Over on their official website, the creators of Minecraft celebrate the game’s many possibilities. “It can be about adventuring with friends or watching the sun rise over a blocky ocean. Brave players battle terrible things in The Nether. Or you can visit a land of mushrooms if it sounds more like your cup of tea.” The official Minecraft trailer below gives a nice overview of the game’s basics and shows off some of the stunning visuals you can create:


    If you’re curious to learn more Minecraft (or still really have no idea what it is), the hour long documentary about the game went live on Youtube about a week ago, and is free to watch in its entirety. The game is available as a PC/Mac download from their website, or on your XBOX 360. Recently, the game surpassed the 12 million downloads mark.

    image via YouTube

  • Head Lice: Should Kids With Lice Be Allowed in School?

    Head Lice: Should Kids With Lice Be Allowed in School?

    Some parents are outraged at the news that some schools are relaxing their rules regarding head lice. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, head lice infects between 6 million and 12 million kids ages 3 to 11 per year. This number could go up, though, since some schools have decided to no longer send home lice notes and let kids with lice stay in class through the end of the day.

    Most of the time, when a teacher discovers a kid has lice, he is sent to the school nurse and the parents are called. The kid stays out of school for a couple of days–or however long it takes to get rid of the lice–and the teacher sends home a note alerting parents to check their child’s hair because of the infestation. Not only does this single out the kid with lice and embarrass them, it also costs them education time.

    School districts in several states–including Nevada and Texas–have decided to skip out on lice notes and refrain from sending kids home for a couple of reasons, but mainly to avoid embarrassing the kids infested with lice.

    “Lice is icky, but it’s not dangerous,” says Deborah Pontius, the school nurse for the Pershing County School District in Lovelock, Nevada. Pontius also says that kids infested with lice have probably had them for anywhere from 3 weeks to two months, which means he has already spread the lice–all the more reason to avoid embarrassing kids. “It gets out who had lice,” Pontius said, adding that since parents of younger kids should be checking their heads for lice weekly anyway, there is no real need to send home the lice notes.

    Lesslie Sanders, a school nurse in Savoy, Texas says that sending kids home for lice is unnecessary. “The kids are always missing too much school and it’s not a health hazard,” Sanders said. “We call the parents, we talk about the remedies, how to fix it, also how to help the kids not get embarrassed. It’s just not a big deal anymore. It’s mostly just a nuisance,” Sanders added.

    This new policy does not sit well with a lot of parents. “I’m appalled. I am just so disgusted,” said Theresa Rice, whose 8-year-old daughter has come home from her elementary school in Hamilton County, Tennessee, with lice three times this school year. “It’s just a terrible headache to have to deal with lice,” says Rice.

    Parent Cissy Pennelle isn’t a fan of the more relaxed policy, either. “Children bring that home and then it becomes a deal of people being able to afford stuff to take care of it as well as take care of stuff in their home–it is a health hazard,” Pennelle said.

    Do you agree with more relaxed rules regarding head lice? Respond below.

    For equal parts entertainment and educational value, check out the head lice cartoon below.

    [Image via YouTube]

  • Boy Says He Was Suspended for Carrying a Purse

    A 13-year-old Kansas student was suspended from his junior high school this week because he reportedly refused to ditch his Vera Bradley purse. Skyler Davis is an eighth grader at Anderson County Senior-Junior School and says he has been carrying the bag since school started and found himself in trouble after he refused to take it off one day this week.

    Skyler’s mother, Leslie Willis, was called to the school on Wednesday to pick up Skyler. After he refused to take the purse off in class, he was sent to the office, where he also refused to remove the bag.

    “I was a little furious, and I called the school to reverify the story, and yeah, he refused to take off his Vera Bradley bag, nothing more to it. Skyler has been going to school since August with that same Vera Bradley bag on, hasn’t taken it off. What is the problem?” Willis commented. Willis says she is supportive of her son’s decision to wear a Vera Bradley bag.

    Check out a picture of Skyler wearing his Vera Bradley purse below.

    (image)

    “It expresses myself and I think everyone else can wear it, so I wear it as well. All the girls can wear purses but I can’t because I’m a male,” Skyler said. Skyler’s mother says that he is the victim of gender discrimination.

    When Skyler went back to school the next day, he says he was told that he was never suspended for refusing to remove the purse. “He was pulled into an office, behind closed doors to tell him that he was never suspended for refusing to take off his purse, he got suspended for foul language,” Willis said. “That’s not the story that Mr. Hillard told me yesterday. Skyler is only 13 years old. He’s just a child. And if this isn’t bullying, I don’t know what is.”

    Even though the root cause of the suspension is disputed, Anderson County School District Superintendent Don Blome is very clear on the fact that students aren’t allowed to bring any bags in the classroom, something that has been a rule for around 10 years.

    “We strive to make sure we treat every kid alike and there are classroom rules we expect kids to follow,” Blome said. “They can bring (bags and purses) to school. There’s no policy against that. But the classroom rules are that they can’t bring it to the classroom.” Blome says that handbags and backpacks are supposed to be stored in lockers while the kids are in class–this rule applies to all students, not just males.

    Skyler has received a lot of support for his decision to wear a purse, both at school and online. Check out some comments posted to Twitter. Make sure to post your thoughts on the issue below.

    [Images via KCTV5]

  • 8-Year-Old Threatened With Expulsion For Drawings

    The headmaster at Scottsdale Country Day School is not having it with your “highly disturbing” pictures, young man. Look, even if you’re drawing potential costumes you’ll be wearing for Halloween; it’s still not okay to display images of characters holding either a knife or gun –we’re not taking any risks here.

    (image) (image) (image)

    A couple in Scottdale, Arizona removed their 8-year-old from school after he was threatened by the principal with expulsion for drawing three images depicting a ninja, a soldier, and a Star Wars character wielding weapons.

    “In this situation, it’s actually the principal of school who bullied the parents – so much that we couldn’t even be safe in that environment,” said Jeff, whose last name is omitted for the sake of protecting the identity of his son.

    “I think we really send our children the wrong message when we show that, as adults, we’re so afraid of our shadow that an innocent picture – that any 8-year-old might’ve drawn – is cause for this kind of concern.” Jeff told KPHO.

    During a meeting to discuss the 8-year-old’s artwork, the principal bestowed Jeff with his son’s journal, highlighting passages he found to be too violent and inappropriate.

    One story by Jeff’s son talked about excepting a killer zombie at a haunted school, that read:

    “I’d open the windows, but, stand back quickly. Booby-trapped. Shoot the gadget – a rope gun – I’d swing across without getting hit.”

    One entry mentioned how he wished for the ability to save the world from atom bombs, and stopping bullets. Other third-grader’s journal entries surrounded themes of saving the world and protecting humanity.

    Jeff said that the headmaster told him that he couldn’t guarantee the safety of other students around his son.

    “I don’t under how somebody can say that about an 8-year-old that has no history of violence, no history of making threats – nothing at all.”

    According to the Scottsdale Country Day School’s online student and parent handbook, “Any behavior that is deemed threatening such as violent behavior, drawings depicting weapons, blood, or aggression, or any verbal actions causing or threatening to cause harm to a person, group of persons, animal, or facility.” are grounds for expulsion.

    The school declined to comment on the situation.

    (Pictures via CBS 5)

  • AXE Body Spray Gets School Shutdown, 8 Hospitalized

    Bro, sometimes you just gotta spray solvent aerosol deodorants under your pits to get you smelling fresh for the ladies, you know what I mean? Slicking back the hair, sporting the sunglasses, and swag can only do so much for a pre-pubescent boy to evolve into a man. Everybody knows the cool rule of school says that the more you drench yourself with a full can of Axe body spray, the more likely you’ll become alpha; it’s all about presence, even if it causes a school-wide shut down, you know that the ends justify the means.

    According to The Smoking Gun, last Wednesday at Medgar Evers College Preparatory School in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, eight students were hospitalized and two others were taken to their own family doctors after a young student released copious amounts of AXE body spray in a sixth grade classroom at 1 PM. The Department of Education released a statement confirming that the school was temporarily closed on Wednesday. Emergency crews scrambled to the school to investigate the “hazardous” smell.

    The statement from the education departments notes that “disciplinary action is pending” for the hip and happening well smelled student.

    Sadly, this is not the first time that Axe body spray has caused problems in schools around America. A Pennsylvania high school had to downright ban the spray earlier this March after a student was hospitalized after being exposed to its fumes. Back in 2012, Connecticut high school officials said that a fire alarm went off after a student used an “overabundance” of the spray in a locker room.

    Users on Reddit shared their own thoughts and personal horror stories:

    (image) (image)

    Axe kind of markets itself as the ultimate scent of seduction, with women going absolutely bonkers for men who “spray more and get more”. The following video accurately portrays exactly what will happen the more that you spray Axe body spray onto your body:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9tWZB7OUSU
    (image)

    You’ve just witnessed the “Axe Effect”, bro, get used to it. It’s known to trigger “increased attention” from “eager, and attractive female pursuers.”

    But bro, despite the official story, they’re probably just haters.

    (Images via AXE’s Facebook Page, YouTube, Reddit)

  • “King’s Speech” Method Helps Boy With Stutter

    A British high school student was involved in a recent Channel 4 series as they filmed at his school, Thornhill, and says that his stutter, which he has struggled with for years, quickly became a focus of the producers. Because Musharaf “Mushy” Asghar was gearing up to take his GSCEs–and 20% of the final grade depended on an oral exam–he says he was pretty stressed.

    But when English teacher Mr. Burton became involved, he used a little trick to help Mushy get through the speaking part without a trace of a stutter: listening to music on headphones as he was speaking.

    “The poem we were working on was called The Moment and it really was a moment I will remember for ever,” Mushy said in a piece he wrote for The Guardian. “I didn’t really like the song Mr. Burton put on (it was Ben Howard, and I don’t really like guitary kind of music), but if I had to listen to all of his songs back to back for ever and could speak like that, I would do it!”

    Of course, Burton didn’t come up with the idea on his own; it was a trick used by Lionel Logue to help King George VI overcome his stammer in order to give a speech that was broadcast on the radio, and was made popular in the film “The King’s Speech”.

    “I thought Mr Burton was a genius until he lent me The King’s Speech afterwards, and then I realised he just copied that other man!” Mushy wrote.

    Mushy says he hopes that his experience being televised will help others who have the same affliction, and is proud to have been a part of it.

    “I was excited, if nervous, about the whole thing going out. But I’m really happy and proud to be on telly as I hope it gives other people with a stammer the confidence to have a go at public speaking. My speech is getting better every week. Everyone at college gives me time, but I’m getting quicker anyway so they don’t miss their bus while they are listening to me. I still won’t be applying for any call-centre jobs yet though,” he wrote.

    You can see video of Mushy in action here.

    Image: screenshot via Channel 4

  • NC Middle School Terrifies Kids with a Masked Gunman

    Imagine that you send your kid to school one day, only to hear that a masked man wielding a gun showed up. You’d assume the worst, right? After all, stories where people take guns into schools never end well. While such a situation happened at a Wayne County, NC school on Friday, no one was harmed–the mask was real, but the gun was fake and was being used to teach the sixth graders at Eastern Wayne Middle School a “lesson.”

    Apparently at a middle school in Wayne County, some employees think that getting a masked man with a gun to rob students is an appropriate way to teach them how to be aware of their surroundings. While some parents might think that’s an extreme way to teach kids a lesson, but not be too upset with it as long as they had a chance to opt their kids in or out, parents of Eastern Wayne Middle School students never had such an opportunity. Parents didn’t learn of the training exercise until after it was conducted.

    The school received quite a few phone calls from ticked off parents, which prompted school officials to send out a letter explaining the situation on Monday. The letter explains that the masked man with a toy gun was part of an “enrichment lesson on exhibiting good citizenship.” The letter goes on to say that after a staff member entered all of the sixth grade classrooms and pretended to rob them, their teachers explained that it was all play-acting.

    (image)

    School official Ken Derksen says that the exercise lacked sensitivity and admits that maybe having a masked man with a gun scare kids wasn’t the best way to teach the lesson. “It obviously did lack that sensitivity that was needed…all of our schools work very hard to promote a safe learning environment…in this situation, the exercise in its original intent was appropriate, but in how it was executed it obviously lacked judgment,” said Derksen, who is a Public Information Officer with the Wayne County Public Schools.

    Would you be outraged if your child were part of such a training exercise? Respond below.

    One parent of a child who has already graduated says that he thinks parents have “every right to be upset.” “I think after Sandy Hook less than a year ago and countless school shootings in recent years, it is quite understandable if these sixth graders were traumatized by the sight of a paid fake masked gunman entering the school,” said Clint Belue. “I think the parents have every right to be upset particularly since they had no knowledge beforehand about the paid fake gunman. Parents send their kids to school to learn, not to be terrorized by a paid fake gunman.”

    So far no action has been taken against the staff member who decided to dress as a masked gunman and scare the kids, but officials are looking into the situation to decide whether it warrants the person being suspended.

    Main image via WikiMedia Commons; Letter image via ABC11

  • Suspicious Man Prompts Lockdowns at Mass. Schools

    Two schools in Attleboro, Massachusetts were put on lockdown today, after a suspicious man was seen with what appeared to be a gun in his back pocket.

    Attleboro police said that the man was viewed from Wamsutta Middle School on Locust Street, just before noon. Wamsutta, as well as Hyman Fine Elementary, were promptly put on lockdown, as police investigated.

    Massachusetts State Police said via Twitter that K-9 units and the Air Wing were brought in to the investigation.


    Attleboro police described the man their searching for:


    Wamsutta was dismissed at about 2:30 p.m., and Hyman Fine was dismissed at 3:30 p.m. Concerned citizens in the area also took to Twitter:


    Some think the man was a gangster, some think he might have been hunting. Either way, with the current state of the nation, one can never be too careful when it comes to possible school violence. Sadly, large response tactics are put in place for a reason. Attleboro Sgt. Arthur Brillon stated, “If we err, we’d prefer to err on the side of caution.”

    Image via Wikimedia Commons.

  • Jaden Smith Thinks School Brainwashes Our Youth

    Do you know the boy with one expression? Will Smith’s son? Anyways, Jaden Smith, 15, movie star of such blockbuster hits like After Earth and Karate Kid, said in capitalized letters on Twitter last week, that: “If Everybody In The World Dropped Out Of School We Would Have A Much More Intelligent Society.” As Jaden Tweeted via phone, he added, “Everybody Get Off Your Phones And Go Do What You Actually Wanna Do.”

    “People Use To Ask Me What Do You Wanna Be When You Get Older And I Would Say What A Stupid Question The Real Question Is What Am I Right Now,” Jaden added. “All The Rules In This World Were Made By Someone No Smarter Than You. So Make Your Own.”

    “If Newborn Babies Could Speak They Would Be The Most Intelligent Beings On Planet Earth.”

    Perhaps Jaden’s view on school is much different than his parents’. According to Radar Online, back in 2008, Will Smith, 44, and his wife Jada Smith, 41, founded the New Village Leadership Academy in Calabasas, California. It was a new type of private elementary school that taught on a curriculum influenced by Scientology. It shut down last June.

    In May, The Sun newspaper had an interview with Will Smith, in which he said that his son requested for his 15th birthday to be “emancipated.” Shortly after that interview, there was an outburst in the media, to which Jaden clarified his father’s statements on Ellen DeGeneres’ talk show. “I’m not going anywhere. Everything at [Will Smith’s] house is free. So I can get anything and everything I want at his house. So I think I’m going to be there for 20 [to] 30 more years. [Will Smith] says as soon as I have a movie that’s bigger than one of his movies then I have to get my own house.”

    Below, are the snipped clips of Jaden’s sage-like Twitter updates concerning the issue of school:

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    Will Smith’s son? Famous Hollywood child actor and singer?

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    Everybody reads it, right?

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    Didn’t Steve Jobs say something similar?

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    Food? Change my diaper?

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    You know, Chomsky talked about this once.

     

    Do you think there is merit to Jaden’s words?

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    You can get Jaden Smith’s latest mix tape, The Cool Café, here.

    (Images courtesy of Facebook and Twitter)

  • School Bus Overturns Near Kansas City

    School Bus Overturns Near Kansas City

    This afternoon around 1:00 pm, a school bus overturned near Kansas City, Missouri. On board was a group of sixth grade girls from Pembroke Hill School, a private school in Kansas City.

    When the bus made a sharp turn too fast around a highway ramp, the bus overturned and left many of the middle school girls with non-life threatening injuries. The bus driver was also injured. It is not yet clear as to what caused the bus driver to loose control.

    Many of those who were injured had minor cuts and scrapes, bruising or broken bones. However, a couple of the students did have concussions and one had a spinal injury. They were all sent to Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Mo.

    On duty in the emergency room at the children’s hospital this afternoon was doctor Denise Dowd, who earlier today said, “Good news so far. We received four patients, all with minor bumps and bruises, and it looks like they’re doing OK at this point. Nothing major.”

    The girls were on their way to a campout in Northeast Kansas. The trip was set up through the school and was for the incoming sixth graders to enjoy a bonding experience before the school year began. Following behind was another bus, containing the boys attending the campout. This bus was not involved in the crash.

    Those students who were not injured were transported to Bonner Springs High School where they anxiously awaited to be picked up by their parents.

    Two hours after the crash, two large trucks were able to push the bus back up onto its correct side.

  • School Must Allow Trasngender To Use Boys Restroom

    The L.A. Times reports that the family of a transgender middle school student in Arcadia, California is happy to learn that the school district and the U.S. Department of Education have reached a settlement in the case involving their son.

    The student, unnamed because he is a minor, was born female but identifies as a male. He had previously been prohibited from accessing boys restrooms and locker rooms at the school because he is transgender. He has self-identified as a male from a young age. But his parents complained that the school would not allow him to use boys facilities. They said that during one district-sponsored overnight camp, he was not allowed to stay in the boys cabin, and was instead assigned a separate cabin by himself.

    A Title X investigation was launched by the U.S. Department of Education into the allegations of discrimination. The school has settled the case by agreeing to immediately ale steps to treat the student like all other boys. Furthermore, the district has agreed to amend its own policies against gender-based discrimination to include any discrimination based on transgender conflicts. Teachers will be trained in how to handle such matters so as to be in compliance with the new policies.

    These kinds of policy changes and training are not unusual. In the not-too-distant past, companies, schools and other entities had to come up with official policies that define where the organization stands on matters such as sexual harassment. Companies that do not specifically define expectations in such matters for employees, and enforce those standards, can find themselves the object of lawsuits should an incident violating the rights of others arise.

    Other similar policy issues include conflict of interest, gift-giving and -receiving behaviors, and even dress codes.

  • One Direction School Supplies Are Really Hot This Year, According To Google Shopping Data

    One Direction School Supplies Are Really Hot This Year, According To Google Shopping Data

    Google has shared some search trends for back to school shoppers using the search engine for their shopping needs. The company finds that this is the earliest back to school shopping season on record, and its Google Shopping data shows One Direction supplies are very popular items this year.

    According to Google, most of users’ back to school research will be complete by the end of July, and searches for “Back to School Sales” started trending two weeks earlier this year than last year.

    “While just a small group of consumers have started to make purchases already, the momentum will pick up quickly toward the end of the month,” says Google sales development manager Jacalyn Stolt. “Just over a third of online shoppers will use their smartphones as an on-the-go tool to help make shopping easier. Of these, the 66% will use their smartphone to locate a retailer nearby, 64% will compare prices, and 43% will search for store item availability.”

    Google Back to School Trends

    According to Google, over 60% of shoppers will begin their shopping online, and most say that online research will have “a notable impact” on their in-store purchase decisions.

    Among the top trending back to school searches on Google Shopping are: One Direction School Supplies, Messenger bags, North Face school backpacks, Personalized school supplies and Nike Free 5.0 kids.

    Google also found that shoppers for high school students expect to spend about $347 on average, while people shopping for college expect to spend nearly double that at $614 on average. Google also shares some top trending searches for dorm decorations: Pink dorm bedding, Dorm chandelier, Big Joe bean bag chair, Calendar wall decals and String lights.

    “Back to school shoppers are price conscious and are looking for deals, with 94% of shoppers saying that a promotion or sale would persuade them to purchase a product,” says Stolt. “We found that people are more sale conscious when buying consumer electronics than other school supplies. Consumer electronics shoppers were more likely to make a purchase if there was a back to school promotion, free shipping offer, or one day sale. Brands like Dell are promoting deals of the day and in-store pickup in Google search ads to help shoppers with their back to school shopping.”

    Interestingly, Google says 73% of shoppers who watch online videos for back to school shopping are looking for product reviews from “people like me,” and the company found that four in ten shoppers visited a store online or in person as a direct result of watching apparel videos. Back to school shopping searches on YouTube, which spike every year in August, have doubled from last year. Popular searches on YouTube include: room tour, school supplies, school makeup tutorial and haul videos. In just the past week, over 205,000 haul videos have been posted to YouTube.

    Google Back to School Shopping infographic

    Lead image: One Direction (Facebook)

  • Facebook Threats to Kill Schoolchildren Land Self-Described Troll in Jail

    Less than three months after admitting to making threats to shoot over 200 schoolchildren, a 24-year-old British man has been sentenced to 28 months in jail.

    Back in April, Reece Elliot admitting to making the following comments on Facebook. They appeared on a tribute page for an American girl that was killed in a car crash back in October of last year:

    I’m glad the fat bitch is dead. Let’s drink to drink driving. No one gives a shit that she’s dead, get over it. If I was there now I would rape you.

    My father has three guns. I’m planning on killing him first and putting him in a dumpster. Then I’m taking the motor and I’m going in fast. I’m gonna kill hopefully at least 200 before I kill myself. So you want to tell the deputy, I’m on my way.

    I’m killing 200 people minimum at school. I will be on CNN.

    The threats were taken even more seriously than normal considering the timeframe – Elliot made the posts shortly after the school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut made global headlines. Officials were forced to suspend school for nearly 3,000 students.

    When confronted, Elliot claimed that he was just trollin’ – saying those offensive things just to get a rise.

    Elliot plead guilty to making a threat to kill as well as eight counts of “sending grossly offensive messages.” This isn’t his first run in with the law – he already has 17 convictions for 28 different offenses, according to the AFP.

    Trolling or not, it looks like he’ll have plenty of time to refine his skills in prison.