May 06 2008
Dumb All Over: Florida… again
What the hell is it with the educators in Florida? They keep trying to get ID in the classrooms, and ‘academic freedom’ nonsense that would allow teachers to basically teach whatever horseshit they wanted. And fear of wizardry. Yup, that’s what I said. A Florida substitute teacher has been fired for doing a little slight-of-hand trick that makes a toothpick disappear.
The trick requires a toothpick and transparent tape. A sleight-of-hand maneuver causes the toothpick to disappear then reappear. At least, so it seems. In reality, the toothpick hides behind the performer’s thumb, held in place by the tape.
“The whole thing lasted 45 seconds,” Piculas said.
He said the students liked the trick. He showed them how to do it so they could perform it at home.
One student in the Rushe Middle class apparently took the trick the wrong way, Piculas said. He said he was told the student became so traumatized that the student’s father complained.
As someone said in the comments on the article, “Someone needs to beat the shit out of that traumatized kid.” Now, apparently, other reasons were cited for his dismissal as well, but given that ‘wizardry’ statement, that may be a ruse. Given the widespread anti-intellectualism of the state, I wouldn’t be too surprised.
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This would really piss me off if I could just stop giggling.
I’m with Mike…
This story has been blown way out of proportion. The substitute teacher was dismissed because he didn’t follow lesson plans, left a student in charge of the classroom, put the kids on computers they weren’t authorized to use - and yes, did some goofy magic trick instead of actually, say, TEACHING. Now the sub is crying foul and saying he was accused of “wizardry” (as opposed to doing a simple trick) when there is NOTHING to support that allegation. It is amazing to me that people will believe the preposterous (the sub says a middle schooler was traumatized over a disappearing toothpick? even after the sub showed them he has tape on the back of his hand?) over the logical (school district says it dismissed the sub for not following directions and not running the classroom properly).
I don’t know, it sounds pretty fishy to me, and someone is undoubtedly exaggerating something. Considering how badly the God virus seems to infect educators in Florida, I’m not ready to dismiss it out of hand, either.
“It is amazing to me that people will believe the preposterous”
Churches, synagogue, temples, and mosques are bursting with them.
Amen to that, brother.