Miss Georgia Turned Down Crown To Teach Middle School

Posted by Alex in Everything Else on July 9, 2009 at 3:16 pm

When it comes to beauty pageants, we’re so used to hearing about scandals that this news is rather unusual: Kristina Higgins, who was crowned Miss Georgia, turned down the prize and gave up her title after just hours of winning it because … she’d rather teach middle school!

After winning the Miss Georgia title Saturday night at the RiverCenter’s Bill Heard Theatre, Miss Capital City Kristina Higgins told pageant officials Sunday morning she wanted to relinquish the crown.

“She just didn’t think that she could fulfill the duties,” said Billy Kendall, secretary for the Miss Georgia Board of Trustees. [...]

In a statement, 24-year-old Higgins suggested her duties as a middle school teacher could interfere with the time commitment that comes with being Miss Georgia.

“Due to my current job responsibilities as a middle school teacher and the responsibilities and time commitment as Miss Georgia, I have decided to not fulfill the duties of Miss Georgia 2009. I am grateful for the opportunity to have been chosen as Miss Georgia and fully support the system and wish Emily Cook the best of luck,” Higgins said in the statement.

Link (Photo: Kristina Higgins from her MySpace account)

 
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Why Is It So Difficult To Fire Bad Teachers?

Posted by Alex in Politics on May 3, 2009 at 2:57 pm

Putting a man on the moon, solving Fermat’s Last Theorem, or firing a tenured teacher because of incompetence or even criminal behaviors: which is harder?

While most teachers are good, decent people with the thankless jobs of teaching unruly kids with dwindling resources and ever-increasing class sizes, there are a few bad apples that really ruined school for a lot of children. But why is it so difficult to fire them?

Jason Song of the Los Angeles Times investigates:

Joseph Walker, a former principal of Grant High School in Van Nuys, was sued by a special education teacher whom he tried to dismiss for alleged repeated sexual harassment. A civil jury sided with Walker — but the review commission decided the teacher shouldn’t be fired. The case, now in the courts, has dragged on seven years.

Confronting uphill battles like this, Walker said: "You’re not going to fire someone who’s not doing their job. And if you have someone who’s done something really egregious, there’s only a 50-50 chance that you can fire them."

Walker is now principal of Discovery Charter Preparatory Academy in Pacoima, where he said he had fired three teachers so far this year. None were fired during his three years as head of Grant. The difference: His school’s teachers are not unionized and can be fired at will.

Link

(Photo: Joseph Walker. Photo credit: Liz O. Baylen / LA Times)

 
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Mugs of Authority

Posted by Alex in Food & Drinks, Gadget, Pictures on December 13, 2008 at 2:26 pm

Mark Champkins of the Quirky design studio Concentrate asked school teachers their most commonly used phrases … and then print them on these "Mugs of Authority"

Teachers have no need to shout themselves hoarse, repeating the same phrases over and over – now they just need to point at their mug!

(The phrases are: Put That Down, Stop Doing That, and Don’t Mess About.)

Genius! Link

 
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Teacher Got In Trouble Over Santa

Posted by Alex in Everything Else on December 13, 2008 at 12:41 am

A substitute teacher in the United Kingdom got into a whole lot of Christmas trouble when she – gasp! – told kids that Santa doesn’t exist:

The female supply teacher told pupils at Blackshaw Lane Primary in Royton, Oldham, that it was parents, not Santa, who left their gifts on Christmas Day.

Several parents complained to the head teacher, who has since accepted an apology from the teacher concerned.

But head Angela McCormick has since told the agency she does not want the teacher to work there again.

Link
- Thanks Phil!

 
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The Dixie Cup Prank

Posted by Alex in Food & Drinks, Pictures on December 6, 2008 at 2:37 pm

What could you do with thousands of dixie cups? Here’s a teacher-pranking-teacher moment, photographed for your enjoyment:

Every single one of those 10,000 dixie cups was full of water. It took 10 people 3 hours to painstakingly set those things up and fill them. Every single horizontal surface we could get to was covered. There were even dixie cups in the desk drawers.

Link – via Buzzfeed

 
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