Posted on 05/15/2006 6:01:16 AM PDT by 300magnum
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. - A high school teacher has apologized for asking students to write about who they would kill and how they would do it, and officials said he will likely keep his job.
Michael Maxwell, who teaches industrial technology at Central High School, said his request that students in his beginning drafting class describe how they would carry out a murder was merely a writing prompt. It was not clear why he asked the drafting class to write fiction.
"I made a horrible mistake that I regret," Maxwell said. "I want to apologize to my students, my colleagues and to the community."
The April 21 writing request, which Maxwell said was not a formal assignment, came to the attention of administrators when a parent of one of the students filed a complaint with Principal Barton Albright.
Albright expressed regret and apologized for Maxwell's "lapse of judgment."
"He's an exemplary person ... this is very out of character," the principal said.
St. Joseph School District spokesman Steve Huff declined to discuss possible disciplinary measures because the matter is considered a personnel issue. But he said the incident probably isn't serious enough to cost Maxwell his job.
About 25 to 30 students from ninth through 12th grades were in the class, Albright said.
At least he wasn't having sex with any of his students.
This is 2006...didn't he know that it should be "Who they would have sex with and how they would do it".
Exaactly my thought. This is my husband's home town, so I think I will check and see what his relatives have to say.
I wonder if the 25 to 30 students will now be expelled. /sarc
..that we know of
Doogle
Apparently zero tolerance only goes one way.
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Okay, it's 1967, and I'm sitting in class in high school and my teacher instructs the class to write an essay about who we would want to kill and why. |
I'm now picturing that teacher being taken away in handcuffs by the cops about a half hour later, and never setting foot in a classroom again.
Maybe he had darker motives in mind.
If he would just have made the assignment concerning Bush,
I am sure the school administration would have defended his acedemic freedom.
The student who got the "A" was the one whose story read: "Murder my Drafting Teacher by blabbing about the assignment to the AP."
Your graphics are always great! Haha
In my HS, one of the drafting teachers was fired for taking a side job at the local strip club.
At his hearing, his excuse was "I didn't look at anything, I only worked the lights."
The problem with assigning that essay is that if you ask a high-school class whom they'd kill, the teacher's almost inevitably going to be one of the answers.
My first thought was that he was planning on murdering a close relative and would use the best idea from his students--too much CSI and Court TV.
An exemplary person. We need more of those on probation.
Considering how carpenters feel about architects, I could understand this being a legitimate assignment in Carpentry Class.
ping
For your list?
The soundtrack just went off in my mind.
(Missouri) Teacher shows nude videos to 7th-graders
Missing teen found, teacher [lover] charged in murder attempt
Add-ons and the Punch List motive.
"What happens in Branson, stays in Branson"
LOL!
Only if they started drawing Confederate flags, or pictures of guns.
If my 1st drafting teacher did this I may have turned into a Richard Speck and a life of crime instead of Mechanical Engineering and construction of 'BIG Buildings' (technical term). /s
Seriously, this guy needs to canned yesterday. He should be teaching Blueprint Reading, Line types and 'weights' - and I assume nowadays, AutoCad®.
Maxwell not so smart.
If only. Dad was a carpenter and he could tell stories... Unfortunately/ fortunately, I've forgotten the particulars but I do recall that building this 'architectural' monstrosity was a subject of particular venom. Didn't help matters that Dad thought it was butt-ugly any way they drew it. (On that score, Dad was right!)
Dad was in charge of layout and, sorry to say, looks like the damned thing is still standing.
That was my thought, maybe he was looking for ideas.
LOL - How do you find those graphics so fast?
I retired from teaching in
the local high school in '92.
For years I had advocated
periodic psychological testing
for teachers as part of the
ongoing program to "renew"
teaching certificates. I knew
for a fact at the time there
were people in our schools who
did not belong anywhere near
childlren of any age. But I
was told such a format would
be too expensive and invasive.
By 2002, we had a spate of
molestation incidents here in
Illinois as well as across the
nation...which seemingly shocked
school administrators on the state
and local levels. What I don't
understand is WHY to this day
they are waiting to initiate
those testing directives. IMO,
submitting to such a test is
no more threatening to the
guiltless than having a phone
number catagorized in the
NSA records...for the innocent.
At least our kids would be
safer. Hell, we even had
COUNSELLORS passing out
marijuana to their charges,
and at least one of them
actually dated his female
charges. Even though these
accredited "teachers" were
quietly let go out of the
system, they showed up later
in the public domain working
with kids from broken homes.
Talk about easy access!
Just reread my note...
apologies for the
typos. I really do
know how to spell
"category"!
I'm trying to think of some way that an "exemplary person" could come up with such a thing. Its not easy. Perhaps there is more to the story.
any guesses as to his taste in music, movies, websites, evening entertainment, and, perhaps, "church" affiliation?
Wanted to see if he could get any ideas for his soon-to-be rampage...
Wow.
Homeschool Ping!
I had an English college professor once who would change the writing assignments from, for example, "how to reduce the number of car accidents," to "how to increase them." But that was a matter of satire. And he was considered eccentric.
He never assigned anything like this...! :-0
Of course he made "The Great Santini" look like Mr. Rogers.
Harrelson was widely considered an evil monstrosity of a building. Not to mention they couldn't finish the thing because it began sinking when they got to the 4th floor. We were all very grateful because the stairs were way too steep and just getting to the 4th floor took serious effort.
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