Jefferson County geometry teacher uses wrong example to teach angles --- assassination of President Barack ObamaBy Marie Leech -- The Birmingham NewsMay 18, 2010, 6:30AMand Carol Robinson --- The Birmingham News UPDATE: Geometry teacher who used Obama assassination as example placed on leaveA Jefferson County teacher picked the wrong example when he used assassinating President Barack Obama as a way to teach angles to his geometry students. Someone alerted authorities and the Corner High School math teacher was questioned by the Secret Service, but was not taken into custody or charged with any crime. "We did not find a credible threat," said Roy Sexton, special agent in charge of Birmingham's Secret Service office. "As far as the Secret Service is concerned, we looked into it, we talked to the gentleman and we have closed our investigation."The teacher was apparently teaching his geometry students about parallel lines and angles, officials said. He used the example of where to stand and aim if shooting Obama. "He was talking about angles and said, 'If you're in this building, you would need to take this angle to shoot the president,' " said Joseph Brown, a senior in the geometry class. Efforts to reach the teacher for comment Monday were unsuccessful. Superintendent Phil Hammonds said the teacher remains at work, and there are no plans for termination. "We are going to have a long conversation with him about what's appropriate," Hammonds said. "It was extremely poor judgment on his part, and a poor choice of words." Caroline Polk, the parent of a ninth-grader at the school, said she doesn't believe the teacher ought to be fired. "We all make mistakes, and we should be able to learn from our mistakes," she said. "What he said was just wrong and inappropriate. Everyone's got their own opinions, but we have to be aware of our surroundings. At this point, it just needs to be handled in a way that it won't be repeated."
But not for a good thing. More facepalming from this state...I know most of you will see absolutely nothing wrong with this. Pretend for a second that this was five years ago, this happened in Boston, and they were talking about Bush...http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2010/05/jefferson_county_geometry_teac.html
OK... Poor judgment... Perhaps, it's a fantasy for some, but it was a dumb example. Billiards always works, and it's safer. Does this warrant all of the scuttlebutt? Nah... Somebody just whined to the SS.
This seemed to be more of an overreaction than anything. If this happened 5 years ago in Boston and about Bush, then I still wouldn't care.
And aren't we forgetting that at the root of all this it is all about the chillren's ejucation?
If you were to try to assassinate a king, how shall I say it, the aura of royalty would cause you to miss. But, a president, I mean, why not shoot a president?
How obtuse of him....
12 Replies
2320 Views