Posted on 12/09/2004 7:28:16 AM PST by wjersey
If students earned grades from the school of hard knocks, the teenagers in Clearview Regional High's Vocal Ensemble deserve an A for stomaching the sour taste of fame.
Give the grownups around them high marks, too, for trying to protect the kids from another close encounter of the mean kind with aw-shucks American Idol star Clay Aiken.
Me, I'm not afraid of freckle face.
He has more hair than I do, but I could take him in a wrestling match.
And I have a zero-tolerance policy for Hollywood heavies pulling ego trips on teenagers and teachers.
Which is what happened last week when the Gloucester County school's vocal group got the opportunity of a lifetime to sing with Aiken at his sold-out concert in Washington Township.
By night's end, the Claymates had been bullied and berated. They were stiffed for their services.
When one grown-up dared to speak up, Aiken dressed her down.
He told her she was a disgrace.
Only it wasn't some pushy stage mom he had tossed from the performance hall. It was the 2003 New Jersey teacher of the year.
Not that she, or anybody at Clearview, wants to relive the humiliation.
They fear paybacks. Supposedly, the boy toy threatened to "make trouble" if they talked to reporters.
As one parent confided: "My son wants a future in show business. I don't want him saying anything negative about the industry."
The story of fear and loathing in the key of C begins before Thanksgiving.
That's when the Clearview singers got a last-minute invite to perform with Aiken when his "Joyful Noise Tour" stopped here last Thursday.
Not long ago, Aiken was just another geek with glasses and bad hair.
Thanks to his American Idol makeover, he's adored by teenage girls, gay men, and a group calling itself Lecherous Broads for Clay Aiken.
As I type, he's got both an inspirational memoir and CD on the charts.
"A Clay Aiken Christmas" aired on NBC last night, with Barry Manilow among the very special guests.
Tickets for his concert cost up to $127.50. At his official Web site, www.clayaiken.com, you can even buy holiday wrapping paper stamped with Clay's face for $15.
Clearview's Vocal Ensemble doesn't have a merchandising deal yet, but it does have a sterling reputation.
It has sung Mozart's Requiem at Carnegie Hall. It has performed on the Today show.
Details of the students' real-life pop opera emerged from interviews with people too scared to let me quote them - and from one teacher's account e-mailed to friends and posted at the Web site www.gawker.com.
Those in the know confirmed all the ugly details.
How Aiken went diva on them and reneged on promised face time and autographs with the students.
How he sicced security goons on a student who snapped a photo during rehearsal. How he fought with the award-winning teacher who dared to stand up for her kids.
How the pop star's people made a big show of handing over a promised $500 donation to the Vocal Ensemble - and how the envelope was empty.
And how Aiken's crew kept the students hungry for hours, only to deliver a meager supply of ice-cold chicken nuggets just before show time.
Happy Meals - for high schoolers?
What were they thinking?
I'm not surprised Aiken's reps didn't return a call for comment.
After teachers told me they couldn't talk, Clearview Superintendent Mike Toscano spoke for all of them.
Ever diplomatic, he said the brush with greatness had taught the students lessons they could never get in a classroom.
"They got a bigger picture of the music industry," Toscano said.
"They got their eyes opened. They got a taste of real-life show business maybe they didn't have before."
And if sours them on it for good?
They can thank the American Idol.
This is in CHAT, not news. Lighten up.
It certainly shows what "journalism" standards are these days.
Anti-Aiken post gets teacher suspended
Saturday, December 11, 2004
By Shawn G. Menzies
smenzies@sjnewsco.com
HARRISON TWP. -- A teacher who lashed out on the Internet about how "American Idol" runner-up Clay Aiken treated members of her high school's vocal group has been suspended by the Clearview Regional School District, the Times has learned.
Sue Barry is serving a six-day suspension with pay, according to students, after district officials were informed of a post she made on the Web site www.gawker.com, where she used vulgar language and went on a diatribe against Clay Aiken and the hard time he and his crew allegedly gave to some of the 20 performers of the Clearview Regional Vocale Ensemble.
The ensemble was asked by Aiken's people to sing along with the "American Idol" talent search runner-up star at his Dec. 2 holiday show at the Commerce Centre for the Performing Arts in Washington Township.
"I cannot comment too much other than to say that in my opinion the e-mail posted was inappropriate," Superintendent Michael Toscano would only say Friday.
One student said he and other students are not happy about the suspension of their teacher and they want her back now.
"I feel the suspension is overly harsh," said Mik Matusek, 16. "If they wanted to send a message then suspend her for one or two days. We are the ones suffering. She is a talented teacher. And when she gets back, it will take a few days to get settled and then we go on break, so we won't have our teacher for two weeks. I just feel it is overly harsh for a small infraction. She is a very good teacher. What she did was unprofessional, but her motives are justified. She was sticking up for students and had a right to be outraged."
The teacher named state Teacher of the Year is English teacher Diane Cummins. Cummins would not offer comment on the matter and directed all questions to Clearview administration officials.
Roger Widynowski, spokesman for RCA Records who handles publicity for Clay Aiken, did not respond to e-mail and telephone requests for comment over the past two days.
Jack Hill, director of the Clearview Regional Vocale Ensemble, also did not return telephone calls for comment Thursday and Friday.
Steve Walmer of the New Jersey Education Association, which is the bargaining union for teachers in the state, said the organization is aware of the suspension and will represent her at board meetings if there are any further proceedings.
© 2004 Gloucester County Times.
[1) The teacher was being a snob and expecting to be treated in a specific way. When one of the children stepped "out of line" and did something that they had been spefically told they were NOT permitted to do the teacher then "had words" with one of the security people "defending" this child and his/her inappropriate actions. Because of this SECURITY then made the decision, w/o consulting Clay, that no pictures would be permitted... period.
2) This teacher complained that the crew was "playing music too loud and interfered with their rehearsal." She never asked them to stop, she just whined about it. She blamed all of this on CLAY when Clay was not even in the building at the time.
3) Later, when Clay came into the theater on his own to check how things were going out this teacher walked up to him, never having seen or met him before, and started a SCREAMING match with him - that began with her chewing him out - LOUDLY. Yes, Clay yelled back at her and they had an angry exchange of words. At that point Jerome stepped in and had her escorted from the building - after which security barred her from the theater.
As a result, he got a zillion of fans, and they're not the teenie boppers only, but varies from very old to very young. The variety of his fans can be seen from the ratings of his Christmas Special on NBC last Wednesday. IIRC, in the 'young' demographic (15-59), it was #4 that night. But, overall, it's #2.
In many Clay chat rooms, the talks are more like FR: trying to provide a 'counter' against the mainstream music out there, which many perceived as trash... Many chatters are Christian parents who want to have a good role model for their kids...
That's because his demeanor, his faith, and his interests. Clay was about to become a special education teacher before he entered the singing contest American Idol on Fox-TV. Even now, his concern on disable kids are still there... He established the Buble-Aiken foundation to help those children...
Don't get me wrong. I'm not idolizing Clay. He's still a human. However, i don't see anything wrong supporting somebody who may bring change to current mainstream music with trashy lyrics...
Oh, and he sings well too...
"Those in the know"? Sounds like a Jayson Blair source.
If the rehearsal was a full-dress with stage lighting and a darkened auditorium, the student snapping the flash picture would have been removed, just like during the actual performance. The flash pictures have been a big problem in the early part of the tour - it's *extremely* difficult to perform with those flashes in a dark room.
As for the rest of it ... I dunno. This sounds like a big load of sour grapes or something else.
Howlin? Any NC insight here? I don't buy it. Maybe the writer is stringing for the NY Times.
I'm guessing the envelope was empty because the actual check was given to whoever's responsible for the finances. Very poor job of journalism.
"F-. Try again. You can do better work."
Clay Aiken is a personal friend of my family; this is utter BS.
You may hate him, but you have to admit this is completley out of character.
I'd tend to agree with you. I brought my son to his Christmas concert in San JOse a few weeks ago, and we sat next to the parents of two girls in the choir. They were awfully nice, and they had nothing but good things to say how the girls and the rest of the kids (including some elementary school kids) were treated in a very short rehearsal time.
This story goes clank for me.
I'm with you.
Well, even though that account is from a chat group, it sounds a lot more realistic than this Gawker tabloid entry. I just looked at the gawker site, and it looks like a left-leaning site. Clay Aiken is an unabashed Christian, and probably on the conservative side as well. I'll bet the teacher had a chip on her shoulder from the get-go.
I agree - and he is a good example for our young men and boys. Waiting until he's married? A good thing. Refusing to put trashy lyrics in? A good thing. And his CD sales didn't suffer a bit. There are lots and lots of us out there who are sick of the post-Clinton Yuck Factor. I say, good for him!
By G.D. GEARINO, Staff Writer
A high school teacher in New Jersey has learned that you don't talk trash about Clay Aiken. The teacher was suspended for six days for posting an unfavorable report on Aiken's visit to suburban Philadelphia for a concert two weeks ago. The report (which can be found on the R-rated Web site gawker.com) described how a vocal group from Clearview Regional High School, recruited to appear onstage with Aiken, was allegedly mistreated during rehearsals. (Quick excerpt: "Aiken was extremely terse with the students, at times berating them. ...")
Michael Toscano, Clearview school superintendent, wouldn't give details about the teacher's suspension, saying only that her report was "inappropriate." But he noted that the vocal group is accustomed to frequent rehearsals spread out over many weeks, and wasn't prepared for the hurried -- and sometimes tense -- rehearsal that precedes a commercial performance by just a few hours.
A spokesman for Aiken -- or as gawker.com now calls him, the "big fat meanie" -- didn't return messages.
Hey Howlin, glad you're here. I don't buy it either.
As far as the students being upset about the teacher being suspended, and that they'll have to "start all over again"? Well, boo-frickin'-hoo. The teacher should have thought about them before she started yelling and posting inappropriate material.
Ping!
Has anyone in your family talked to him and has he denied these allegations?
Maybe he's like the guy with 10 bodies found in the basement. All the neighbors say he was the nicest guy.
Not today; but I'll find out next week; this would be completely out of character for somebody we have known for over ten years and who has been the counselor for my cousin's kids for that long at the Y.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.