TEACHER'S SICK JOKE: BEHAVE KIDS OR I'LL BLOW UP YOUR BUS

The Mirror ^ | Oct. 19, 2005 | Jeremy Armstrong

[Alouette]

A TEACHER faces a police quiz after allegedly telling pupils: "Behave or I'll put a bomb on your bus."

Palestinian-born Mazin Albarq was said to have made the sick joke to a class of 13 and 14-year-olds.

Parents complained and headteacher Maureen Bates contacted police.

Pupils in supply teacher Mr Albarq's class may also be questioned over a possible charge of threatening criminal damage.

The parent of one 14-year-old said: "Children who use the school bus were terrified. It was surely meant as a joke but in the present climate there was nothing remotely funny."

Another parent said his 13-year-old daughter arrived home in tears after the school bus journey.

[TheSpottedOwl]

Oh shoot. We were all laughing about a thread yesterday where a nine yr old kid was arrested for writing "kill teacher", complete with a crude drawing of a chainsaw.

This is a little different however.

[Lazamataz]

She needs to use the Sit Down Or I'll Kill The Cute Bunny method, like Missus Crabtree does.

[Old Student]

"'I have even heard stories about teachers in California telling their students that they can't be fired.'

That's STUPID to say on their parts then because all it takes is one little accusal by a student and you can be gone. It happened to my uncle even though the charges were completely false."

I've got a sister-in-law who teaches elementary school somewhere in/near San Diego, and she almost got fired because her supervisors were unhappy with her but couldn't exactly tell her what they wanted her to do differently. She kept trying different stuff, and kept getting the same non-specific complaints about her work. I don't remember exactly what it was that she did to finally get them off her back, but it was something totally senseless, IIRC. Neither of us could believe it actually worked. She still goes to work with this haunting feeling that today will be the day...

She's Hispanic, fluently bilingual, and certified as such, and her district is short quite a few teachers who are certified bilingual, but still she has to wonder. The only thing certain is that nothing is certain.

[moog]

I've got a sister-in-law who teaches elementary school somewhere in/near San Diego, and she almost got fired because her supervisors were unhappy with her but couldn't exactly tell her what they wanted her to do differently. She kept trying different stuff, and kept getting the same non-specific complaints about her work. I don't remember exactly what it was that she did to finally get them off her back, but it was something totally senseless, IIRC. Neither of us could believe it actually worked. She still goes to work with this haunting feeling that today will be the day...

She's Hispanic, fluently bilingual, and certified as such, and her district is short quite a few teachers who are certified bilingual, but still she has to wonder. The only thing certain is that nothing is certain.

It was the other guy doug that said the first sentence. I've had experiences similiar to that too. One time I had a professor mark me down for teaching a lesson in college. The chief thing he marked me down on was that I kept saying, "Can you do this?" as opposed to, "Will you _____________?" and for allowing a student to ask, "Can I ________________?" Picky, picky.

Your last sentence definitely applies. I've had it happen so many times I can' even count.

[PAR35]

Either you're the owner of the company, or your management is unusally stupid.

[SJackson]

If you'd like to be on this middle east/political ping list, please FR mail me.

..........................................

[George W. Bush]

Actually, this is pretty funny.

Of course, you know that we must execute the perpetrator anyway. It's only prudent.

[Vicomte13]

I thought it was funny, actually.

And it would have been funnier still if it had been the bus driver. "SHUT UP or I'm gonna blow up the bus!"

[Old Student]

"It was the other guy doug that said the first sentence."

I knew that, so used nested quotes to separate your response to his post, and replied to both of you. My evaluators were rather picky, too, but they were also liberals, and may have been afraid to get too picky, as the recent spate of lawsuits and bad publicity about professors getting crosswise of conservative students may have them spooked. That plus the though of my calling in an air strike on them... I make no bones about either my conservatism or my support of our military and their actions. Or, I suppose, it could just be they were being nitpicky to show that they were paying attention, and not serious about it. Who knows. When I was a teacher's assistant running in-school restriction at one of the local high schools, I got a few "warning" evals before I figured out that they expected me to send a few students out for suspension, rather than trying to help them get through their ISR time. After that, good reports all the way.

If you can figure out what they really want, and it's not too gross to give them, it might help. Unfortunately, they probably don't really know what they want, either, and you need to be able to look yourself in the mirror to shave, at least. Keep your self-respect, you can always move to Oklahoma. Gas is $2.079 for regular, here, too. Pay is low, but so is cost of living.

[Old Student]

"That's STUPID to say on their parts then because all it takes is one little accusal by a student and you can be gone. It happened to my uncle even though the charges were completely false.

You know, I forgot to mention that this guy might well have been falsely accused, too. (I wonder how many flames I'll get for posting that question?) As you noted, it does happen. Maybe not, in this case, but maybe so, also.

[moog]

It was funny though. I got a GREAT teacher to work with. We did what "they" wanted. The kids were wonderful during my eval. Afterward, one of them came up to the professor and said, "We were great, weren't we?"

You Oklahomans are a pretty cool lot. Anyone I've met from there has been a great person. One time we had an older couple come to our church meeting who came from Oklahoma to visit friends. In Bible study, the topic was the "sheep" and the "goats." The man, not necessarily a religious type, was asked to introduce him and his wife. He said, "We're some of the goats." I haven't heard such a big laugh in all my years going to church.

[moog]

You know, I forgot to mention that this guy might well have been falsely accused, too. (I wonder how many flames I'll get for posting that question?) As you noted, it does happen. Maybe not, in this case, but maybe so, also.

I probably don't think so in this case, but I have seen it, even in mild forms in my own case. You never know. There was that one Washington town where a lot of peoples' lives were ruined because of false allegations.

[RGSpincich]

Mazin Albarq

I'm sure the smartasses in his class pounded him daily about being a "terrorist". Telling them to behave or he'd blow up the bus makes sense to me.