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Pupils were left in tears after a teacher told them that an asteroid was about to hit Earth and kill them all. The spoof announcement was designed to teach 14-year-olds the importance of seizing the day but backfired after they became visibly frightened.



Keith Hogan, head teacher at St Matthew's RC High School in Moston, Manchester, said he regretted any distress caused to the 230 pupils.



The head of year behind the assembly "stunt" later moved to reassure them.



He had told the year nine students that the asteroid was on a "collision course".



It is also believed that the students were told that they should go home and say "final farewells" to their families.



Pupils 'reassured'



The teacher then admitted the story was a stunt aimed at underlining the theme of the assembly - "living each day to the full".



Head Mr Hogan said: "Obviously I regret the fact that any student was distressed by the content and delivery of the assembly.



http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/...ter/4025293.stm

I find it hard to believe that high school students would cry over that. It seems like they would quickly be able to realize it was a joke. He must have been very convincing. I could understand that scaring kids in elementary school, but HIGH SCHOOL kids? I'm not saying that what the teacher did was right. It wasn't. I am just amazed that high school students would fall for that. Not even the dumbest kid at the high school I attended for four years would have fallen for such a trick. That teacher ought to consider acting because if he brought those kids to tears he must REALLY be a good actor.

Exciting and stimulating young minds is a difficult job. You have to be part mentor, part actor, part MTV entertainer, part scientist, and part stand-up comedian.

Occasionally lessons go wrong and statments are misconstrued...it goes along with the job. When it does, you get this kind of thing. I'm sure that this all looked good on paper. The alternative to this a monotone teacher, pulling out the same worksheet everyday for decades.

Teachers are some of the most imaginative and creative people in our society. Think about it, do you have to be interesting, and creative, in front of seven different audiences, every single day on your job to be effective? A teacher does.

Jives wrote: Exciting and stimulating young minds is a difficult job. You have to be part mentor, part actor, part MTV entertainer, part scientist, and part stand-up comedian.

Occasionally lessons go wrong and statments are misconstrued...it goes along with the job. When it does, you get this kind of thing. I'm sure that this all looked good on paper. The alternative to this a monotone teacher, pulling out the same worksheet everyday for decades.

Teachers are some of the most imaginative and creative people in our society. Think about it, do you have to be interesting, and creative, in front of seven different audiences, every single day on your job to be effective? A teacher does.


Jives, you and I have butted heads before and here we go again.

Just read about a study done by the Gov. that showed 85 million Americans read at a 4th grade level.

33 percent of YALE for God's sake students couldn't name the country north of the US

I work a part time job with some students from our local College. They were taking a US gov. class and asked me who I thought was the most powerful person in our gov. When I said Condi Rice or Karl Rowe they had to ask me who they were.

While in the middle of a college level Gov. class!!!

Maybe teachers should stop being so imaginative and creative and teach.

Must be a very hard job cause nobody seems to be doing it.

I could go on and on but I'll be as brief as possible. See I'm one of those guys who has no respect for the American teacher. I thnik they teach the little clones of themselves and view kids who don't fit the mold, so to speak, as disposable.

That is why they warehouse them in special classes or alternative schools or dope them up after saying they have ADD.

My own personal view is this. To our nation the top 10 percent of our college grads are indispensable the remaining 90 percent, insufferable.

I don't consider teachers in the first 10 percent.

jahamaa wrote: Jives, you and I have butted heads before and here we go again.


Ahhh...but always with intelligence and wit. It's a pure pleasure to fence with you.

Just read about a study done by the Gov. that showed 85 million Americans read at a 4th grade level.


Nice statistic...I notice it carries no qualifiers. What is the demographinc of that statistic? Are these rich people? Or poor and low SES people? How many illegal immigrants were included? I could conduct a survey in a church on Sunday and find that 100% of the people believed in God, so your statistic is highly questionable. Even so, with a population of over 500 million in the U.S., that means only 1 in 5 reads poorly.

33 percent of YALE for God's sake students couldn't name the country north of the US


I teach Math, and I'm damned good at it. Currently, according to standardized tests, my students are up 3.25 years in ability so far this year. I also work with the poor, the illegal immigrants, and the low socio-economic-status students, making my job even harder.

Maybe teachers should stop being so imaginative and creative and teach.


LOL! Oh! Hahahhahaha....don't you get it? It's the imaginative and creative teachers that teach the best! The problem is that we can't attract those kinds of people for a salary that compares to the local McDonald's manager's salary.

The poor students yo refer to that have no basic knowledge, most likely got a teacher that pulls out the same worksheet, year after year, and tells the students "do the problems, If you need me I'll be at my desk."

I could go on and on but I'll be as brief as possible. See I'm one of those guys who has no respect for the American teacher.


Really? And yet you, yourself, are very well-spoken. How did you get that way? I'm sure that you will tell me now that you were born gifted.

I thnik they teach the little clones of themselves and view kids who don't fit the mold, so to speak, as disposable.


Nice stereotyping. I'm afraid I don't fit your mold. And even if I was to teach a kid to be a clone of myself....what's wrong with being a person that has flown supersonic planes, has three college degrees, two in Electrical engineering, and has been a top corporate manager?

That is why they warehouse them in special classes or alternative schools or dope them up after saying they have ADD.


You couldn't be more wrong. Check out my school:

http://fc.fms.k12.nm.us/~jives/

We treat our kids as human beings and give them a chance to catch up. They have had terrible lives and we do our best to help them to succeed....before they fail in high school. The idea behind the Transition Academy is the exact opposite of yours, we try to help the kids to succeed and transition into a regular school environment. No isolate them.

My own personal view is this. To our nation the top 10 percent of our college grads are indispensable the remaining 90 percent, insufferable.

I don't consider teachers in the first 10 percent.


Well, well....holier than thou, eh? LOl! So teachers aren't needed? How did your "college grads" get into college at all without us?

Oh... What is this paragon-of-mental-exertion-job that you do?

:wah:

Scrat wrote: I couldn't agree more. It's the job of the teacher to teach. It's the job of the kids to listen and learn.


Did you listen and learn every single day at school? I'll bet not. Think about it, which teacher that you had, in your school career, do you consider that you learned the most from? I'll bet it wasn't the dry, boring, monotone teacher.

What are you? A teacher or an actor?


Both, like all the best teachers are.

Is school supposed to be a fun game?


Well why not? Do you understand kinesthetic learning? My kids had trouble with negatives and positives, until I realized that making a number line on the floor and having them use their bodies to walk up and down the line gave them the directional sense of +/- that they sorely needed.

And Math Battle Chess is a great way to teach times tables, much more fun than "around the world." or a worksheet. Sure their parents should have spent time with them so that I'm not teaching times tables in the 8th grade, but they didn't, and the kids didn't learn them themselves, so I have to do it. (This is reality, not your deluded "sense" of the way it should be.) And the creative imaginative way makes it fun and easy to teach this.

A day at the movies? Is it possible to read "Moby Dick" in a single day? No. And yet it is possible to view the excellent Gregory Peck version in a single day. And believe me, most kids will not expose themselves to this kind of literature without being made to.

Considering the very large amount of semi-literate BA cases I see around here teachers are not very effective.


The less-literate tend to stand out, don't they? (snicker)

Fourth grade classes in China are studying algebra not trying to figure out if they are gay, straight, bisexual or transgender.


The Chinese teach 15 concepts, we teach 85 in a year. Why do you think America is the sole remaining hyperpower on the planet? Look at our technology compared to any other country's on the globe. Where do you get the idea that we are second rate?

Chinese kids don't beat the crap out of one another in the hallways and spit on their teachers.


True. But where did you get the idea that this is the teacher's fault? Teachers model Christian values all day long, honesty, dignity, integrity. I've never seen a teacher spit on a kid, so where did they learn that behavior?

I sometimes have to teach on the shop floor, I don't have to be creative or interesting, you will listen and you will learn or you will be gone. Simple as that.


What age group is that? When you say "gone" where do they go? Surely, your not suggesting that if a student doesn't achieve, we kick them out of school. That's a terrible idea. They still have to eat, so all your idea does is fill up prisons.

Honestly, you guys have no idea what you are talking about. "My way or the highway" is the worst kind of teaching. don't you care about your students? Where is your accountibility? If no one in your shop class learns, is that their fault? or yours?

America is not preparing the kids for life out in the world. When they run up against the children of India and China it will be a slaughter.


There you go again, throwing out ridiculous comments that you know are untrue. I was prepared for life by one of the most out of the way, underfunded, and lowest educational value states there is...New Mexico. Yet I have done things that you can only dream of and have more education that you. Kinda shoots holes in your theory, doesn't it?

Jives wrote: Ahhh...but always with intelligence and wit. It's a pure pleasure to fence with you.



Nice statistic...I notice it carries no qualifiers. What is the demographinc of that statistic? Are these rich people? Or poor and low SES people? How many illegal immigrants were included? I could conduct a survey in a church on Sunday and find that 100% of the people believed in God, so your statistic is highly questionable. Even so, with a population of over 500 million in the U.S., that means only 1 in 5 reads poorly.



I teach Math, and I'm damned good at it. Currently, according to standardized tests, my students are up 3.25 years in ability so far this year. I also work with the poor, the illegal immigrants, and the low socio-economic-status students, making my job even harder.



LOL! Oh! Hahahhahaha....don't you get it? It's the imaginative and creative teachers that teach the best! The problem is that we can't attract those kinds of people for a salary that compares to the local McDonald's manager's salary.

The poor students yo refer to that have no basic knowledge, most likely got a teacher that pulls out the same worksheet, year after year, and tells the students "do the problems, If you need me I'll be at my desk."



Really? And yet you, yourself, are very well-spoken. How did you get that way? I'm sure that you will tell me now that you were born gifted.



Nice stereotyping. I'm afraid I don't fit your mold. And even if I was to teach a kid to be a clone of myself....what's wrong with being a person that has flown supersonic planes, has three college degrees, two in Electrical engineering, and has been a top corporate manager?



You couldn't be more wrong. Check out my school:

http://fc.fms.k12.nm.us/~jives/

We treat our kids as human beings and give them a chance to catch up. They have had terrible lives and we do our best to help them to succeed....before they fail in high school. The idea behind the Transition Academy is the exact opposite of yours, we try to help the kids to succeed and transition into a regular school environment. No isolate them.



Well, well....holier than thou, eh? LOl! So teachers aren't needed? How did your "college grads" get into college at all without us?

Oh... What is this paragon-of-mental-exertion-job that you do?

:wah:


Holier than thou? quilty. A lack of arrogance has never been a problem for me.

I am well read because I had a father that forced me to think and question everything.

He taught me that the world was a hard place and only a fool thinks he can get all the ideas he needs to survive from his own mind. I owe little of my education to the hard work of teachers.

Look Jives I can understand that teaching is a hard job and those who try to do it well have the deck stacked against them with a lack of parental involvement

and modern culture mocking learning. And I am not going to write a book here.

With the dealings I have had myself, with my children and now grandchildren I firmly beleive that most teachers are more interested in the prom dance than educating children.

That they go into education because they like the high school lifestyle and not the job of educating.

This is a cause I have fought publicly in my area and you wouldn't beleive the names I have been called by these highly skilled professionals because I have questioned their methods of teaching.

You seem like a person truly dedicated to your job and I wish there was some way to have a face to face disscussion on the topic ( impossible I know) because it is impossible for me to qualigy all that I should qualify on a post.

Just let me say that I have read much and I mean much on the topic my thinking is not based on prejudice nor formed in a vaccum.

In fact I am in the prossess of forming a group to retest children that have been assigned to special courses and to question the schools placement because I and othes think that, here at least, schools are assigning children just to get enough kids in the class to qualify for federal money. Like to add here that I'm fighting my last post because several of the first to suggest this are profs at the local college.

Complicated topic and I just can't say all I should or want to on a post.

Jives, I admit I don't know you and you may well be extremely dedicated and highly intelligent so with my next point I make no judgements only offer a point of contemplaction. If a person of your age can do all the jobs you have done and still amass three college degrees, could it be possible the degrees were too easy to come by?

jahamaa wrote: If a person of your age can do all the jobs you have done and still amass three college degrees, could it be possible the degrees were too easy to come by?


You underestimate me, my dear jahamaa. I had to work nights and take 21 credit hours per semester for one of the degrees, another took me 7 years to complete, since I had to teach in the day and attend school at night.

I've taken Advanced Calculus and Analytical Geometry. The hardest math available. (Theoretical math) This is the limit at which our civilization has reached. The class was so difficult, that despite my 4.0 average, I had to take it twice with a tutor and a study group before and after class, just to pass it with a "B". So no....it wasn't easy by any means.

To change your view and make you feel better, the new "No Child left Behind" law makes it very, very hard to be a mediocre teacher. You should see a lessening of the bad examples that you state very soon now.

And for anyone out there that thinks it's easy to be a teacher....try siting in a small room for the entire day surrounded by children. Now try to make them do something they don't want to do. Oh...and if you don't succeed, you're fired.

Jives wrote: You underestimate me, my dear jahamaa. I had to work nights and take 21 credit hours per semester for one of the degrees, another took me 7 years to complete, since I had to teach in the day and attend school at night.

I've taken Advanced Calculus and Analytical Geometry. The hardest math available. (Theoretical math) This is the limit at which our civilization has reached. The class was so difficult, that despite my 4.0 average, I had to take it twice with a tutor and a study group before and after class, just to pass it with a "B". So no....it wasn't easy by any means.

To change your view and make you feel better, the new "No Child left Behind" law makes it very, very hard to be a mediocre teacher. You should see a lessening of the bad examples that you state very soon now.

And for anyone out there that thinks it's easy to be a teacher....try siting in a small room for the entire day surrounded by children. Now try to make them do something they don't want to do. Oh...and if you don't succeed, you're fired.


Underestimate you friend Jives? Never!!

However, plead quilty to a tounge in cheek smart a** remark to try to get a rise out of you, yeah , sorry. I just couldn't resist.

Should have known you'd be too smart to rise to the bait :wah:

As I enjoy my encounters with you, I hope you don't take offense and stop taking me to task when you see the need.

Absolutely not! No offense taken! I'm very sad to say that you are right about quite a few teachers that I know. They are just marking time until retirement.

Taht said, the new accountibility movement is making it extremely difficult to be a "behind the desk" teacher. Each teacher's kids are now tested twice a year (I test myself four times a year.) The scores are compared, not only with the beginning and ending scores, but also with other teachers teaching the same subject.

The state of New mexico, for example, puts the needed increase for students at 4 points per year for Math. That's the progress that can reasonably be expected in a year for the average student.

If a teacher averages less than that on their tests, or worse goes negative, they will not only risk not having their contract renewed, but may actually have their license revoked. (It'd be nice to hold doctors to the same standard, wouldn't it? If a set percentage of your patients don't recover, you lose your license to be a doctor!)

The current average for a math teacher in my district is currently 3.7. Of course it's not the end of the year yet.

My current average is 13.0, making me 3.25 times better than the average teacher. You can see why I object to you lumping me in with my less dedicated and proficient colleagues.

There remains the fact that some of my peers are less dedicated and have a less than desirable work ethic.

Here's my take on that: Many teachers decide that they want to be a teacher in college. they take the classes without ever realizing what real teaching will be like. Worse yet, they don't understand that without the experience of the real world, teaching will be sterile and non-relevant. How can you teach young people to be ready for the real world, if you, yourself, have never been there? (Never had any jobs)

I believe the best teachers are teachers that have been around the country and the world, have had other jobs and careers. They are especially suited to understand what a child needs to succeed in life.

Here's the problem....people with that experience very rarely give up high paying jobs to teach at a near-poverty level.

Think about it, would you make your own family do without the amenities of life, just so you could pass on the information needed by other family's children to succeed? Or would you think of you own family first? You'd have to be seriously dedicated and a little insane to do that wouldn't you? Welcome to my world. :rolleyes: