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highschool-related stories
Students Watch Porn In Class By Accident
Teens & tweens, In The News, Weird But True
This just goes to show that sometimes too much technology in the classroom can be a bad idea.A substitute teacher at a Denver high school got quite a shock when he went to play a movie his class was scheduled to watch.
According to news reports, the sub was looking for the video when he found an unmarked DVD in the regular teacher's laptop. Unfortunately, what popped up was more Sex Ed than Geography. Yup, after hitting play a raunchy porn appeared on the computer screen. Luckily, the teacher was able to quickly shut it off and film wasn't projected overhead for the entire class to see.
East High School Principal John Youngquist sent a letter to parents assuring them that "The movie was on the computer screen for just a few seconds." The Principal also said that "Approximately six students [out of a class of 23] may have seen the computer screen while the porn film was playing."
Of course, even the few seconds of the skin flick was enough to send the freshman and sophomores into shock -- well, at least briefly before they broke out in a fit of laughter.
Top Teacher Meltdowns
Two 16-year-olds were banned from school for being "too blond." The pair, who insist their hair are natural shades, were threatened with expulsion unless they dyed their hair brown.
Teacher Sued for Calling Teen "Ugly"
And on Valentine's Day to boot! READ MORE
SXC
Sleeping With Students
A Houston teacher was fired after she was caught one of her teenage students. READ MORE
pokoa on flickr
Teacher Claims to be Impaired by Baldness
Impaired from what exactly? READ MORE
Rubyyot on flickr
That's Just Gross
A Texas band teacher had a very unique (and nasty) punishment for one child who forgot his instrument. READ MORE
SXC
Caught on Camera
If you're going to freak out at the kids, make sure the security camera isn't taping your every word. READ MORE
SXC
Sleep, Or Go to Jail!
One 4-year-old was handcuffed at his preschool for refusing to nap. READ MORE
SXC
Suspended for a Cell Phone Call
...to his dad, who was stationed in Iraq. Not exactly supporting the troops. READ MORE
SXC
Bomb Threat!
A student teacher faked a bomb threat to get out of class. READ MORE
SXC
Teacher Accused of Being a Wizard
Sounds like a Harry Potter plot, but JK Rowling had nothing to do with this one. READ MORE
SXC
Bullied to Death
17-year-old Mentor, Ohio High School student Eric Mohat was the target of relentless verbal and physical abuse from his fellow students. In March of 2007, Eric committed suicide after one of his tormentors said, "Why don't you go home and shoot yourself, no one would miss you." Now Eric's parents are suing the school district, saying that teachers and administrators should have done a better job of protecting their son.The details are fairly familiar. Eric was into musical theater, had a "slight build" (6 feet tall and 112 pounds -- wow), and was somewhat quiet. In high school, that means some people will think that you're gay. According to ABC News, Eric was called "queer", "fag", and "homo", had pencil shavings dumped on his head in math class and was stuffed into lockers in the hallway. His torturers were football players.
Scary Cyber Attacks
Teen Commits Suicide Over MySpace Hoax
A cruel prank leads to terrible tragedy, and murder charges for the perpetrators.
Read More
djayo on SXC
Facebook Group Sends Teacher to Therapy
And the kids who created it were suspended.
Read More
Bubbles on SXC
Fake MySpace Page Destroys Teen's Reputation
A malicious, random attack led this 4.0 student all the way to Dr. Phil in an attempt to clear his name.
Read More
YouTube
Attack Recorded on Cellphone, Posted to Facebook
These middle school students shared their violent video with some online buddies, and wound up suspended.
Read More
smitea on SXC
Online Attacks Spur Real-Life Violence
Two girls attempts to retaliate against a cyberbully led to a street fight.
Read More
SXC
Investigators Posing as Teens Propositioned for Sex
Staff members of the New York Attorney General signed up for Facebook pretending to be teens and were repeatedly asked if they had any "nude pics" to share -- and it gets worse.
Read More
forwardcom on SXC
The Real Threat Might Surprise You
According to a new report, your kids are in greater danger from cyberbullying than they are from online sexual predators.
Read More
ArminH on SXC
Predators Aren't Who You Think
Worried about adults with foul intentions posing as teens online? Chances are they're not the ones hitting your kids up for sex -- but the real culprits are even worse.
Read More
bruno-free on SXC
Being Popular in School Pays Off
Have you ever wondered how the popular kids you went to school with fared later on in life? Did their natural ability to win friends and influence people lead to financial success in adulthood? Or did they end up flipping burgers for minimum wage while dreaming about their glory days?According to a new study out of Essex University, there is a good chance those popular kids are doing quite well for themselves. The authors of the study set out to determine if having lots of friends in high school equated to higher earnings down the road. They looked at data from a 1975 survey of 4,000 men in which they were asked to name three of their closest friends from their 1957 high school class. By cross referencing who named who as a friend, they were able to determine who the popular kids were. They then tracked these same men through 2004 and noted their earnings. They determined that for each extra-close friend in high school, there was a 2 percent increase in earnings as an adult.
On the surface, the results seem to indicate that those who have a large social circle as teens will grow up to earn more money. But what about the friendless nerds who run the AV equipment and join the chess club? Aren't they they ones who are supposed to eventually outshine us all in the real world, where being smart matters more than being popular? According to Steven Levitt, co-author of the book "Freakonomics," being popular and being smart are not mutually exclusive:
Late Start for Sleepy Students
A proposed hour or more delay of school starting time may give kids a better night's sleep and help them remain more alert in the classroom, but it can also wreak havoc on after-school care and programs. The buzz of the alarm clock often comes before sunrise for students at Fairfax, VA, schools. Like most school districts across the country, high school here starts before 7:30 a.m. which leaves too many kids nodding off in class, unable to concentrate.
The solution, says one group of parents, is to fast-forward the starting bell. The problem, says their vocal opposition, is that it would be a scheduling nightmare, especially in families with two working parents.
Parents in The Start Later for Excellence in Education Proposal (S.L.E.E.P.) says adolescents need more sleep to do well in school. They've created a nifty Web site offering links to studies showing that kids do better with more sleep, and case histories of schools that have found success starting their days later than the norm.
On the other side is W.A.K.E., Worried About Keeping Extra-curriculars. Their site offers a sober description of the disruptions with any times changes. (W.A.K.E. seems slightly better researched of the two, but both sides get an A for acronyms.)
Teen Spots Error on State Writing Test
When high school junior Geoffery Stanford sat down to take his state's standardized writing test last week, little did he know he wasn't just proofreading his own work -- but the test itself. Stanford found a glaring typo on his test missed by the 30 teachers who wrote the test and the hundreds of students who have taken it since. Test writers used the word "omission" instead of "emission" when talking about greenhouse gasses. "I thought, 'Surely they're not talking about leaving out carbon dioxide altogether," said the 17-year-old. "It had to be a mistake."
Yup, said the red-faced Kansas State Department of Education. "This went through all the channels, and the pilot project, and nobody caught it," said a spokesperson.
There are lessons to be learned here. One is that proofreading is never overrated. Another is that even experts make mistakes. Which leads us to a third: If standardized tests are imperfect, which they clearly are, what's the point? It's illogical to count test scores based on a mistake.
Can Sobriety Be Cool?
Teens & tweens, Alcohol & Drugs
Huey Lewis' classic anthem about The JULES group started out as a support group for friends of Julie Zdeblick, a Middleton High School junior who died of a drug overdose in 2004. It has become, however, "more of an awareness group and social group," according to the group's president, Ali Stone, 17. "We're trying to change the culture of cool," she explains. "Our message is that it's cool to be sober. You will still have fun. You will still have friends."
When I was in high school, the crowd I hung out with drank. Actually, that's not entirely accurate -- they drank a lot. I drank a lot. I don't know if such a group would have made difference to me and my friends, but I think that for a lot of kids, a non-alcoholic option is a good thing to have on a Friday night.
High Schoolers Steal Car to Go to School
Teens & tweens, Weird But True, Education
Crazy Kids Arrests
Got to Get to School on Time
Two high schoolers, 15 and 16, broke into a neighbor's car for the best reason we can think of: They didn't want to be late for school. The boys were arrested and booked on felony charges.
jupterimages.com
Brothers Fight, One Gets Arrested
What sounds like a stupid (but typical) scuffle between two hot-headed, 12-year-old brothers led to one of them getting picked up by police for domestic battery.
asifthebes on SXC
Teen Arrested for Farting at School
Flatulent teens, take note: If you pass gas in class, you may be apprehended by police. At least that's what happened to one Florida teen who eeked out a couple of nasty toots before being hauled away by law enforcement.
gokercy61 on SXC
Arrested for Serving Salt
This sounds ridiculous -- at first. But when this 16-year-old seasoned mom's dinner with salt, it might as well have been poison. Her mother has a number of food allergies, and would've died had no one been there to inject her medication.
aschaeffer on SXC
Racy Prom Dress Gets Teen Arrested
You say potato, I say poh-tah-to. She said "prom dress," school officials said "thin strips of fabric that barely cover your nipples." This young woman's dress left so little to the imagination that she was picked up by police!
cindylutes on SXC
7-Year-Old Nearly Locked Up for Riding Dirt Bike
After alleging that the young man had ridden his dirt bike on the sidewalk, police handcuffed the boy and took him down to the station -- where they took his fingerprints and mugshot. Best of all, apparently the bike wasn't even turned on when cops yanked the kid off of it. Smooth guys, real smooth.
oklahoma on SXC
5-Year-Old 'Cuffed Over Kindergarten Tantrum
Three officers found it necessary to bend the unruly child over a desk and handcuff her while she screamed for them to stop -- which did wonders for their image in the community.
lckidwell on SXC
Cops Break Teen's Arm in Arrest Over Dropped Cake
This 16-year-old dropped some cake during lunch and did an average job cleaning up the mess. For some cops took the teen's lackluster approach to cleanliness as justification for arresting her -- and breaking her arm in the process.
muddy on SXC
10-Year-Old Cuts Her Sandwich With a Knife...and Breaks the Law?
The rules for splitting sandwiches are apparently more rigid than you might think. At least that's the case in one Florida school where a "no tolerance" policy led to felony weapons charges against a 7th grader who was just trying to eat her lunch.
woodsy on SXC
Teen Arrested for Creative Writing Assignment
The teacher encouraged this straight-A student to reveal his emotions on paper -- so he did. And then he got kicked out of school and arrested for "disorderly conduct." So the lesson is...never follow your teacher's instructions?
alesia17 on SXC
I'm guessing cutting class is taken a little more seriously there than it was here when I was in school. So seriously, in fact, that rather that be late to class, two boys actually boosted a car in order to get to school on time. A call came in to police at about a quarter to eight reporting a stolen car and a police officer assigned to Woonsocket High School found the vehicle parked in the school parking lot.
A bit of detective work identified two boys who arrived in the car, a fifteen-year-old and a sixteen-year-old, one of whom was a neighbor of the car's owner. The boys were arrested and booked on felony charges; one was in class and the other was in the in-house suspension room, with the keys to the car in his pocket.
As misguided as their choice of transportation was, you have to give the kids credit for wanting to get to school on time. There are some of us, while not so cavalier about making use of other people's vehicles, were certainly nowhere near as dedicated in our school attendance.
Reborn Dolls - Just Like Having a Real Baby?
Just For Moms, Babies, Weird But True
I see it as the no harm, no foul approach to trying out parenting. Of course, this approach doesn't prepare you for actual parenthood either -- these fake babies don't cry or wake you up in the middle of the night screaming and don't impress with their capacity for projectile bodily liquids. Yet perhaps the reborn babies take the fear out of holding a fragile little baby, of wondering and worrying if, indeed, someone is ready to take that next step towards pregnancy.
Practice Babies, Pets and More!
Whether it's for parenting practice, harmless fun, or to strike fear into the hearts of sexually active teenagers, your son or daughter can pretend to care for a number of pseudo-living things -- from the traditional to the high-tech and everything in between.
For a growing number of women who yearn for something more than this season's must-have handbag, the answer lies in the swaddles of the reborn baby doll, "Reborns" are dolls that look and feel just like the real thing, so much so that the general public can't tell the difference.
Eve's Realistic Newborns
The "Baby Think It Over" simulator is designed to inspire potentially promiscuous teens to examine the possible ramifications of a moment of passion.
solutions-site.org
Who needs a blinking, peeing bundle of plastic joy when you can experience the burdens of parenthood by lugging around a $2-bag of flour?
kingarthurflower.com
Some might believe that a bag of flour is a little more robust than your average newborn -- but a fragile egg can help you experience the delicate task of protecting a baby.
13dede at SXC
For a friend that's a little more lifelike, try a Furby. This "must-have" toy from the late 90s slowly learns to speak English the longer it lives in your home.
capitrueno at flickr
Another "must-have" gadget with the tween set, these Tamagotchi key chains task their owners with feeding, bathing, and playing with them -- or they die!
Tamagotchi
And of course who can forget the infamous Pet Rock? The 1970s fad convinced kids that a lifeless gray stone could be a pet.
Wikipedia Commons
Worried about the cost and responsibility of dog ownership? Suspicious that your son or daughter won't follow through on their pre-pet promises to walk, feed and bath Fido? Try Hasbro's "Furreal" for an almost real canine companion.
Hasbro
Thinking about a bunny but can't stand the smell? This rabbit-esque gadget blinks, moves, and even lights up! Not exactly realistic, but adorable just the same.
Nabaztag.com
There are also those of us who've had our children and are decidedly not having anymore. I just had my second baby and now have two kids under the age of two to put through daycare and college. I don't know that I'd have the time or the resources to have yet another child. Yet every time I hear about a baby being born I think how nice it would be to cradle another little new bundle of joy, perhaps one that won't spit up on my last clean shirt. Really, though, I consider myself blessed to have children--but what about women who are unable to have children and don't want to or cannot adopt?
Bristol Palin Sells Baby Photos for $300,000
Newborns, Celeb Parenting, Rumors
Palin Family Album
"We both love each other," Levi Johnston, 18, told the AP in a rare interview about his relationship with 18-year-old Bristol Palin. "We both want to marry each other. And that's what we are going to do."
Paul Sancya, AP
"Our beautiful daughter Bristol came to us with news that as parents we knew would make her grow up faster than we had ever planned," the Palins's statement said. "As Bristol faces the responsibilities of adulthood, she knows that she has our unconditional love and support."
Robyn Beck, AFP/Getty Images
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and her husband Todd have five children. Track, 19, Bristol, 18, (with Levi Johnston), Willow, 14, Piper, 7, and Trig, 8 months. (not pictured).
Fredy Perojo, AOL
Chuck and Sally Heath, parents of Sarah Palin. Chuck Heath, 70, says gift boxes for his newest grandson are piling up in the governor's mail room from all over the world. There's no way the family will ever be able to answer every letter, he says, although they are trying.
Charlie Neibergall, AP
Sarah Palin initially hid her pregnancy with Trig from the public, causing rumors that Trig was her grandson via Bristol.
Win McNamee, Getty Images
"Trig is beautiful and already adored by us," read a statement by the Palin when Trig was born on April 18. "We knew through early testing he would face special challenges, and we feel privileged that God would entrust us with this gift and allow us unspeakable joy as he entered our lives. We have faith that every baby is created for good purpose and has potential to make this world a better place. We are truly blessed."
Paul J. Richards, AFP / Getty Images
Gov. Sarah Palin, her husband Todd, and daughters Bristol,16, right, and Piper, 5, at the end of a 2006 inauguration ceremony in Fairbanks. Palin, 42, is the first female and youngest governor of Alaska.
Al Grillo, AP
Then-Republican U.S. vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, her daughters, Piper, Willow, and husband Todd walk out onto the ice to drop the ceremonial first puck before a St. Louis Blues and Los Angeles Kings hockey game.
Whitney Curtis, Getty Images
Levi Johnston called himself a "redneck' on his MySpace page.
Justin Sullivan, Getty Images
Bristol Palin's new baby other grandma was in the news this year, as well. Sherry Johnston, Levi's mother, 42, pictured, was arrested on drug charges related to oxycontin in December.
Al Grillo, AP
Tripp is reportedly earning his mamma Bristol $300,000 for first-look photos. The photos will appear in an upcoming issue of People Magazine. According to reports, the money went up once the other Grandma, Bristol's fiance Levi Johnston's mother, was arrested on drug-related charges. I can't vouch for the accuracy of that, but, hey, at least Tripp has some money for a college fund. Of course, his parents aren't even in college yet so maybe the money will go toward getting them an education? (At this point, Bristol is working on getting through high school and daddy Levi is set to be an electrician's apprentice.)
Apparently Sarah Palin had hoped her daughter would tie the knot with Johnston before the birth of their son, but sometimes timing isn't everything, is it? I'm not at all surprised that we're seeing photos of the baby or that they were sold for cash. Like so many other celebrity parents these days, Palin the elder used her kids to stay firmly planted in the spotlight. I'm happy for Bristol and Levi, and for Sarah to have a grandson, but I hope they're able to let him lead a somewhat normal life after all this. After all, he is just a little baby!
Nude Cheerleaders Sue School
What would you do if your high school daughter:
1. Took a nude picture of herself
2. "Accidently" texted it to someone
3. Found out it was being widely distributed at school
4. Was kicked off the cheer squad for violating the athletic code
Why, sue the school, of course!
Yes, behavior that would once shame a family and land a teenager a four-month grounding and some serious chores is now grist for a family-bonding lawsuit.
According to the families' attorney, they are suing for the girls to be reinstated to the squad and for the incident to be expunged from their school records. They also want an apology from the district for neglecting to discipline the football players and students who viewed the photos and circulated them to their friends via text, since it is a violation of state child porn laws to distribute nude photos of a minor.
The bottom line is that what the girls did was wrong and dumb in the age of internet and text messaging. What the boys did was mean and illegal. What the adult parents are doing is absurd!
This suit is the kind of perverse parenting that has landed us a generation of kids who, according to a recent Josephson Institute study on high school ethics, are not only alarmingly dishonest (i.e. a full 30% have stolen from a store!), but they are overwhelmingly (93%) satisfied with their own ethics.
Immature teens and high school scandals are nothing new. When these incidents happen, kids need adults who will hold them to a higher standard. Instead of backing up the school for enforcing their athletic code, their parents demand an apology and even financial compensation because other students were not disciplined.
Sadly, their decision to sue is an even greater disservice to their daughters, precluding them from enjoying the only positive results that can come from an embarrassing and formative event like this in a young person's life -- the potential for growth and character building.
Perhaps it is the parents who should be sued for incompetence.
Student's Husband Banned From School
Teens & tweens, Health & Safety, Weird But True, Education
Reading this headline, it should be apparent that this student isn't your typical high-schooler. At 17-years-old, Brittany Engstrom is married. She's a senior at Hubbard High School in Ohio and lives with her 19-year-old husband Casey and his grandmother. It is an unusual situation made even more so by the fact that Casey is not only Brittany's husband, but because she's a minor, he's her legal guardian, too. Despite all this, officials at Hubbard High have banned him from school functions. This, they say, is due to the fact that his appearance is in violation of the school's dress code, which states that "wearing pierced jewelry on any other body part than the ear, such as nose, eyebrows, lips and tongue are not permitted." Casey has ear-stretching jewelry in his ears and lip. You know, those painful-looking rings that leave giant holes in your skin.
Casey is more than willing to compromise if it means he can escort his young wife to homecoming and prom. But his offer to remove his jewelry was turned down flat. Superintendent Richard Buchenic says removing the skin-stretching pieces "was not acceptable because fluids could still come out, and I do not want to subject our students to those fluids."
Buchenic says the district's only duty to Brittany is to provide her with an education. "She chose to get married, so this is her decision. Going to dances is a privilege, not a right," Buchenic said. "She could still attend with friends."
For his part, Casey says he is misunderstood and that Buchenic's characterization of his lifestyle as "alternative" is unfair. "That offended me," he said. "I live with my wife and two cats. How alternative is my lifestyle?" (He left out grandma.)
What do you think about this? Is the concern over fluids a valid one? Is Brittany being punished for marrying while in high school? What about the fact that Brittany herself appears to have some facial piercings? And lastly, considering the fact that Casey is Brittany's legal guardian, can they really ban him from her school functions?
El Paso dance team spikes rival's brownies
Teens & tweens, Weird But True, Education
We have all heard of kids lacing foodstuffs with laxatives as a prank. It's not cool, but at least it won't cause anyone any permanent damage. But some girls on an El Paso high school dance team may have taken that idea and run just a little too far with it. Reportedly, they spiked some baked goods with something quite a bit stronger and gave them to their dance rivals at Andress High School.
At this point, all the dancers have fessed up to is adding a bit of laxative to the brownie batter. But rumors are swirling that there may have been rat poison and bleach in the sweets! It doesn't sound like anyone actually ate any of the tainted brownies, but at least one parent of an intended victim is calling for criminal charges. "We felt like they weren't out just to play a prank," said Bea Saenz. "With all the stuff they put in there, it is like they were trying to kill them."
District officials are having the brownies tested but the results won't be available for weeks. In the meantime, the brownie-spiking girls have been kicked off the dance team and suspended for three days. I suppose that punishment suffices if it turns out to have been just laxatives in the brownies. But what if there was something else in there? What do you think should happen to these girls?
Mississippi school district to hold cell phones for ransom
Just For Moms, Teens & tweens, Just For Dads, Health & Safety, In The News, Education, Gadgets & Tech
When officials in the Houston, Mississippi School District tell students to leave their cell phones at home, they mean it. The Houston Board of Education Trustees has drafted a new policy that prohibits students from having a cell phone on campus during school hours. If they are caught with one, the device will be confiscated and a note will be sent home to parents. In order to get the phone back, a $25 fee must be paid. The new policy, which is scheduled to go into effect on November 17, replaces the current policy which allows students to bring cell phones to school but prohibits their use during school hours. One of the Board members who voted against the policy says he has questions about how students will be able to contact parents to pick them up following after-school activities or tutorials.
Board attorney James M. Hood says that from a legal standpoint, the ban is a good idea. His concern is with inappropriate use of phones on campus -- specifically, using the cell phone as a camera. "You are looking at liability issues with photographs taken that violate privacy and are published," Board attorney James M. Hood said. See the 15-year-old girl in at Licking Valley High School in Ohio for an example of that.
If I had a high-schooler in that district, I would not be happy with the new policy. I know that teens use cell phones mostly to communicate with their friends, but parents use them to communicate with their children. If kids are forced to leave the cell phone home each morning, parents will have no way of contacting them before or after school should they need or want to. I know we all managed before cell phones came along, but that connection gives a peace of mind that my parents never had and surely would have enjoyed.
Chicago mayor puts gay high school on hold
Teens & tweens, 2Moms2Dads, Education
The Chicago Board of Education put plans for the Social Justice Pride Campus, a high school intended to serve gay and lesbian students, on hold yesterday by putting off a vote on the matter until the middle of November. Although the mayor insisted that he did not tell the board to put off the vote, the Chicago Sun-Times refers to the group as "his handpicked school board." Whether or not Daley influenced the board, he did admit to concerns about the plan.Mayor Richard M. Daley explained his reservations, saying "You have to look at whether or not you isolate and segregate children. A holistic approach has always been to have children of all different backgrounds in schools. When you start isolating children and you say, 'Only 50 percent here, 40 percent here' -- same thing we went through with the disabled -- then you want to do that when they're adults."
Rick Garcia, political director of Equality Illinois, agrees. "There's no doubt there's violence and bullying of gay kids and something has to be done, but segregating them is not the answer," he said, adding that "instead of a school for gay kids, maybe we need a school for the bullies." Frankly, I couldn't agree more. Instead of trying to sweep the problem under the rug by hiding gay students off at their own school, why not address the cause of the problem and stop the bullying?
San Diego adds financial literacy to the curriculum
Teens & tweens, Money & Work, Education
In a move that might have helped some of America's top bankers, San Diego Unified School District is adding a ten-day mini-course entitled "Personal Financial Literacy, the Game of Life" to the requirements for high school graduation. Developed by a team of teachers, bankers and even a bankruptcy judge, the course aims to teach students the basics of financial literacy.Topics include checkbook balancing, income taxes, investments, and credit. The course also covers identity theft and how the Patriot Act affects bank accounts. "Over the years, I have been concerned when young people file for bankruptcy," said retired U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge John J. Hargrove, who helped write the curriculum. "We need early intervention like this so that young people learn discipline with credit cards and finances."
If you ask me, there couldn't be more appropriate time than right now, as the economy goes haywire and Americans find themselves in debt over their heads. "This is about teaching life skills," said Superintendent Terry Grier. "Learning how to manage money is paramount in helping students succeed in the world." I agree completely.
