Schools, Teachers etc.

[p0rtia]

I'm hoping to follow the Claudine Gay perjury accusations. I've edited a ton of journal articles and academic papers. I've discussed the subject of what is plagiarism and what isn't with academics and scientists from around the world. No shock that it's an issue, since it depends on various conventions of citation and quotation that are central to presentation rather than content. You may think this is an easy call (I think so myself), but you'd be surprised at the number of Ph.D.s who think it's okay to directly quote researcher's work without quotation marks, and with spotty citations.

The examples I read of Dr. Gay's were the perfect case in point. At the very least, she should have cited the works she was quoting from every paragraph. If I had been her editor, and if I had _known_ that she was so closely referencing another author, I would have said, "Stop with the almost-quotations, already! Just quote them in full and use quotation marks and citations."

So part of the problem is that the editor, if any, can't advise if she doesn't know something is being quoted. Another part of the problem is that the author thinks that if she changes a few words in the phrasing, it's okay (it's not). The author thinks this because vast numbers of academic authors do this, so it seems normal. The odds that Dr. Gay meant to steal another person's work are zero. Not to mention the convention that research is sometimes published under the professor's name, when some (or all) work was done by the students. Who wrote what, originally?

Which brings up another point. Rearranging words that another author wrote when the words are just stating facts can feel pointless. For example: "...prohibiting any state or subdivision from adopting voting practices that "deny or abridge the right of any citizen of the United States to vote on account of race or color" is a sentence that Dr. Gay is accused of plagiarizing from (I think) her professor's work. I mean, good lord, that is such a nothing burger. There is no intent to deceive there. But yes, she absolutely had an obligation to cite the author, no matter how insignificant it felt to her.

I once had an amazing, hard-working client who was tasked with writing sort of short, encyclopedia-like articles and gathering them together in book form. She skated the line of plagiarism every day--because there was nothing new to add to the entries she was recording, and yet her mandate from her publisher was to do original writing, not to cite sources. How many ways can you say something like "The Washington monument was built in 1848 to commemorate the first president, George Washington."? If you have to google the date, are you plagiarizing the source you find if you don't cite it?

These days I primarily edit journal articles (on genetics) from Japanese clients, so I am just doing English language editing (my super power is making the writing of non-native writers of English read like native English. These articles are cited within an inch of their lives. And they'd better be, because 1) I am not a scientist, and 2) I have zero idea which bits of the articles are original research and which are not. Indeed, one of my most common notes is to say, "Is this yours?". Fortunately, with scientific writing, the original work is usually only present in the Results and Discussion sections. Otherwise I would be dead in the water in terms of helping my clients avoid goofs.

But there are generally no quotation marks used in journal articles when directly quoting the research of other authors in scientific journal articles. Why not? Because that is the convention. It's all convention. I used to wonder why not, but after 30 years, I just think it would clutter the articles unbearably to include quotation marks, because there are so many. It is understood in the science world that there may well be direct quotations from the cited articles, and that's fine.

Convention is key, here. I would hate to see how accusatory the radical right would get when they found so many direct quotes in so many journal articles that were not in quotation marks. They would have a field day, especially in the Introduction sections where it is obligatory to include a few dozen well known scientific points that are going to be skimmed because anyone reading the article is an expert in the field already and knows all about them.

The Grand Canyon between "sloppy citations" and "plagiarism" is very wide.

Plagiarize: to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own : use (another's production) without crediting the source.

My next stop is to check in with the various academics in the family to get their take.

Thanks for reading, if anyone got this far. This has been on my mind, and I'm glad to have a place like the Fogbow where I can put some of my thoughts on a hot topic down on (virtual) paper.

[AndyinPA]

I read to the end as I've found this very interesting. I think one of the MSNBC programs had a discussion on this last night. They seemed to think the plagiarism meme first started from the right-wing world and gradually made it into mass media. I will be following it.

[raison de arizona]

Thanks for reading, if anyone got this far. This has been on my mind, and I'm glad to have a place like the Fogbow where I can put some of my thoughts on a hot topic down on (virtual) paper.

Thanks for the skinny on that, it was fascinating. I learned a lot.

[p0rtia]

Another example of what is being called plagiarisim. However, note 1) the footnotes* (good!), 2) the absence of quotation marks (convention), and 3) the mundane nature of the repeated material.

Seriously, it's all about the mens rea, or lack thereof -- which you can almost always establish by the context.

*Without seeing the document, it's impossible to tell for sure whether the footnotes will contain citations or other material, but given their position and frequency, I would bet on the former.

Gorsuch.jpg (97.06 KiB) Viewed 17486 times

[p0rtia]

More on Dr Gay, from the NYT:

The documents by the unnamed accuser that The Free Beacon links to on its website show 39 examples in the first complaint, rising to 47 in total in the second complaint. Separately, Harvard’s investigations have found instances of inadequate citation in her dissertation and at least two of her articles.

She has not been accused of stealing big ideas, but rather of copying language in the papers of other scholars, with small changes to substitute words or phrases or to arrange them differently. Often the language in question is technical boilerplate.
...
The accuser goes on to wonder why Harvard was so intent on exposing him or her: “Did Gay wish to personally thank me for helping her to improve her work even if I drove her harder than she wanted to be driven?”

The sentence is an allusion to a phrase in the acknowledgments of Dr. Gay’s 1997 dissertation, where she says that her family “drove me harder than I sometimes wanted to be driven.”

It is one of the phrases she is accused of copying, from the acknowledgments of a 1996 book, “Facing Up to the American Dream: Race, Class, and the Soul of the Nation,” by the Harvard political scientist Jennifer L. Hochschild, who was thanking another academic.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/02/us/h ... arism.html

Hope to find the actual text.

[raison de arizona]

Hope to find the actual text.

First complaint: https://freebeacon.com/wp-content/uploa ... laint_.pdf
Second complaint: https://freebeacon.com/wp-content/uploa ... laint2.pdf

[p0rtia]

Hope to find the actual text.

First complaint: https://freebeacon.com/wp-content/uploa ... laint_.pdf
Second complaint: https://freebeacon.com/wp-content/uploa ... laint2.pdf

[RVInit]

Thanks for reading, if anyone got this far. This has been on my mind, and I'm glad to have a place like the Fogbow where I can put some of my thoughts on a hot topic down on (virtual) paper.

Thanks for the skinny on that, it was fascinating. I learned a lot.

[June bug]

Thanks for reading, if anyone got this far. This has been on my mind, and I'm glad to have a place like the Fogbow where I can put some of my thoughts on a hot topic down on (virtual) paper.

Thanks for the skinny on that, it was fascinating. I learned a lot.

Me too, but just to clarify, “Is this yours?”

[Foggy]

Let no one else's work evade your eyes,
That's why the good Lord made your eyes,
So plagiarize, plagiarize, plagiarize!

-that Lehrer dude

[RTH10260]

of course we need the correct quotation

[RTH10260]

from last year

THIS 11-YEAR-OLD BROWNSVILLE ISD HONOR STUDENT WAS PUT IN SOLITARY
A fifth-grader reported being bullied by his principal. Five days later, he was handcuffed and detained.

by JOSEPHINE LEE
NOVEMBER 2, 2023, 2:54 PM, CDT


Eleven-year-old Timothy Murray has many trophies displayed in a row by the wall of his room. During a video call, he shows me what he’s won from science projects, chess competitions, and coding programs, and ends with the largest one in his collection—a three-tiered, star-studded trophy he won as grand champion of the Brownsville Independent School District Elementary Science Fair in November 2022. It seems almost as tall as his 4-foot-1-inch frame. He explains that the project measured safety factors when driving over the Golden Gate Bridge by changing variables of speed, mass, and the size of a vehicle.

It’s hard for me to keep up as Timothy speaks and gestures excitedly at his project’s colorful tri-fold board.

The project was the last one Timothy worked on with his father before his father died in April from multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer. His dad had been sick since Timothy was two, and family outings were often trips to the hospital. As his cancer spread, Timothy’s dad never tried to hide his sickness. Rather, he demystified the disease, explaining the causes and the symptoms, and preparing Timothy for his possible death.

Timothy says that because of his father, he wants to be an oncologist when he grows up, although his mom laughs about how everyone else thinks her son should be a lawyer since he likes to argue so much. His father taught him how to speak up and advocate for himself.

“My dad taught me what is wrong and right. Do this. Don’t do that. Finish projects as soon as I can. Because if I’m late, it can hurt my grades,” Timothy said. “My grades are very fragile right now: I have an 84 in spelling, the rest are in the 90s.”

But Timothy’s efforts to speak out and request counseling for himself at the start of his fifth-grade school year at Palm Grove Elementary School led to what the family calls retaliation by Palm Grove Elementary School Principal Myrta Garza.

On September 8, school administrators told Timothy—who had irked the principal with requests for counseling and for clarification on school dress code policies—that another student alleged that he made threats against Garza. Timothy denied the allegation, but Garza called law enforcement, who detained him and placed him in solitary confinement for three days at the Darrell B. Hester Juvenile Detention Center in Brownsville.

Cameron County prosecutors pushed for Class C felony charges of “terroristic threat” and argued for two more weeks of detention. Instead, Judge Adela Kowalski-Garza ordered a safety risk evaluation and conditional release home until his hearing November 8.



https://www.texasobserver.org/why-was-t ... -solitary/

[RTH10260]

followup to above

PROSECUTORS WON’T DROP CHARGES AGAINST BROWNSVILLE ISD HONOR STUDENT
Timothy Murray was put in solitary confinement after reporting Principal Myrta Garza for bullying.

by JOSEPHINE LEE
DECEMBER 13, 2023, 6:40 PM, CST

After the Texas Observer first reported last month that 11-year-old Timothy Murray was arrested by the Brownsville Independent School District police and detained in solitary confinement just days after he reported being bullied by his school principal, Myrta Garza, Timothy’s mother Nadia Rincon had hoped prosecutors would drop the charges against her son.

But during a status hearing today, Cameron County Assistant District Attorney Rene Garza made it clear the office is hell-bent on building a criminal case against Timothy, asking for more time to gather evidence after school administrators who previously worked under Garza filed another criminal charge against the student earlier this month.

“We’ve got an overzealous prosecutor who, regardless of what the facts or lack of facts there may be, made decisions that have proven to be more harmful than anything else time and time again,” said Sara Stapleton-Barrera, who is now Timothy’s attorney.

Garza did not immediately respond to the Observer’s request for comment. We will update this story if he does.

Judge Adela Kowalski-Garza scheduled another hearing for February 14 but granted permission to Rincon for Timothy to be homeschooled.

“He’s not safe in this district,” Rincon said.

A week ago on December 5, school administrators who had worked under Garza while she was principal at Canales Elementary had the district police file a report charging Timothy with aggravated assault. For the second time, school administrators seized a chance to use police actions to punish the fifth-grader. Rincon’s repeated appeals to the district and even the state education agency have gone unanswered.



https://www.texasobserver.org/prosecuto ... r-student/

[p0rtia]

So I found the time a couple of weeks ago to review the plagiarism allegations against Claudine Gay. Then I got sidetracked. I'm going to include what I wrote in hidden text, because IMO it falls in the TL;DNR category.

My bottom line: no attempt to co-opt anyone else's research; primarily absent citations; on a par with what the majority of other scholars do. Bonus observation: Calling missed citations of boilerplate and background text "plagiarism" is counterproductive.

Today I found and read Harvard's own review. It parallels my take almost exactly, (barring the observation of what other scholars do, and my irritation at some of the ridiculous examples that were labeled "plagiarism," such as the phrasing of acknowledgements), so read these excerpts instead:

Findings of the Independent Panel: "On November 16, the Independent Panel provided the Subcommittee and counsel with a two-page memorandum of its assessment of the allegations (the “Memorandum”). The Independent Panel noted that it focused primarily on the two later papers ... there was “no doubt” that the articles “are both sophisticated and original,” and that there was “virtually no evidence of intentional claiming of findings that are not President Gay’s.” Referring to the College Guide, the Independent Panel observed that certain allegations were “trivial,” concerned “commonly used language” or “sentence fragments,” or arose from the 1993 publication to which they devoted “less attention.” The Independent Panel identified nine of the 25 allegations presented by the Post as allegations “of principal concern,” which “paraphrased or reproduced the language of others without quotation marks and without sufficient and clear crediting of sources,” failing “[o]n occasion” to “provide citations according to the highest established scientific practice.” It noted further that, with respect to one allegation, “fragments of duplicative language and paraphrasing . . . could be read as Gay claiming findings that are actually those of Schwartz,” although “[t]here is no evidence that was her intention.” The Independent Panel also observed that, although its focus mwas the two later papers, the 1993 publication used “identical language to that previously published by others, a pattern that recurs, in reduced form, in the 2012 and 2017 articles.”

Harvard Subcomittee Conclusions: "The Subcommittee concluded that, although many of the allegations were meritless, there were instances that did not adhere to the College Guide. The Subcommittee determined that two articles required corrections. The corrections the Subcommittee identified reflected the Subcommittee’s judgment that certain of the allegations the Independent Panel flagged as allegations of “principal concern” did not merit correction (for instance, because the passage contained commonly used technical language). One of the required corrections the Subcommittee identified related to an article not reviewed by the Independent Panel. While it crequired corrections, the Subcommittee determined that then-President Gay’s conduct was not creckless nor intentional and, therefore, did not constitute research misconduct as defined by the FAS Research Misconduct Policy"

► Show Spoiler

I'm not making any attempt to clean this up. I did it for fun, because the topic interests me, and I got as far as I could before it became no longer fun:

Had some quiet time this AM to read through most of the examples of Claudine Gay's alleged plagiarism.

In addition to not putting the material side by side in a table to make comparison easy, the author does not provide essential information about the publications they are quoting from. All we get is title, author, pub date, and page number. Missing are: type of publication (book, article, chapter, thesis), type of content (research, review, case study, opinion), what section of the publication (if there are sections) the material is from (intro/background, discussion, conclusions).

The document quotes Harvard's plagiarism rule as: “When you fail to cite your sources, or when you cite them inadequately, you are plagiarizing.” Here is the rest of the para: ", which is taken seriously at Harvard. Plagiarism is defined as the act of either intentionally OR unintentionally submitting work that was written by someone else. If you turn in a paper that was written by someone else, or if you turn in a paper in which you have included material from any source without citing that source, you have plagiarized."

1 - There are no examples of “work that was written by someone else.” Meaning extensive, meaningful text lifted verbatim from another published work.

2 - There are about half-a-dozen examples, of one-or-two sentences each, which are verbatim duplication of published material written by someone else. But the only such examples that have neither in-text citation nor appearance in the references, were written in the 1990’s, while a student, and (as has been reported), the source material was work written by her advisor.

Because the essential info I mention above is missing, I can’t say I’m 100 percent sure these instances contain ideas or research that is somebody else’s. But it doesn’t look like it to me.

3 - Most of the examples are badly paraphrased material without citation, with the source work listed in the References. It seems to be largely background material—info that might be unknown to the lay person, but well known by someone in the field.

4 - For some of the latter, the source work is cited at the beginning of a paragraph, or elsewhere, even though the paraphrasing goes on for more than one paragraph. Again, none of this seems, to my eye, to be anything more than background info:

Gay: Thus the TOT effects, unlike the ITT effects, are nonexperimental, in the sense that they are not directly observed for whole randomly assigned group….

Source: The TOT estimates are non-experimental, in the sense that they are not directly observed for whole randomly assigned groups

Note from author of the exposé: [The paraphrase] is not cited in the paragraph where the passage quoted above occurs. It is cited at the end of the next paragraph.

5 - In a few cases, the alleged plagiarism is the use of a single word. I assume it is included to build the case of then Mosaic Plagiarism that Harvard mentions.

6 - In a few cases, the alleged plagiarism is of material unrelated to the research (like the two examples of acknowledgement language that is vaunted as particularly damning—but to my eye is laughable:

Gay: I am also grateful to Gary: he reminded me of the importance of getting the data right and following where they lead without fear or favor….

Source: Sandy Jencks showed me the importance of getting the data right and of
following where they lead without fear or favor.

7 - Bizarrely, in a couple of instances, the author of the exposé complains when Gay paraphrases and correctly cites the original author of the material, but not another author who also cites the original author:

8 - The author of the exposé states 8 or 9 times that “There are no quotation marks.” He does this when they’re incorrectly placed citations, as if this strengthens his argument, even when the duplicative material is bad paraphrase, not verbatim. In fact, quotation marks are largely avoided, even when fragments of sentences are duplicated verbatim, unless the language has actual original content.

9 - And finally, the author of the exposé points out that she once made an error in a citation. (Because no one ever makes an error in a citation).

So, my take? There are a couple of dozen examples of inadequate citations, bad paraphrasing skills, and an early mistaken belief that if the author is listed in the References, you can paraphrase their work without citation.

According to the Harvard guidelines for students, this is plagiarism. Of course, not all the examples were published by Harvard. Not sure any were. Either way, for me the key element of plagiarism is the intention to pass off someone else’s ideas and research as your own. And this isn’t that.

On paraphrasing: "When you want to paraphrase material, it's a good idea first to paste the actual quotation into your notes (not directly into your draft) and then to paraphrase it (still in your notes)."

Mosaic Plagiarism: “If you copy bits and pieces from a source (or several sources), changing a few words here and there without either adequately paraphrasing or quoting directly, the result is mosaic plagiarism. Even if you don't intend to copy the source, you may end up with this type of plagiarism as a result of careless note-taking and confusion over where your source's ideas end and your own ideas begin. You may think that you've paraphrased sufficiently or quoted relevant passages, but if you haven't taken careful notes along the way, or if you've cut and pasted from your sources, you can lose track of the boundaries between your own ideas and those of your sources."

[RTH10260]

'Another mess': Lawmakers call on OSDE to halt teacher bonus claw backs

by TOM FERGUSONSat,
January 27th 2024

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (KOKH) — Several state lawmakers are pushing back against the Oklahoma State Department of Education's plan to force teachers to pay back their sign-on bonuses.

On Thursday, Oklahoma Watch reported that OSDE was trying to get at least $290,000 back from nine teachers who received the money but didn't qualify for all or some of it.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters (R-Okla.) asserted that several applicants lied—and that steps are being taken to retrieve taxpayer dollars.

However, both Democrats and Republicans say the department dropped the ball.

State Rep. Forrest Bennett (D-Oklahoma City) asserted that Superintendent Walters is trying to shift the blame of who's responsible.

"This was a program that really could have had a happy ending, but because of his lack of due diligence and lack of attention to detail, it's become another mess," Rep. Bennett argued.

Both he and state Rep. Mark McBride (R-Moore) asserted that the department should take the loss—and that giving about a month for the teachers to pay back the money would bring financial disaster.

They also shared a legislative response might be necessary—especially if the department sticks with its current course of action.

Kay Bojorquez told FOX 25 on Thursday that, after taxes, her $50,000 bonus became about $29,000.

She's now staring down bankruptcy after being asked to pay back the full $50,000.

She had the following message for the state superintendent: "For him to say that I've done something illicit is awful... I would never in any way, shape, and form do anything illicit, or hurt anyone, or try to take anyone's money or tax dollars."

Rep. Bennett worries the program's administration might have a chilling effect on future applications.

State Rep. Rhonda Baker (R-Yukon) and state Sen. Adam Pugh (R-Edmond) have joined in the calls for the department to change its course of action.

"The old man in me is saying eat, let's fix it, and go down the road," explained Rep. McBride.

The Oklahoma Attorney General's Office released the following statement to FOX 25:

Attorney General Drummond is greatly concerned about the reported problems with distributing the funds and is considering the proper role of this office in determining appropriate next steps.

Walters is pushing back against his critics and shared a statement in response:

Unfortunately, there has been an ongoing effort by the liberal media to tear down and misrepresent our Teacher Bonus Program. In fact, not only is the initial report by Oklahoma Watch inaccurate, it failed to address the more than 500 new teachers recruited back into the classroom. As part of our continuing plan to administer and audit an active program, we discovered several applicants who had lied on their applications. Steps are being taken to ensure the integrity of the finances and commitment to the taxpayers. OSDE is ensuring that the goals of this program remain intact: to get more teachers back in Oklahoma classrooms, reward teachers for the work of effectively teaching the next generation of Oklahomans, and get Oklahoma schools back on track.

"That we can't see the humanity in this, and do the right thing on... the part of the state is beyond me," asserted Rep. Bennett.




https://okcfox.com/news/local/another-m ... quez-watch

[sad-cafe]

a 50 thousand bonus?

Man sign me up

[Reddog]

Kay Bojorquez told FOX 25 on Thursday that, after taxes, her $50,000 bonus became about $29,000.

Forty two percent seems like a draconian withholding. I can see where it would be problematic paying back the full $50,000, while the individual only got $29,000 to begin with, and couldn’t get a refund until the next tax year. Meanwhile the full amount is still regarded as income?

[RTH10260]

Kay Bojorquez told FOX 25 on Thursday that, after taxes, her $50,000 bonus became about $29,000.

Forty two percent seems like a draconian withholding. I can see where it would be problematic paying back the full $50,000, while the individual only got $29,000 to begin with, and couldn’t get a refund until the next tax year. Meanwhile the full amount is still regarded as income?

Assuming one repays such a part of the salary, does one get a do-over of the taxes for that year?

[Reddog]

A Fogcountant would be the best source. My wag would be an amended return, if in the current year. I have no idea if e.g. 2 years down the road the pro rated payback is mandated. Possibly somehow as a subtraction from income?

[raison de arizona]

The Lee County GOP here in Fort Myers, Florida will be protesting at a school board meeting next week because a teacher had this bulletin board up.

They say that the “Hate has no home here banner promotes "woke indoctrination”.

Michael Thompson, the chairman of the Lee County Republican Executive Committee says that “The issue at hand is that the district needs to get out of having any type of political influence on our children.”

So telling kids to not be hateful towards the LGBT community and African Americans, is NOW considered “political influence and indoctrination”?

Get the hell out of here!

I’m not afraid of my kids seeing this bulletin board. I can’t believe people actually are.

Article: https://www.news-press.com/story/news/l ... 270560007/

[RTH10260]

Blog article on this video one post down, has all info if you do not want to listen.

[RTH10260]

UPDATE: After pushing Bible on dancing teen, Louisiana public school principal takes leave of absence
Jason St. Pierre punished senior Kaylee Timonet for dancing, but the backlash was fierce

HEMANT MEHTA
10 OCT 2023

A week after Walker High School Principal Jason St. Pierre foisted a Bible on a student whose only “crime” was dancing at a Homecoming afterparty with her friends, the Louisiana native has suddenly stepped away from his position.

I recently posted about how Kaylee Timonet, a senior, had been called into St. Pierre’s office where she was told her dancing went against the Bible. He printed out Bible verses for her, removed her as student body president, and told her she was no longer eligible for an important scholarship. He also gave her a religious bracelet, the family told me.

But even Kaylee’s own mother said “nothing inappropriate” had occurred at the party (and she was there!) and that the principal had “no right” to inject Christianity into the situation.

There were several media outlets that wrote about the controversy and yet the school district didn’t say much in the initial aftermath. Kaylee’s family said they would consider a lawsuit if they had to. Meanwhile, students at the school waged a social media campaign in Kaylee’s defense with images and shirts reading “Let the girl dance.”

The question was what would happen next.

It’s been a hell of a lot more than even I anticipated.

On Sunday, St. Pierre issued a statement apologizing for his actions and reinstating Kaylee’s position with the student government. He also said he would re-endorse her for the scholarship:

Good afternoon WHS Family,

I believe it is necessary to respond to the public attention that has resulted from my actions regarding Kaylee Timonet’s participation in a dance party that was sponsored at an off-site location following WHS Homecoming.

I have had time to consider my actions, have conversations with the Timonets, and meet with district staff.

First, let me say that I have apologized to the Timonets and I am hopeful that my scheduled meeting with Kaylee’s mom will rectify this situation and allow Kaylee to enjoy the remainder of her senior year at Walker High School.

I will be reinstating Kaylee’s position on the Student Government Association. The SGA was created to give students a voice in their school and their community, to promote leadership qualities, and to represent their school with pride, enthusiasm, and respect. Our student government members are held to a high standard of student behavior. While I stand by that premise, I do believe that standard deserves the input of not just myself and top administrators, but also those student leaders. I hope to create a path moving forward where we can work together to create clear expectations for all.

I will be reinstating my scholarship endorsement for Kaylee. At Walker High, we strive to place our students first in every decision so they may be prepared for whatever career path they may aspire to take, and I believe my action will assist in doing that.

Finally, during my conversation with Kaylee regarding the dance party, the subject of religious beliefs was broached by Kaylee and myself. While that conversation was meant with the best intentions, I do understand it is not my responsibility to determine what students’ or others’ religious beliefs may be, that should be the responsibility of the individual.

As principal of Walker High School, I am faced daily with many difficult decisions for the interest of our students and employees that are never taken lightly. Please know that I always strive to place our students first in every decision. It is for that reason that I have taken this corrective action.

As we move forward, I ask for your continued support of Walker High School, our amazing teachers, and our outstanding students.

Thank you,

JASON ST. PIERRE, PRINCIPAL OF WALKER HIGH SCHOOL

UPDATE 2: Principal Jason St. Pierre has requested a leave of absence for the rest of the school year. It’s not clear if that’s related to this controversy.



https://www.friendlyatheist.com/p/updat ... on-dancing

[pipistrelle]

I do understand it is not my responsibility to determine what students’ or others’ religious beliefs may be, that should be the responsibility of the individual.

No. No, you don’t.

Also, learn how to use semi-colons.

[raison de arizona]

News story, featuring infamous video.

[RTH10260]

‘Boom you’re dead’: Principal on leave after ‘upsetting’ active-shooter drill at L.A. County school

by: Vivian Chow
Posted: Feb 8, 2024 / 09:17 PM PST Updated: Feb 8, 2024 / 10:07 PM PST

A school principal was placed on administrative leave after witnesses said she held a disturbing active shooter drill at a San Gabriel elementary school.

The incident happened at Washington Elementary on Wednesday and involved Nina Denson, a woman who joined the school as principal in Fall 2023.

Children and parents are upset at what they say was an inappropriate series of actions by Denson during the lockdown drill.

“She proceeded to walk around campus and pretended to shoot people she saw using finger movements and banging on windows,” said Jennifer Chavez, a parent. “From what I heard, she said to one of the students, ‘Boom. You’re dead.’”

Some of the children who witnessed the principal’s actions were as young as 4 years old, parents said.

“Oh he was really upset,” Chavez said of her son, who is in first grade. “The one shocking, surprising thing he said as a 6-year-old was, ‘I’m just really glad none of my friends died.’”

According to Jim Symonds, superintendent of the San Gabriel Unified School District, the safety drill was not authorized.

“This type of drill where a scenario was run is not approved by the district nor part of our district protocol,” Symonds confirmed.

After the drill, staff members claimed Denson then made an announcement saying seven children were dead.




https://ktla.com/news/local-news/princi ... ry-school/