I know I can't hurt them but...

[taxguykarl]

When I caught people copying from me, I wrote wrong answers and let them turn it in first. Surprise-surprise when I get an 'A' and douche get's an F.

From my high school days: A history teacher suspected one loudmouth of rubber-necking on exams. So he came up with a trap: First he personally passed out each test paper (none of the usual 'take one and pass the stack on'). Then he announced, "Some of you have special instructions, look on the back of the first page of your test books." The 'special instructions were to place the answers on the next question's space (i.e. the answer for question #1 on the space for question #2 and so on--the last question's answer was to go on the space for #1). He had a smoking gun on the loudmouth.

[Jester]

Ah, now that explanation makes a lot more sense to me!

[infinitemonkies]

I just don't get him going to prison, if it was indeed for that. It just seems....extreme. I know, I know, what he did was pretty bad. I am not defending him. But if he didn't have a prior history or record with that kind of stuff (and for all I know he did), I just don't get why he ended up in the slammer.

I glossed over part of it; when he made his threat, it wasn't it heat of the moment, 'emotion outburst' kinda threat, it was very, very specific and disturbingly detailed.

IIRC he plea-bargained down from sexual assault to verbal assault & uttering threats. Also, it seems he had a couple DUIs on his record, and a (suspended sentance) conviction for assault from before his teaching days. The judge gave him 6 or 8 months of lock-up.

[Jester]

I was more than happy to help out.

I was happy to help out in college, too....for a price.

Not on tests, but I would be lying if I said I didn't write a few small papers for some friends and dorm-mates, for money and/or beer. I never wrote major papers, I never did their research for them, and I did guarantee them at least a B (never guaranteed an A, though the papers usually got them).

Yes, I was a word whore. Yes, technically speaking it was cheating. No, I don't have any problems with my conscious. *I* wasn't cheating. They were, and I was benefitting from it, since it was rather easy for me. Sure, I could have gotten in trouble, too.....but I didn't exactly leave much of a trail.

[Andara Bledin]

When I caught people copying from me, I wrote wrong answers and let them turn it in first. Surprise-surprise when I get an 'A' and douche get's an F.

Nice. I like.

I did the paper-over-the-answers trick, myself.

Then again, if anyone asked me for help when it wasn't a test and didn't ask me to do their work for them, I was more than happy to help out.

[Broomjockey]

I just don't get why he ended up in the slammer.

Because in Canada, that would fall under "Criminal Harassment" which is punishable by up to 10 years. Saying "if he didn't have a history of it" is like saying "oh, I don't understand why that guy went to jail, it's the first time he's ever beaten a guy with a lead pipe." It's still a crime, and there's 20 people witnessed it.

[Jester]

Okay, now I understand what you were saying. I get it.

And I do understand that saying that would, and should, have ended that dude's career.

I just don't get him going to prison, if it was indeed for that. It just seems....extreme. I know, I know, what he did was pretty bad. I am not defending him. But if he didn't have a prior history or record with that kind of stuff (and for all I know he did), I just don't get why he ended up in the slammer.

[KabeRinnaul]

But Kabe, you forget, in the original story, there was no one-on-one meeting; the teacher said this to the student in front of the class, in front of at least 20 witnesses.

I'm aware, and Broomjockey again covered half the reason for me saying what I did.

But I was more pointing that out to stress just how seriously the US public school system takes these matters - they don't have those kind of meetings simply because one student could claim a teacher said something like what that one did. Often, the claim alone will be enough to end their career, even when it's only teacher's word against student's. So when something like that is stated outright in front of an entire class? It's over.

[Reyneth]

Maybe I'm missing something, but I didn't read it that there as an immediate connection between that comment to the class and ending up in prison. More that he was such a waste of humanity that he did something else so criminally stupid it ended him up in jail.

[Broomjockey]

But Kabe, you forget, in the original story, there was no one-on-one meeting; the teacher said this to the student in front of the class, in front of at least 20 witnesses.

Exactly. That means there's no way to doubt the story. That means his ass was nailed.

[Jester]

But Kabe, you forget, in the original story, there was no one-on-one meeting; the teacher said this to the student in front of the class, in front of at least 20 witnesses.

[KabeRinnaul]

But PRISON? Really?

infinitemonkies shows a Canada location so I don't know how it is up there, but in the US I'd be surprised if the guy even got a trial. Teachers don't even have one-on-one meetings with students anymore most places here, especially not behind closed doors. And normally any suspicion or accusation of sexual misconduct about a teacher gets them dropped. Fast and permanently. And they're not likely going to be teaching again any time soon.

I'm actually surprised it had to go past the school administration.

But yeah, Broomjockey covered it. Threats and sexual harassment directed towards a minor who's in your care? If there were no witnesses, good reason to doubt the story, and you had a good lawyer, you might, maybe, not go to jail.

Sex crime laws are one of my rant topics. I need to inflict one upon Fratching sometime.

[Broomjockey]

But PRISON? Really?

Lesse, off the top of my head, I've got abuse of position of authority over children, sexual harassment, uttering threats. That's without thinking about it. You could probably come up with a few more, and for threatening a 15 year old with rape, you can bet they came up with everything they possibly could.

[Jester]

He tells her, in front of about 20 witnesses, that if he catches her going out for a cigarette he will rape her.

Teacher is teaching shop again. No female students. In prison.

Okay, the teacher was completely wrong for saying that. I am not disputing that or defending him.

But how does that statement constitute prison? Seriously?

Do I think he should have gotten in trouble for that? Absofreakinglutely. Definitely fired. Probably banned from teaching. Probably cited with some criminal charge that might involve a short jail stint, some fine, some community service, and perhaps even probation. But PRISON? Really?

[Magpie]

Here's an interesting story about cheating and a very bad teacher:

I took grade 11 drafting, and had a teacher who was not shy at all about his opinion that girls shouldn't be allowed to take tech/shop courses.
I do this one assignment, and get perfect marks for it. A cute girl in my class who was getting behind on her work asked me if she could copy it. I let her.

Instead of copying it, she just erased my name and the mark (everything is done in pencil in drafting class, even the grading) and handed it in as her own. She only got 70% for it.

She went to a guidance councilor, confessed what she had done, but pointed out she only got lower marks because of her gender. GC went to the instructor, and asked what errors were made on the assignment to keep it from getting full marks. Teacher had no reply. He also wasn't allowed to teach shop classes any more.

While I'm normally not a fan of people copying work (and our freehand assignments were graded on a curve, so that's a particularly sore point with me), if she did that deliberately then kudos to her. Either way, good for her for going and complaining about it, as opposed to saying two wrongs make a right (and to the guidance councilor for the same).