Clearly this is the work of another undercover, sexually frustrated, homsexual entering the priesthood.

Seriously Dan, as a member of the gay community, you should be addressing why so many gay guys enter the priesthood

Sadly, jerks and perverts show up in just about every school system. But at least this school was a charter school, so this particular creep could be fired. Contrast with the alleged flasher principal from Seattle' Whittier Elementary School, who has property rights to his job and is still collecting his salary.

at least this school was a charter school, so this particular creep could be fired. Contrast with the alleged flasher principal from Seattle' Whittier Elementary School, who has property rights to his job and is still collecting his salary

So you're saying that although a private school might fire someone for showing kids porn and hitting them in the crotch while on the job, a public school is likely to keep paying someone while he's on suspension for having been accused of engaging in tacky behavior in his free time?

What?

@3

Point well taken - yet, in the local case, if the allegations are true, this principal will need to look for another job. Any trust established as a manager of employees will have been destroyed. How could any subordinate - especially women - feel safe around a man who clearly has such a profound disconnect with reality, sexual expression, boundaries and earned respect?

If the allegations of "tacky behavior" are true.

Incidentally, the capitol joke works with just about anywhere. To wit: "What's the capitol of South Dakota? PIERRE!" Needless to say, it's only funny when accompanied by a punch to the groin.

Tragic? Sadly yes.
Soon to be tested on my younger brother? Gleefully, YES!!!

repression does amazing things.

@4:

Wait -- no -- my point was, "what the hell was Stefan's point"?

What point are you taking?

Back in Iowa in the 70's, I went to a garden variety, apathetic public school where the track coach racked a kid. He got canned.

Stefan uses this story to bash public schools once again. The Shark likes to use anecdotes to "prove" his larger point. Public schools bad, says Stefan, charter schools good. If you listen to Stefan, the teachers union is the source of all evil. Must be nice to live in such a simple world.

Stefan @ 2: Talking out your ass again, Stefan.

First of all, the groin punching coach was fired before these allegations came out - it seems he and his wife were just plain ol' bad teachers.

Second, the principal is on leave while the school investigates - if they find he did what he is alleged to have done, he will be fired. If you weren't so busy trying to fit the world into your narrow view, you'd know this happens in schools all the time - employees do bad things, they're suspended while they're investigated, and fired if they've done wrong.

Just like any other job.

Switzerblog: "First of all, the groin punching coach was fired before these allegations came out - it seems he and his wife were just plain ol' bad teachers."

Thanks for confirming my point. How common is it for a union member to be fired simply for being a bad teacher?

ah yes.. The union as bogeyman. Perfect for the person who always needs someone to blame for their own shortcomings.

It's a lot easier to take responsibility for your life.

I am a teacher - and holy shit you can't get fired for being a bad teacher! There are many great teachers at my school, but several that are wholly incompetent, lazy - even hate their students and hate teaching but are hanging in for their retirement.

Administrators quietly transfer all students with parents who complain to competent teachers (who of course are rewarded for their hard work with overloaded classes)

While I appreciate some of the things my union does for me it can also be one of the obstacles to making schools better for students- those of you that blindly attack conservative criticism of the public school system are idiots - much like Patty Hearst you defend the institution that made you so fucking stupid. And I consider myself a progressive, but I think defending a broken institution just isn't helpful to those kids that truly need school that serve them.

What's going on in Colo Springs? Pretty much the same thing where religious zealots are in charge - sexual repression resulting in very inappropriate sexual expression. Remove sexual repression and you'll find such behavior will diminish.

It's too bad, Colo Springs is easily the most attractive city in Colorado and among the most picturesque locales in the USA. But it became a conservative stronghold when the defense industry took root, and that's why so many religious nuts decided to relocate there. (Spongedob isn't homegrown.)

BTW, does anyone else find "I Am A Teacher" @ 14 kinda suspicious? Like maybe that person isn't really a teacher but is an anti-public education troll? Or is it just me?

Stefan is no doubt a product of the public school system, so he sort of makes his own point.

Principals are management and NOT union memebers - any failure to remove an incompetent or dangerous administrator falls squarely on school boards and superintendents, not teacher's unions.

Teacher, if there are problems with your union, why don't you get involved and work to improve it? I've never understood the all-too-common impulse to takes the good things the union does, but not work to change the bad - especially since they are taking your money.

FWIW, I have never been a union member, but I have managed employees who are subject to collective bargaining, and I really liked it. People think I'm crazy for saying that, but I thought it made my job easier. Of course, I took the time to learn the contract and work rules, so I could manage effectively, and wasn't afraid to work with the union.

If you don't do your homework (i.e. learning the contract and work rules) managing union employees is a nightmare. That's why so many incompetent managers and poorly run companies are afraid of unions.

Lastly, it takes two parties to sign a contract: Management and union. Unions will, of course, look after their best interest. If the corporation (or governmental agency) can't defend against that, the problem is with their labor relations, HR, and legal departments.

You all turned a totally childish joke into a boring teacher's union v management discussion. How very mature of you.

My favorite:
Q. Do you own any land?
a. no
q. here's two acres (at this point, the prankster delivers a swift fist to the balls).

Get it? two acres (as in, ache-rs)! I kill myself!

I Catalina Vel-Duray.

I tried to put "heart" in there with the little hat things around it. But, maybe the hat-like things mean erase. Opps.
Redo:

I heart Catalina Vel-Duray

As a Colorado native, I would argue that Colorado Springs is perhaps one of the ugliest cities in the world, for so many reasons.

I too ♥ Catalina Vel-Duray.

Whatever problems there are with public schools are not primarily the fault of unions but of management besotted with bad ed-school theory and crippled by lack of funding.

What Sharkansky neglects to mention in his encomiums on charter schools is that the entire charter school movement is driven by one primary goal: not teaching evolution. Students that pass through charter schools will perhaps, if they are lucky, be well-educated in some areas (the three Rs) but will be woefully unprepared for a word where creativity and flexibility are required, and they'll have a lot of catching up on any kind of science that isn't pure engineering. Good jobs? Maybe. Good citizens? Unlikely.

Sharkansky! What the hell are you doing in the comments thread at a pinko-liberal-Al-Quaeda rag like The Stranger? Trolling for dates with terrorists?

Fnarf> not to get on a tangent, but are all charter schools about not teaching evolution? As in, are "charter" schools in WA the same as in MO? I don't know S about charter schools...

Another tiny heart for Catalina...

Colorado needs to change it's state flag. it should have a picture of Jesus wearing a pink tutu, smoking a pipe, while kicking a disciple in the nuts.

This coach has really run out of ideas. I mean, at what point do you just run out of ideas where the only coaching method that you have is to kick your players in the nuts. He is like "Listen team, I have a very simple way of doing things....you drop a pass, I kick you in the nuts...you miss a tackle, I kick you in the nuts....you show up late to practice, I kick you in the nuts. It might be good to implement this coaching style in the NFL. I mean multi millionnaires don't really care about getting fined but they would definitely follow the rules if they knew that the coach would run out into the endzone and kick them in the nuts if they did an endzone dance.

What's the capital of Burkina Faso? OUAGADOUGOU!!! (Punch in balls emoticon)

Amazing how quickly the point of Dan's blog entry was lost. Devolving into a diatribe regarding the failures of the public school system rather then focusing on Mr. Savage's point... tsk tsk.

Colorado Springs is the ugliest city in Colorado, no matter the majestic beauty of Pike's Peak and the Rockies. It is precisely because of the fundie religious hypocrisy that inhabits that metropolis' zeitgeist that people like young Mr. Burr are allowed to exist - and yes, thrive.

Oh, how I do long for the lost days of blue statehood...

As a native of the Springs area (Manitou, not CS thank god) I am nonetheless very sad when I hear people talk about the place this way, because up until about 1987 when the city basically invited the religeous "organizations" to town by offering them tax breaks (and not when defense industries came, they were there long before the 80's and the place was not like it is now Matt from DN)it was like any other BEAUTIFUL (physically) small western city - part conservative small town, part "fuck-you leave me alone on the range", and part funky hippie types looking to live in a beautiful place. Sadly, since the religeous zealots moved in, many of the others have either been converted or have left (like me).

Hi!Q
Great site!