Teacher's Comment Causes Bacteria Scare in Brockton, Mass. High School

[Ian David]

Teacher's warning scares Brockton students
By Maria Papadopoulos, Enterprise staff writer

BROCKTON— It wasn't so much the bacteria in an opened petri dish that caused a scare at Brockton High School, but what a biology teacher said to the lab class, the principal said Tuesday.

A student opened a taped-shut petri dish that contained ordinary bacteria swabbed from ordinary surfaces by students on Friday, said Principal Susan Szachowicz.

And while the bacteria was not dangerous, the teacher, who was not identified, then said to the student, “You could have just exposed this class to dangerous bacteria,” Szachowicz said.

The teacher was trying to make a point to the student to follow instructions in a lab situation, Szachowicz said. But “the problem was of course you have a class full of kids who got scared,” Szachowicz said.

More:
http://enterprise.southofboston.com/articles/2007/10/24/news/news/news17.txt





"Smooth move, kid. Looks like you get a failing grade this semester."

[DemBones DemBones]

1. The teacher will probably be disciplined for scaring the

poor widdle kiddies. High school kids really should be able to follow instructions, and understand what the teacher was saying. Clearly, at least one kid was not listening or didn't give a shit what the teacher says, he just wanted to open that Petri dish. And the others misunderstood what she said about the dangers of not following procedures so their listening skills aren't too good, either.

"One concerned parent called Szachowicz after the incident, saying her daughter was treated at the doctor's office for a sore throat, but no link has been shown between the sore throat and the petri-dish incident, the principal said."

Wow! Kid gets sore throat in late October -- it must be because of biology lab. :eyes:

"As a result, Richard Poirier, science department head at Brockton High School, will address bacteriology lab protocol at the next department meeting, Szachowicz said."

And what will he advise about kids who don't fucking listen when protocol is explained?

“We spoke with the teacher about how to better handle things. She feels horrible,” Szachowicz said. “She's been in to apologize about 800 times.”

The teacher has been spoken to and is apologizing when she didn't do anything wrong! Why isn't the kid apologizing for opening the Petri dish? The kid should be punished.

This is what's wrong with the public schools. Kids don't listen, do something stupid, and teachers get blamed. Also, kids don't listen, don't learn, and teachers get blamed.