While most of the schools in the Midwest and Northeast parts of our country don’t start until after Labor Day (3 weeks from today), I know many of you are already back in the class room (hurts, doesn’t it). Some schools in Arizona and California have already been in for a week. My sympathies to those students and teachers who had their August …
“We Don’t Condone Heroics”
Briar MacLean, a seventh grader, was scorned by his school for stopping a fight that involved a pocket knife. Although Briar could have been harmed in this confrontation, it didn’t stop him from taking action. To check out more on the story, go to: http://gawker.com/hero-teen-punished-by-school-for-stopping-knife-wieldin-511001195. In situations like these we ask ourselves: What is the right thing to do? …
Another Senseless Tragedy: Soccer Referee Dies
In his spare time, Ricardo Portillo refereed local youth soccer games simply because he loved doing so. His daughters tried to get him to stop because he was previously attacked by soccer players who disagreed with his calls. One player broke his leg and another broke his ribs. On April 27, 2013, Portillo called a foul on a goalie and issued him a yellow card. …
No Snitchin’ just doesn’t work anymore
Each year, we ask students who their favorite and least favorite role model is from the book. Every year Sherron Watkins, the whistle-blower from Enron, is the least favorite. The most popular explanation is, “She’s a snitch.” I get it. She broke the number one rule amongst teenagers. 60 Minutes did a story on No Snitchin’ and how that motto has morphed itself from the …
Hero in a Cowboy Hat
The bombings at the Boston Marathon captured the attention of all Americans last week – the innocent bystanders who were injured and killed, the manhunt for the terrorists, the killing of suspect #1 and the capture of suspect #2. In the weeks and months ahead, we will turn our focus toward the motive and the story behind this purposeful attack. First Responders: I am …
Rutgers Scandal Part II: Head’s Roll
Please read the previous post to understand that on April 3rd, Rutgers athletic director, Tim Pernetti, fired head basketball coach, Mike Rice, for physically and verbally abusing his players over an extended period of time. End of story, right? Wrong! On April 5, under public pressure, Pernetti resigns as athletic director. Rutgers President, Dr. Barchi cited a lack of judgment and a …
Rutgers Scandal Part I: Coach Rice is Fired
Eric Murdock, a former assistant basketball coach at Rutgers University, complained about the abusive coaching tactics of head basketball coach Mike Rice and spliced together a compilation of these abuses for athletic director, Tim Pernetti, in December, 2012. The video documents Coach Rice kicking players, pushing players, man-handling players and throwing basketballs at players as well as berating and verbally abusing his players on …
The Friendliest Restaurant in the World
Tim Harris graduated from college, he won a bunch of gold medals in the Special Olympics and he owns his own restaurant. In fact, he is the only person with Down Syndrome to own his own restaurant. He says that it is the “Friendliest Restaurant in the World,” and he proves it by keeping a tally of the more than …
Prison Inmates Save Three Boys from Drowning
On January 31, 2013, three prisoners at the Larch Corrections Center in Washington State were out picking up trash at a local park when they heard screams coming from nearby Salmon Creek. They spotted three children drowning after capsizing their canoe in turbulent waters. The three prisoners (Nelson Pettis, Jon Fowler and Larry Bohn) immediately jumped into the frigid waters to save the …
Boy Dying of Cancer Inspires Others
Zach Sobiech went for a run 3 years ago. He complained of pain in his hip and went to the doctor. The pain turned out to be a malignant tumor that eventually grew to the size of a plumb. He had multiple surgeries and chemotherapy – none of it worked. In May of 2013, the doctors told him that he …