Friday, March 21, 2014



Schoolchildren as young as nine left terrified of bathroom after teacher plays horrific clip from shower scene in 1960s Hitchcock film Psycho

Primary school children as young as nine have been left terrified of the bathroom after their teacher played them an audio clip from the shower scene of Alfred Hitchcock's 1960s film Psycho.

Pupils at Eastfield Primary School, in Hull, were played the clip from the dramatic scene as part of a lesson on how to 'establish mood created by music'.

But Karen Kay, from Hull, East Yorkshire, has said her son Jason is now too afraid to have a shower and will not go to the toilet without taking a plastic sword with him.  She said: 'I am absolutely disgusted and shocked any teacher would feel this is appropriate.  'Jason has become scared stiff and will not go to sleep on his own.  'He now feels he has to take his plastic sword and knife with him every time he takes a shower or goes to the toilet.

'He is always asking an adult to guard the door while he does whatever he has to do in the bathroom.

'The music to the murder scene is scary and Jason has said the children heard the woman screaming and the body falling in the shower. It’s horrific.  'This has had a massive impact on the way he thinks and I am furious with the school.'

The school, in west Hull, said the purpose of the lesson was to 'establish mood created by music'.  It has since apologised and says it is reviewing the type of music it plays to children in the future.

But Ms Kay said: 'I’ve spoken to other parents about it outside school and they just can’t believe it.

'I have to literally drag Jason in the shower now and it’s all because of this.

'My message to the school would be for it to look hard at the material it is using and see whether the content matches the age group of the children.

'I don’t mind admitting that I get a bit scared when I hear or see any type of murder scene, so it is no wonder Jason is so frightened - he’s only nine.'

Katie Beal, headteacher at Eastfield Primary School, said: 'We have apologised to Jason’s mum and have looked to review the type of music played within lessons in the future.

'The purpose of the lesson was to establish mood created by music and short sound-only clips of film music were played to children to do this.  'References to the films including descriptions and any dialogue were not disclosed, although some of the children did try to guess the film.'

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Physics teacher sacked for accidentally shooting a schoolboy during a science experiment gets his job back after the pupil leads a campaign to save him

A teacher who was sacked after accidentally shooting a student during a science experiment has got his job back - after the boy he hit led a campaign for him to be reinstated.

Physics teacher Richard West was suspended then sacked because the pellet, fired from an air weapon, rebounded off a table leg and struck sixth-former Ben Barlow in the leg.

The incident, which happened in November last year, left pupil Mr Barlow with a minor scratch and resulted in Mr West being dismissed as head of physics at St Peter’s Collegiate School in Wolverhampton last month.

Mr Barlow, 17, said: ‘Mr West set up an experiment where he was going to shoot through paper into cardboard boxes at the end of the room to work out the speed of the object and its deceleration.

‘I’m not sure how it happened - but the bullet must have rebounded off the table and it hit me on the leg.

‘You’d do more damage with a safety pin. It was a complete accident and Mr West was really concerned.’

The sixth-form student launched a huge Facebook campaign and petition entitled ‘Bring Back Westy 2014’ which called for his favourite teacher to be given his job back.

The campaign, which was backed by 4,500 past and present pupils, was successful and Mr West was reinstated after an appeals committee granted his return.

The school – of which One Direction star Liam Payne is a former pupil - has agreed for Mr West, of Bridgnorth, Shropshire, to return to lessons after the Easter holidays on April 28.

Adrian Richards, the school’s principal, said: ‘An appeals committee formed from the academy governing body met in response to an appeal lodged by Mr West regarding his dismissal.

‘The appeals committee made the decision to reinstate Mr West with immediate effect.

‘The committee considered all of the factors presented to them, bearing in mind that the primary focus was on safety of students being of paramount importance, how procedures to ensure the safety of everyone must be adhered to, and how important it is that staff report any accidents which happen on academy premises.

‘In being reinstated, Mr West has given assurances that lessons have been learned.  ‘He will ensure complete compliance with all safety procedures and controlled conditions and ensure the correct reporting procedures are followed.’

The school, which caters for 1,300 pupils aged 11-18, was rated Good or Outstanding in a November 2011 Ofsted report.

On Monday night, the ‘Bring Back Westy’ Facebook page said: ‘Guys, we did it! He will be reinstated on the 28th of April.’

And former pupil Julia Bugler wrote: ‘So very please for Mr West, pupil power at its best.  ‘Small minded people and those with no faith in this teacher really need to take a long look at themselves.  ‘Brings to mind the passage in the Bible about casting the stones.’

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New York Senate Rejects Tuition Assistance for Illegal Immigrants

For now, state tuition assistance in New York will not be provided to students in the country illegally. The 30-29 vote in the Republican-controlled Senate failed to reach the 32 votes needed to pass.

Advocates for the illegal immigrant community have been working behind the scenes for a very long time to get the Senate to pass the measure, and weren’t expecting it to be introduced as soon as it was. Republicans abruptly brought the bill to the floor late in the day Monday—a move supporters of the measure said was intentional.

"It certainly seems that it was bought up to fail, given the outcome," Sen. Michael Gianaris (D) said, reports Fox News, adding that the vote “made a mockery of a very important issue."
 The proposal includes a budget appropriation of $25 million to open up Tuition Assistance Program money for students who are in the country illegally but attend public or private colleges, paying up to $5,000 a year for undergraduates at four-year institutions.

Since it was first introduced three years ago, opponents have argued that using taxpayer money to fund tuition assistance for people in the country illegally takes opportunity and funds away from students who are citizens. New York is among 16 states that already allow those students to pay in-state tuition at public colleges.

The Assembly passed the Dream Act last month. After the vote, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who has indicated support for the bill, released a statement saying he was disappointed that the Senate had failed to pass the measure.

Opponents said the bill amounted to an improper use of taxpayer funds.

"I simply cannot justify spending tens of millions of taxpayer dollars annually to pay for tuition for illegal immigrants when so many law-abiding families are struggling to meet the ever-increasing costs of higher education for their own children," said Sen. Mark Grisanti, a Republican from the Buffalo area, Fox News reports.

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