A Jefferson County teacher picked the wrong example when he used assassinating President Barack Obama as a way to teach angles to his geometry students.
Someone alerted authorities and the Corner High School math teacher was questioned by the Secret Service, but was not taken into custody or charged with any crime.
"We did not find a credible threat," said Roy Sexton, special agent in charge of Birmingham's Secret Service office. "As far as the Secret Service is concerned, we looked into it, we talked to the gentleman and we have closed our investigation."
Sexton said he generally doesn't discuss threat cases, but confirmed his office investigated the incident. No federal charges followed the probe.
The teacher was apparently teaching his geometry students about parallel lines and angles, officials said. He used the example of where to stand and aim if shooting Obama.
"He was talking about angles and said, 'If you're in this building, you would need to take this angle to shoot the president,' " said Joseph Brown, a senior in the geometry class.
Efforts to reach the teacher for comment Monday were unsuccessful.Superintendent Phil Hammonds said the teacher remains at work, and there are no plans for termination.
"We are going to have a long conversation with him about what's appropriate," Hammonds said. "It was extremely poor judgment on his part, and a poor choice of words."
Caroline Polk, the parent of a ninth-grader at the school, said she doesn't believe the teacher ought to be fired.
"We all make mistakes, and we should be able to learn from our mistakes," she said. "What he said was just wrong and inappropriate. Everyone's got their own opinions, but we have to be aware of our surroundings. At this point, it just needs to be handled in a way that it won't be repeated."
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link to blog.al.com]
Last Edited by The Whipper on 05/18/2010 03:43 PM
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