Friday's Extra Credit Reading

The Wanker of the Day Award goes to Pennsylvania little-league coach Mark R. Downs Jr. This individual was convicted of paying an eight-year-old player to bean an autistic teammate:

Authorities said Downs offered to pay one of his players $25 to hit Harry Bowers, a mildly autistic teammate, with a ball while warming up before a June 2005 playoff game. Prosecutors said Downs wanted the 9-year-old out of the game, because the boy didn't play as well as his teammates.

Read the whole sickening thing.

Our friends in The Great White North are also having to deal with the threat of gun violence in their public schools.

Speaking of how the recent upsurge of gun violence is affecting American public schools, one Pennsylvania district has gone so far as to install a buzzer system on the front doors of its elementary school, while the Amish school that was the site of the murder of 5 school girls is no more.

It's very rare when a new species of mammal has been identified. But it's even rarer when the discovery happens in the Mediterranean area. Say "hello" to Mighty Mouse!

Over at Education Sector's Eduwonk.com, we think that they're spot-on when it comes to teacher credentialing and the methods idiocy that many states are resorting to in order to "comply" with the mandates of the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

In order to keep their teachers on the job, one Arizona district is insulting giving its teachers a 2.54% pay increase. (Y'all don't spend all that newly-found wealth in one place!)

Meanwhile, school administrators in New Jersey receive an average salary of $121,397 and are making out like bandits being decently compensated for their conference and meeting attendance hard work. ---------------------------See our latest EduPosts here and yesterday's Extra Credit Reading there.