Extra Credit Reading: Thursday, November 09, 2006

The recipients of The Wankers of the Day Award are... certain Gastonia, North Carolina high school students who played an excerpt from a speech by Adolf Hitler over their school's public address system just before a game last weekend:

When Charlotte Catholic's boys' soccer team got to Forestview High School in Gastonia on Saturday night for an N.C. 3A playoff game, the Cougars heard something over the public address system they never would've expected:

A 90-second portion of a speech from Adolf Hitler.

"We were warming up," said Catholic coach Gary Hoilett, "and all of us stopped and looked up at the booth. We were just real shocked. It was obviously a Hitler speech. The voice was coming across clearly. Everybody knew."

Forestview's players took the field after the speech ended.

But before the game, Hoilett said, some Forestview players were chanting something in German that means "On to victory," according to one of his players who speaks German. Hoilett, who is black, said that during the game some Forestview players directed racial epithets at his two black players.

"It was one of the worst things I've seen," Hoilett said of the speech and the racial epithets.

Monday, Forestview Principal Robert Carpenter met with Gaston County Schools Superintendent Reeves McGlohon, Gaston County athletics director Butch Adams and Forestview soccer coach David Shearer. After that 40-minute meeting, Carpenter faxed a letter of apology to Charlotte Catholic officials.

In the letter, Carpenter confirmed that a CD containing a Hitler speech was played over the PA system. He called it inappropriate. He said he was at the game but did not hear the clip. Carpenter said that it was the first time it had been played and that Shearer was not aware of it.

There's much more in the whole piece here. Consider taking a look at the text of Principal Carpenter's apology (which, to be fair, is all the man can do) there.

The elections are finally over. Get your electoral EduPostMortem (and your electoral EduAddendum) over at Education Sector's Eduwonk.com.

California teacher Coach Brown, who usually has A Passion for Teaching and Opinions now has A Passion for Election Results as well. --------------------------------See our latest EduPosts here and yesterday's Extra Credit Reading there.