Science Diet
The family of 7-year-old Paul Ghannam, a student who ate another child’s science experiment at Novi Woods Elementary School in Detroit last semester, is suing the school district and a 3rd grade teacher, the Detroit Free Press reports. The teacher allegedly allowed her students to take cups of crystallized copper sulfate home with them after warning the children that the rock candy-like compound was poisonous. Ghannam, who was not in her class, consumed the chemical as he rode home on the bus; he now suffers from serious stomach problems.
Stress Test
Being a teacher is more stressful than working as a decontamination technician at a nuclear power plant, according to the latest edition of the Jobs Rated Almanac. Each year, the Almanac ranks 250 occupations based on income and other characteristics such as work environment and job security. Overall, the teaching profession captures 119th place on the list.
www.oops
Students at Lake Region High School in Eagle Lake, Florida, have discovered that the title of their 2000 yearbook, www.LR2000, is actually the address of an adult Web site in France. More than a year ago, the yearbook staff confirmed that the name, which they had chosen as a nod to the dot-com era, was not in use. However, the school did not register it, and in the intervening months, the French company Loisirs 2000 purchased the name. For the first time in school history, the yearbook has sold out.
Drill Killed
The superintendent of the Elmbrook school district outside Milwaukee postponed a mock disaster drill in September after parents complained the exercise was too sensational. The district had planned to have off-duty police and fire officers stage a practice rescue of hostages, played by real students, from pretend gunmen.
