C.Y.H.A.N.G.E. You Can Believe In?

I saw this on Countdown With Keith Olbermann and I had to post it up. I'm not sure what's worse:

1. His racism
2. That he's teaching racism to children
3. That he's a teacher who can't even spell CHANGE

Teacher ‘Told Students What ‘CHANGE’ Stood For’

BY KATE MCCARDELL / FLORIDAN STAFF WRITER
Published: October 2, 2008

The Jackson County School Board has taken action against a teacher who apparently made racial commentary on presidential candidate Barack Obama.

According to parents and students in Greg Howard’s seventh-grade social studies class, Howard on Friday, Sept. 26 asked the class a question regarding Obama’s call for change, and proceeded to write out what the letters C-H-A-N-G-E stood for.

“She told me that he wrote on the board ‘Can You Help A (expletive) Get Elected, and then laughed about it,” said Shelia Christian, a mother of one of Howard’s students.

Jackson County Superintendent Danny Sims said that description of this incident was “pretty accurate.”

Sims said Howard apparently repeated the action in more than one class, having made the comment in “a couple of periods.”

According to a news release from the school board, Howard was suspended with pay on Monday, Sept. 29.

On Wednesday Howard was given a written reprimand regarding his actions, and those actions will be reported to the Florida Department of Education Office of Professional Practices, according to the school board.

As of Thursday, he was suspended without pay for 10 days, was relieved of his football coaching duties, and will be transferred to the Jackson County Adult Education program, according to JCSB.

Howard is also required to submit a letter of apology to the students involved, and is required to attend diversity and sensitivity training, the school board reported.

Sims said Howard’s racial commentary was not directed at any students, but were directed at a political party.

“We’ve handled this swiftly and we’ve handled it with a concern that we’re not going to tolerate it and this is a pretty stiff (action). The situation is behind us and we’re ready to move forward,” said Sims.

“My daughter came home very upset after that happened. When you’re in school teaching our kids, you’re supposed to be teaching them what’s right by the law, not what’s right in your opinion. This is not the stone ages. We don’t come through the back door anymore. I raise my kids to be respectful and they should be led by example,” said Christian.