Principal Ate Live Worms After Students Met Education Goals

[matcom]

<snip>

EL PASO, Texas -- Last winter, Principal Karla Onick issued a challenge to her students at L.B. Johnson Elementary School. If each grade met its goal in a book-reading contest, she would eat worms.

On May 21, Ms. Onick stood up in the school cafeteria and ate two 8-inch night crawlers sauteed with mushrooms and onions. The children squealed. Then Assistant Principal Alberto Reyes plucked two worms from a jar and ate them raw.

"I bit the first one and it squirted all over my mouth," he says. "So the second time, I just swallowed."

As state and federal pressure intensifies on public schools, outrageous acts by teachers and administrators are becoming increasingly popular motivational tools. Educators have long agreed to the dunking pool and a pie in the face to raise money. But now they're turning to stunts inspired by reality TV to get students to read and perform well on tests.

http://online.wsj.com/article_email/0,,SB108725077538636819-Ihje4NolaZ3nZysaYGHa6qFm4,00.html

[Insider]

1. okay by me, karla

:shrug:

for something better than nielsen ratings this time, eh?