Ohio Stories

Two Ohio stories caught my interest this morning. This first one happened in Chillicothe, Ohio. "Chilly", as the residents call it, is located fifty miles south of Columbus in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. I used to call on a paper mill in "Chilly" as a part of my sales job. When I write it's in the fringes of the mountains the best way to describe it is some people wear shoes and some don't. The story in question is about an elementary school teacher who thought her class was too rowdy. In order to maintain control and teach them obedience she sent them outside to stand in a rainstorm---for two hours. Since I'm a former teacher I had some thoughts on this subject: (1) I, myself, wouldn't stand outside for two hours. The biggest problem would be that I can't go a half hour without going to the bathroom. I hope she stayed inside and looked out the window. After all, it is the cold and flu season. (2)Weren't there other teachers or administrators who thought it strange her classroom was empty for two hours? (3) Where was the principal, janitor, drive-by parents? (4)Why didn't the kids bolt? That's a no brainer. If this would have happened in '56 Jude Rolfes, Tim Ferry and MJ Hawkeye would have been outta there after five minutes.
The last I heard is that the teacher was reprimanded and sent to sensitivity class training. Problem solved.
Were you a cheerleader in high school? How about college? George Bush was one while at Yale but he was called a Yell Leader. Times have changed. Watch a college football or basketball game on television and focus on female cheerleaders, especially. They have pom-poms in each hand. From the beginning of the contest to the end, with hands together, they are non-stop shaking these things. I'm impressed with their dexterity and fortitude and now I know why.
There's a story out today that the Cheer Leading Coach of The Ohio State Buckeyes was fired from her position. Two of her assistant coaches were accused and found guilty of making sexually harassing comments toward cheerleaders and the head coach was aware of this. Initially, I had a tough time figuring out if the harassment was male/ female directed because the participants had generic names e.g. Cody, Lynn, but the gist of the thing is that one coach, a male, asked a male cheerleader if he could replace said cheerleader's boyfriend. The other assistant(a male) made suggestive comments toward a female cheerleader. Are you following this?
Get this: The former head cheerleader coach had a salary of $42,578. From where I come from that's a lot of Cha-ching----for being a cheerleader coach. Many high school teachers don't make that much money. Furthermore, there are at least two, count 'em, two assistant coaches. It gets better. Remember the male cheerleader? He was dismissed from the squad last August for being a whistle blower against the harrassing assistant. Ohio State said that this guy would return to the squad and have HIS SCHOLARSHIP RESTORED! I must be one of the dumbest people on earth because I had to actually work my way through college, you know, menial jobs, not ones involving pom-pom shaking and somersaults.
I've in Ohio long enough to know I can find stories of the weird on a daily basis but these two rank at the top of the list for today. Tomorrow's a new day.