Did this teacher do the right thing? Turning in star hoops player under suspicion of cheating...

[doublejs07]

This teacher seems like a stand-up guy, and it must really suck to be going through what he is right now. To me it seems like he SHOULD have gotten moresupport from the other administrators with this issue. Obviously, athletics is taking precedence over academics, but the school is looking like it contradictsits "do the right thing" mission statement....

[h1]Teacher's call reversed, putting teen athlete back in the game[/h1] Dan McGrath March 23, 2009 The closest Chris Wolf got to watching his students at North Lawndale College Prep compete in this weekend's Class 3A state basketball tournament was a television set. And it was probably for the best.

Wolf, a 35-year-old math teacher, is not at all comfortable being in the center of a storm, but that's where he has found himself the last three weeks after turning in a star player whom he suspected of cheating on a makeup exam. Jonathan Mills was suspended from the team and sidelined for the state playoffs.

But his mother hired an attorney who sued school officials and got a temporary restraining order blocking enforcement of the penalty, on the grounds it would do Mills irreparable harm.

A 6-foot-5 senior with Division I college talent, Mills was in the lineup when the Phoenix lost to Champaign Centennial in Friday's 3A semifinal, then beat Leo in Saturday's third-place game.

Wolf was back in Chicago, his safety a concern. North Lawndale's team is the pride of its struggling West Side community, and some eyes view Wolf as a traitor, even though he is a basketball fan of the first order and the team's unofficial academic adviser, having spent many hours helping players (and non-players) do the work to stay eligible and qualify for college.

"I know Chris to be a teacher who goes above and beyond the call of duty in helping students," North Lawndale Principal Rob Karpinsky said.

Karpinsky, a former Catholic priest, has seen his faith tested by recent events. In November, three of North Lawndale's best and brightest students drowned in the Fox River when they took paddle boats out after hours during a leadership retreat at Camp Algonquin. The boats had been taken out of service for the winter and capsized shortly after being put in the frigid water. Adrian Alexander, Melvin Choice and Jimmy Avant died in the accident.

"You can say it's been a difficult year," Karpinsky said.

Mills' class was scheduled to take the Algebra II exam on Feb. 23, but he asked for an extension. North Lawndale had won the Public League championship the night before and the team enjoyed a postgame get-together at the ESPN Zone.

After Mills missed one makeup date, Wolf agreed to meet him at school at 6:45 a.m. on Feb. 24 to administer the test, and the player scored a 96. After Mills left the room, Wolf said, he came across evidence that he'd had help. He won't discuss particulars, because of the litigation, but he was certain, and he immediately began agonizing over what to do next.

"So much of what the school community prides itself on is athletic performance," Wolf said. "I knew it wouldn't be pretty."

He called his dad in Wisconsin, "the ultimate moral majority in the family. He told me to pretend I didn't see anything. If he says that ... ."

But Wolf couldn't let the matter slide. North Lawndale is a charter school, with more control over its curriculum than a typical public school, and a "do-the-right-thing" imperative is essential to its mission and to the life lessons it tries to teach.

"I try to be fair, and there's no way I could look at the other kids, the kids who work their butts off, if I hadn't followed through on this," Wolf said. "You want kids to get the grades, but they have to earn them."


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[ericberry14]

yes the teacher did the right thing... but i need to know what evidence of cheating this teacher came across before i make a final decision about the situaiton

 

[flip sensayshun]

He had to do his job.

People shouldn't bash him for it.

 

[dmxfury]

That sucks for the teacher

 

[dirtylicious]

Student Athletes....
..not Athlete Students

 

[datdamndeuce]

Lol, HS sports > Education? Riiiiight

 

[mr fizzy womack]

Originally Posted by ericberry14

yes the teacher did the right thing... but i need to know what evidence of cheating this teacher came across before i make a final decision about the situaiton

Agreed.

 

[rome357]

Originally Posted by Dirtylicious

Student Athletes....
..not Athlete Students

The mother hired an attorney.
Looks like she cares more about basketball, than him getting an education.

 

[bryanne2210]

Originally Posted by ROME357

Originally Posted by Dirtylicious

Student Athletes....
..not Athlete Students

The mother hired an attorney.
Looks like she cares more about basketball, than him getting an education.

It's because it's her ticket to a castle... But really this is nothing new, we all know that "student athletes" gets priviliegesunlike hard working students that bust their @*! to get a scholarships, it sucks but that's how it goes. Same as all of the math you are studying willbecome irrelevant when you are working unless you become a math teacher...

 

[persianballa]

Originally Posted by ROME357


The mother hired an attorney.
Looks like she cares more about basketball, than him getting an education.

How can you say that when basketball will be his ticket to an education?

 

[yungmatt]

Originally Posted by PersianBalla

Originally Posted by ROME357


The mother hired an attorney.
Looks like she cares more about basketball, than him getting an education.

How can you say that when basketball will be his ticket to an education? being somebody in the future.

 

[chico dusty]

I dont get your edit ... An education will take him further as far as being someone ...*shrugs*

 

[cadillacflow]

Yes, if the student was cheating, he did the right thing.

 

[jibbycanoe]

dude does what he's supposed to and he gets hated on cus the team might suffer. this seems like the typical midwest HS/college sports is more importantthan anything else mentality. meatheads FTL

 

[tkthegirl]

Yeah he did the right thing.
These people don't realize how lucky they are to have a teacher that gives a damn.

 

[coolnificent]

I bet he used the water bottle trick

 

[yungmatt]

Originally Posted by Chico Dusty

I dont get your edit ... An education will take him further as far as being someone ...*shrugs*

Of course it would, but I made the edit because Ive been around a few star HS basketball players when I was growing up. Once a coach tells aparent that their son has a chance to go the NBA in the future, the majority of the parents throw the "I want my son to get the best education" thingout the window.

And lets not even talk about the kids

.... I know dudes that are like 30 that refuse to realize their hoop dream are over and are still tryin to get a gigoverseas

Basically Im just looking at the reality of the situation

 

[milestailsprowe]

Originally Posted by bryanne2210

Originally Posted by ROME357

Originally Posted by Dirtylicious

Student Athletes....
..not Athlete Students

The mother hired an attorney.
Looks like she cares more about basketball, than him getting an education.

It's because it's her ticket to a castle... But really this is nothing new, we all know that "student athletes" gets privilieges unlike hard working students that bust their @*! to get a scholarships, it sucks but that's how it goes. Same as all of the math you are studying will become irrelevant when you are working unless you become a math teacher...

Well it keeps in the school in the public plus the hope that the kids goes pro which is more on the wall plus contributing if treated right. Its a sad fact butthe teacher did the right thing and no one cares cause they see b ball as he way out of the neighborhood

 

[eight2one]

he shoulda let him slide.

 

[rome357]

Originally Posted by PersianBalla

Originally Posted by ROME357


The mother hired an attorney.
Looks like she cares more about basketball, than him getting an education.

How can you say that when basketball will be his ticket to an education?

How is basketball a ticket to an education when he's cheating?
Who's to say he's going to make it in pro sports.
If he's not learning now, then what will he do?

 

[much respected]

damn why did he put his dad on blast like that?

 

[air justinxi]

The teacher definitely did the right thing, kids have to learn that they cant just skate through life just because they think theyre big time. This kid mightbe good now but as he reaches college and beyond he'll figure out that there arent many jobs open for once high school basketball stars.

 

[skip0011]

finding forrester?

 

[doublejs07]

Originally Posted by TkTheGirl

Yeah he did the right thing.
These people don't realize how lucky they are to have a teacher that gives a damn.

GREAT point.

 

[barack 0drama]

But Wolf couldn't let the matter slide. North Lawndale is a charter school, with more control over its curriculum than a typical public school, and a "do-the-right-thing" imperative is essential to its mission and to the life lessons it tries to teach.
I hate teachers like this.

Why do you care if somebody is cheating? You get paid either way.

Who do they think they are with this sense of entitlement? As if what they teach is so important to the world?

98% of people don't use algebra in the real world, And the harsh reality is, Life is a game, And it's about who you know, And not what you know.

Dude is a star athlete, He's not going to have to look at these books again once summer hits, And he'll coast through college because of his athleticabilities. That's the way it is.

Originally Posted by TkTheGirl

Yeah he did the right thing.
These people don't realize how lucky they are to have a teacher that gives a damn.

This ain't "Dangerous Minds" with kids bringing guns to school and teenage pregnancy. I'm from Chicago, That's a good schoolin a nice area.