confiscation of ipod leads to broken

Confiscation of iPod leads to broken neck

There are no words for this. No words. From the Philadelphia Enquirer

via our beloved QuakerDave:

Assaulted teacher is worried for students

By Mari A. Schaefer

Hooked up to tubes and monitors, a metal brace drilled into his

skull to immobilize his broken neck, Frank Burd worried how his

students would fare on state tests next month now that he could not

be there to help them.

"I want them to do well," said the 60-year-old math teacher from

his bed at Albert Einstein Medical Center yesterday.

The popular Germantown High School teacher was critically injured

Friday after he took an iPod from a student during class. He told

the teenager that he would return it after the period.

When Burd went into the hall at the change of classes, two students

assaulted him, officials said. He was either pushed or deliberately

tripped. Burd fell into a locker, striking his head and breaking

his neck.

A security camera caught the assault, but Burd has no memory of the

event, which also lacerated his scalp, leaving him in "excruciating

pain" and "very exhausted."

What he does remember is music "so loud I couldn't teach."

Burd, a New York native, "simply can't believe" the assault

occurred, he said. He was in intensive care and heavily sedated,

but still able to joke with his visiting brother, Bill.

"I've defused a lot of fights," said Frank Burd, who explained that

he always tried to get students to look at "the bigger picture" to

solve their problems.

Two male students, who have not been publicly identified, have been

charged as juveniles with aggravated assault and related charges,

police said. One is 17, the other 15.

Paul Vallas, the district's chief executive, said yesterday that

the two students would not return to Germantown High. The courts

may determine where they end up, he said.

"This is the most serious incident I have had here in five years,"

Vallas said. He said he spent a few hours at the hospital yesterday

talking with Burd about Germantown High and teaching philosophy.

Bill Burd, 52, of Elkins Park, received a call about 20 minutes

after the assault and went directly to the hospital, he said.

Doctors said early on that his brother's spinal cord was not

injured. "It was a great relief," he said.

He said his brother was involved in the school's yearbook and

theater program, and was the school's unofficial photographer. "He

is a born teacher," Bill Burd said.

Frank Burd, who has four sons, said he would have a 41/2-hour

operation Wednesday. A piece of his hip will be removed and

implanted into his neck to repair the damage. At that point, the

halo brace he is wearing will come off.

The web of metal rods is drilled into his skull in four places. He

will still have to wear a less-sophisticated brace until the injury

heals.

Burd said he did not know when he would be able to return to

teaching.

"He is really dedicated," Vallas said. He said Burd had called over

to the high school from the hospital Friday to let the students

know how he was doing. "He didn't want his students to worry."

The tests Burd is worried about are the important PSSA

examinations, state-mandated tests used to measure performance in

the classroom.

Vallas said Burd's students were very upset about what had happened

to their teacher.

"They like him because he cares about them and really has a bond

with them," he said.

Vallas said that "never once" did he hear Burd lash out at the two

students accused of injuring him.

Notice that he is concerned ABOUT HIS STUDENTS AS THEY PREPARE FOR

HIGH STAKES TESTING.

Wow.

Kudos to district officials for proclaiming that those two thugs will

not be back to Germantown High. It's actually for their own good--

when I once had a kid take a few swipes at me as I tried to stop a

melee, even though he never laid an actual finger on me, there were

six or seven young men whom I had to assure I was all right and who

were quite incensed that someone would try to harm me. Luckily, and

for reasons beyond his trying to flail at a teacher, he never returned

to our school-- even though he ended up experiencing no consequences

thanks to Assistant Principal Plea Bargain (AP PB claimed he didn't

remember from the videotape that the little blister tried to whale on

me multiple times-- and he conveniently also forgot my re-enactment

for him, and did I mention he "lost" the referral?). The young fella's

parents actually approached me in the hallway hours later and HUGGED

me -- after I had already had enough physical contact with their

offspring to last a lifetime, thankyewverrrymuch! What bothered me

about the whole thing was that the young man has no record of having

attempted to assault a teacher. But students who observed the whole

thing were incensed.

Mr. Burd luckily did not suffer any spinal damage. I can't imagine,

though, that that surgery at the age of 60 is going to be a cakewalk.

God bless him. He is in my prayers for a swift recovery.