MomLogic

Ostracized for Swine Flu

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:00:00 -0800

A friend's son had swine flu a few weeks back ... and none of her friends wanted to be around her as a result.

Momlogic's Julie: When my friend's 4-year-old had swine flu a few weeks back, she kept him out of school for a week, just like the doctor instructed her to. She and her husband took turns taking off work so they could be with their little boy. But on the days they DID have to go into work, they got the evil eye from coworkers, who were worried they were being exposed.

When my friend's husband went to a cocktail party one evening, he noticed no one would talk to him or even be near him. And when their kid finally WAS allowed back in school, they felt they got the cold shoulder from the preschool staff.

Another friend whose daughter had swine flu ran to the store for some milk. She bumped into an acquaintance, who proceeded to read her the riot act for "being out in public and exposing others," even though she herself was not even sick.

With all of the hysteria surrounding swine flu, people are more paranoid than ever about getting it. So if they hear the term "H1N1," they go running for the hills.

But are the parents of swine flu victims being unfairly ostracized? Or do parents have the right to be extra cautious, even if that means distancing themselves from their friends? Comment below.

Shaunie O'Neal Files for Separation from Shaq

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:48:48 -0800

AFP: NBA superstar Shaquille O'Neal is splitting with his wife of seven years after she filed for legal separation in Los Angeles, court documents showed Tuesday.

Shaunie O'Neal, who married the former NBA Most Valuable Player in 2002, filed papers in Los Angeles on Tuesday citing "irreconcilable differences" for the breakdown of the couple's marriage.

The legal move comes two years after Shaq filed for divorce from his wife in 2007 in Florida. The couple, who have four children together, were later reunited and the divorce proceedings were withdrawn.

O'Neal, 37, has won four NBA crowns during a glittering career, including three with the Los Angeles Lakers and one at Miami. He joined the Cleveland Cavaliers this summer in a quest for a fifth title.

Read more hot stories Moms Are Talking About.

28-Inch Mom Expecting Her Third Child

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:36:00 -0800

Behold: The world's tiniest baby-making machine.

Defying all odds, the world's smallest mother, Stacey Herald, 35, is expecting. Her doctors have warned her that her condition would make it impossible to bear children. Tell that to her two children Kateri and Makaia.

The Kentucky mother has what's called Osteogenesis Imperfecta, or Brittle Bone Disease. Kateri was born with her mother's disorder.

Herald and her husband, Will, who is 5' 9", weren't planning to have a third child. Herald told the Daily Mail: "We didn't plan to have more than two kids, we just think that they're a great gift to the world."

Click to see MORE amazing births!

Baby Girl Born Live on the Web Goes Home

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:21:12 -0800

Kare11.com: MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- MomsLikeMe.com webcam mom Lynsee and baby Solveig spent their first night at home Monday night.

Lynsee and Solveig headed home from the hospital Monday afternoon.

Lynsee gave birth to her first child live online early Saturday morning at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis.

Watch the birth replay on MomsLikeMe.com.

KARE 11 has been following Lynsee throughout her pregnancy and streamed the labor and delivery live on the moms social networking site Twin Cities.MomsLikeMe.com.

Thousands of viewers shared the birth of Lynsee's child in the wee hours of the morning when Lynsee and her husband Anders welcomed the infant girl into the world at 12:46 a.m. The baby Solveig weighed 6 pounds, 8 ounces and measured 18 and 3/4 inches long.

As a former consumer science teacher, Lynsee decided to share the birth of her child live online as an educational tool for others and to create a lasting momento for her baby.

"I've had plenty of women say, 'You're absolutely insane. You're going to have your delivery live on a website and this is your first baby? What are you thinking?' Well, (for) me as a family consumer science teacher, I feel like I am the textbook and the people in my (online) group are the classroom," said Lynsee.

Lynsee went to her normal checkup Friday morning with her midwife Deb Stealey at Diamond Women's Center, where it was determined Lynsee had high blood pressure. She was then directed to the hospital's maternity assessment ward for a blood test and admitted to a delivery room late Friday afternoon.

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Girl Kicked Out of College for Short Skirt Is Reinstated

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:04:01 -0800

Associated Press: SAO PAULO -- Brazil's case of the pink mini-dress that went viral on the Internet has left many scratching their heads: How could it be that an outfit, no matter how short, would cause such an uproar in a tropical nation where skimpy clothing and tiny bikinis barely raise an eyebrow?

The answer, a Bandeirante University official said, is not in the pink dress, but in how Geisy Arruda, a 20-year-old tourism student, chose to wear it. In expelling her from the university -- where she has since been reinstated -- officials said she paraded provocatively and raised the dress.

"There are hundreds of girls wearing miniskirts on this campus every day, and nothing has ever happened," Vice Dean Ellis Brown said at a news conference Tuesday. "The size of the dress was never discussed -- her behavior was."

Arruda has vehemently denied acting provocatively, telling the private Agencia Estado news agency. "It's a big lie that I raised the dress."

In reversing the decision to expel Arruda, Brown said the school was opting for educational rather than disciplinary action.

The media attention has made the case a hot topic in Brazil. But Maisa dos Santos, 38, a maid in Rio de Janeiro, called the dustup absurd. She guessed it was the result of different attitudes in Sao Paulo, known in normally carefree Brazil as a city that is all work, no play.

"The people in Sao Paulo, they're just squares. There was nothing wrong with that girl's dress," Santos said. "If I had a body like hers, I'd show it off, too. Besides, here in Rio, it's too hot to wear much clothing."

Sen. Eduardo Suplicy, who represents Sao Paulo state and had called on the university to reinstate Arruda, will hold a series of seminars to discuss the broader implications of the case, including behavior in an academic settings and attitudes toward women, Brown said.

Brown didn't say if or when Arruda would return to the university. She has not made any public statements since being reinstated.

Arruda said previously she would be afraid to go back. Her lawyer, Nehemias Domingos de Melo, said there must be safety guarantees for Arruda to return, adding that she has been contacted by two other colleges offering her a full scholarship.

Brown said that if she came back, the school's security guards would monitor the situation to make sure she could safely study, but he provided no details.

Videos of students ridiculing and cursing Arruda turned up on the Web, quickly made headlines across Brazil and drew attention around the world to the Oct. 22 incident.

Arruda was forced to put on a professor's white lab coat to cover her short, pink dress and was escorted away by police amid a hail of insults by students, some chanting "whore, whore."

The case drew widespread protests in Brazil -- from government officials and a national students union to an online movement among local celebrities and others, who used the color pink to frame their Twitter profile photos and send messages of support.

Civil police in the city of Sao Bernardo do Campo outside Sao Paulo, where the university is located, said they will investigate the students accused of heckling Arruda. The university said earlier that some would be suspended. But Brown said along with Arruda's reinstatement, the heckling students would not be punished.

Arruda's expulsion prompted a demand from the Education Ministry that the university explain why it had kicked her out. The Ministry said in a Tuesday statement that an explanation was no longer needed because the student was reinstated, but that it would continue to follow the case closely.

The student union released a statement Tuesday praising the decision to reinstate Arruda.

Although Brazil is known for revealing clothing -- especially in beach cities, where one popular style of bikini is so skimpy that it's called "dental floss" -- most college students dress more modestly on campus, commonly in jeans and T-shirts.

"I always dressed in a way that makes me feel good and that doesn't offend anybody," Arruda said during an interview with Brazil's Globo TV. "I was always like that and was never recriminated by anybody."

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Massive Door Recall!

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:00:00 -0800

Recalls are getting WAY out of hand. And by that I mean there aren't enough of 'em.

Momlogic's Momstrosity: It's happening again. It happens at least once a month. Recalls. This time, Maclaren is voluntarily recalling millions of their strollers over 15 cases of children's fingers getting caught in the hinges -- 12 resulting in amputation. Remarkably, in Europe -- where Maclaren sells more strollers than in the U.S. -- there have been NO amputation claims.

Yep, in the spirit of that woman who took a stand against McDonald's when they dared to serve her a hot cup of coffee, America once again leads the pack in shifting the blame.

Don't get me wrong ... if it were my kid whose fingers had been chopped off, I wouldn't be writing this post. On the contrary, I would be beside myself for being STUPID ENOUGH TO ALLOW MY CHILD NEAR THE STROLLER WHEN I WAS FLINGING IT OPEN OR SHUT WITH ALL MY MIGHT.

So while we're bringing down the Maclaren Stroller Corporation, why not set our sights on an even more menacing danger: doors.

Doors, according to the National Safety Council, are responsible for more than 300,000 injuries requiring emergency room treatment each year. Children, especially those under the age of 4, suffer the most door-related injuries that ultimately require amputation.

This door statistic is very scary, and the NSC offers little solace:

"Door-related finger injuries are traumatic and potentially debilitating, but unfortunately they're
often impossible to prevent. There's rarely someone at fault when such an accident takes place."

People, that is not good enough! Until the manufacturers of ALL doors come up with a better designed and safer product, I want my money back. Nay, demand it back. Let's take down the door industry! Who's with me?!

Sure, it's going to be very inconvenient to not have doors around. They're pretty indispensable when it comes to keeping our dogs and kids in -- and keeping thieves and door-to-door religion peddlers out. But -- WHEW -- won't we all feel much safer knowing that our little ones' hands and fingers will never be injured when someone accidentally slams a door?

The point is that sadly, tragically, accidents happen. It's life.

Do we really have to recall a product every single time someone has an accident? Enough, already! Common sense is a good rule of thumb (sorry for the digit analogy) to keep our kids, and ourselves, safe.

School Speaker in Trouble for Taping Teens' Mouths Closed

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:53:57 -0800

DenverChannel.com: DENVER -- The head of Denver Venture, a DPS charter school, dismissed a volunteer and filed a police report following allegations that the volunteer had used masking tape to restrain the hands and mouths of two 14-year-old boys who had been talking in class.

It's the second such taping incident to come to light at Denver Public Schools in the last three weeks.

"The volunteer was joking around with the kids," said Ami Desai, the head of Denver Venture. "It was not done maliciously. They were laughing and the volunteer was laughing."

But the parents of the two boys are not laughing.

"I did not sign up my child to be in a boot camp," said Mickie Johnson. "I did not sign up my child to be taped for whatever reason, playing, joking, whatever."

Desai told 7NEWS that the volunteer was invited to speak to students about exercise, fitness and nutrition.

"What happened was inappropriate," Desai said. "We asked the volunteer to no longer be a volunteer at the school."

The parents claimed that Desai filed a police report only after they threatened to go to police themselves.

"Ms. Desai said they did my son a favor because he was a chatterbox and that if he had been kicked out of class then he would have been suspended," said Shelly Kitts.

Not only are the parents upset about the taping, but also about the way they were notified.

"We found out about it two weeks later from another parent," Johnson said.

"The school is all about accountability. The boys have to be accountable for their actions. If they speak up or are acting up there are consequences," Kitts said. "I believe the teachers should be held to those same standards."

"For a teacher to be there and to watch it and not stop it, that's my biggest concern," said Bernard Johnson, the father of one of the boys.

Kitts said that when the volunteer pulled the tape off her son, it pulled out some of his hair.

Desai said the boys were able to pull the tape off by themselves.

She admits they were tardy notifying parents but said they have taken action.

Desai said she learned about the incident when one of the boys was asked to go to the principal's office on another matter two days later.

"That's when he told me what happened earlier," said Desai.

When asked about his demeanor, Desai said, "His demeanor was very playful and jovial and it did not send a message to me that it was used in any malicious way."

"Still, it was inappropriate," Desai added.

Mickie Johnson told 7NEWS that she met with a Denver police detective Monday morning.

Both she and her husband said they want to see charges filed in this case.

Last month, police arrested Jennifer Carter, a secretary at Palmer Elementary school following allegations that she taped the wrists and face of a young first-grade student.

Carter, 45, was issued a summons and complaint charging her with misdemeanor child abuse and false imprisonment.

Read more stories moms are talking about.

Teen Obesity May Cause Multiple Sclerosis in Women

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:43:42 -0800

NY Daily News: Researchers have found that teenage obesity may make women more likely to develop multiple sclerosis later in life.

The study comes from the Harvard School of Public Health and tracks 40 years in the lives of 238,000 women. It found that the women who were obese at 18 years old were twice as likely to develop MS. The findings were published in the medical journal Neurology.

Out of the women studied, 593 developed the condition, which breaks down nerve fibers, causing neurological deterioration.

Oddly enough, neither obesity in childhood nor obesity in adulthood showed any correlation with the condition, according to the report.

"Our results suggest that weight during adolescence, rather than childhood or adulthood, is critical in determining the risk of MS," study author Kassandra Munger, ScD, told BBC News. "There's a lot of research supporting the idea that adolescence may be an important time for development of disease, so what we have found is consistent with that."

According to BBC News, researchers believe that the connection between teen obesity and MS may have something to do with vitamin D levels. Some research has indicated that high levels of vitamin D can reduce the risk of developing MS. Fatty tissue, however, often reduces a person's vitamin D levels.

"Teaching and practicing obesity prevention from the start -- but especially during teenage years -- may be an important step in reducing the risk of MS later in life for women," Munger told the BBC.

Susan Kohlhaas, research communications officer for the MS Society, however, told the BBC that the results are not wholly conclusive.

"This study does not account for several other factors that may play a role in causing MS. Based on that, more work is needed," she told the BBC. "As such, it is difficult to determine whether teenage obesity could be a possible factor in causing MS in women."

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Disciplined for Going to the Bathroom

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:35:00 -0800

Is this okay?

Guest Blogger Genevieve: At my kids' school, they use different colored cards to monitor behavior. Green card means good, yellow card means not-so-good, and red card is bad news.

Everyone starts on green. If they have a behavioral problem during the day, they are asked to turn their card to yellow. If there is another one, they're asked to turn it to red.

If they get three yellow or red cards in a week, they receive detention.

Last week, my son (who's in third grade) had to change his card to yellow. When I asked why, he said it was because he had to go to the bathroom. He said the teacher doesn't allow anyone to go to the bathroom after lunch.

He said that she told the class they can go AT lunch, and then they should be able to hold their bladders until 2:10, when they get out of school.

But I say: If you gotta go, you gotta go ... and I hate the idea of my son getting in trouble or receiving detention just because he had to go to the bathroom.

What do you think? Is this a fair policy ... or do I have a right to be "pissed"?

Gunman in Custody After Reportedly Taking Principal Hostage at N.Y. School

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:42:00 -0800

Fox News: A gunman is in custody Tuesday after reportedly taking the principal hostage at an upstate New York high school, a town official told Fox News.

A state government official said the suspect surrendered to police Tuesday morning after holding a school administrator at Stissing Mountain High School in Pine Plains, The Associated Press reported. The suspect is a former student, said the official, who isn't authorized to speak publicly.

No shots were fired during a standoff with police, according to Pine Plains Town Supervisor Gregg Pulver. He said the suspected gunman is in his 40s.

The students are said to be safe after police placed the campus on lockdown, Pulver added.

As armed officers stood guard at the front door of the school, the handcuffed suspect was led to an ambulance, where he was checked by paramedics.

MyFoxNY.com said the man suspected of holding the principal hostage has a son in the military and is upset with the government.

Eyewitnesses said they saw students led out of the school single-file by police, MyFoxNY.com reported.

During the standoff, Pulver told a cable network that police were negotiating with the adult gunman and said the situation was contained to one room.

Dutchess County Sheriff's deputy T.J. Hanlon would say only that the school was on lockdown because of an "incident" but wouldn't elaborate. State and local police were on the scene and surrounded the school, he said.

Margaret Hart, who lives across the street from the school, says police cars are in the neighborhood and helicopters are flying overhead. She said the area around the school has a lot of woods and "a lot of places to hide."

Bill Moore, a resident of the area who lives a few miles away from the school, said he watched about 14 police cars drive by his home beginning about 8:30 a.m.

"We've been counting them as they go by because normally for an accident you might have two or three cars," he told local reporters.

The standoff was over before 10:30 a.m.

Pine Plains is about 90 miles north of New York City. Pulver says the school has about 500 students and 100 staff members.

Roads were shut down in the area, according to MyFoxNY.com.

Read more hot stories Moms Are Talking About.

How Could a Serial Killer Go Undetected?

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 03:00:00 -0800

I think Cleveland law enforcement actually contributed to the success of this sexual predator -- and I am outraged.

Dr. Michelle Golland: Cops say Anthony Sowell is a sociopathic sexual predator. He allegedly preyed upon a vulnerable population: African-American women who lived on society's fringe. Some were active or recovering alcoholics and drug addicts. Some had gone to jail and had criminal records. The family members of those that went missing believe that when their loved ones disappeared, the police did not take their concerns seriously. The fiancé of Janice Webb, one of Sowell's alleged victims, reports that the Lakewood Police would not even take a missing persons report because of her drug history.

Anthony Sowell must have believed he was invincible, which may have allowed him to allegedly commit his heinous crimes literally right under the nose of the community in which he lived.

If Anthony Sowell is the killer, what in our society could allow these horrible events to continue for so long? The women who put themselves in danger? The families -- some of whom did not report people missing? The Cleveland police, who many say did not take the concerns of this community seriously -- and in some cases were literally not willing to take missing persons reports? And what about the lack of communication and cooperation between the Cleveland police and the sheriff's department responsible for monitoring this sexual predator? If those in charge of monitoring Anthony Sowell were aware of accusations of rape against him, why did they not go into his home? Increase monitoring? Anything? I am outraged that these two agencies seemed to have no contact with each other. If they did, why were alarm bells not ringing among law enforcement?

The community that Anthony Sowell allegedly preyed upon was a perfect playground for a sexual predator. This community (even now) is distrustful of the police -- many of them don't want to give DNA to the coroners to help identify victims because they are afraid of authorities. This community was already disenfranchised by law enforcement and city officials due to these agencies' disinterest in missing persons reports and concerns of foul odors engulfing Imperial Avenue.

We need to demand that agencies responsible for protecting us are held to task, and that they come up with better ways to communicate with each other. They have to effectively monitor the sexual predators that are living among us.

Dr. Michelle Golland is a USC graduate and a licensed Clinical Psychologist (PSY#16974). She works with adults, teens and is an expert in the field of marriage and relationships. Dr. Michelle Golland has given her expert advice on CNN, HLN, MSNBC, ABC, and Fox news. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two wonderfully exhausting children.

SA Police 'Kill Boy Aged Three'

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 03:00:00 -0800

BBC: South Africa's police watchdog has condemned the "shooting of innocent people" after a boy of three was allegedly killed by a police officer.

The officer reportedly mistook a pipe the boy was carrying for a gun. He was in a car the police thought was being driven by suspected criminals.

The family of Atlegang Aphane says the policeman showed "no remorse" about the killing, reports the Sowetan newspaper.

The policeman has been charged with murder and remains in custody.

President Jacob Zuma recently said police should get tough to deal with the country's high levels of crime, however he said they should not be "trigger-happy".

Moses Dlamini from the Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD) told the BBC that no pipe or firearm had been recovered from the car in Midrand, near Johannesburg.

Atlegang's mother Mapule Aphane has accused the police constable of not being remorseful about the shooting.

"I could not believe my eyes when I arrived at the scene.

"He was busy eating a lollipop. I approached him and asked why he killed my son, but he looked at me as if I was crazy," said Ms Aphane, reports the Sowetan newspaper.

Read more hot stories Moms Are Talking About.

'Missing' Father Who Ditched Family Found

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 03:00:00 -0800

KOMO NEWS: He's no longer missing, and no longer any candidate for a father of the year award.

Nicholas Francisco, who had been "missing" since Feb. 13, 2008, was found alive and quite well living under a new name in another state, said John Urquhart with the King County Sheriff's Department.

Francisco hadn't been heard from since he called his pregnant wife that day and promised his 4-year-old daughter Zea he'd make Valentine's Day cookies with her, but never showed. The family also had a 2 1/2-year-old son

Francisco's car was found a few days later, abandoned in Federal Way. Police investigated but found no evidence of foul play.

His wife issued urgent pleas for his safe return.

"If you can't find him, these kids won't have a daddy then," his wife said in a tearful interview on Feb. 17, 2008. "This unborn baby won't have a daddy."

She filed for divorce that June, requesting custody of the children and alleging "willful abandonment that continues for a period of time" and a "history of acts of domestic violence ... or an assault or sexual assault which causes grievous bodily harm or the fear of such harm."

Urquhart said they have closed their investigation. He did not reveal where Francisco was found.

Read more hot stories Moms Are Talking About.

Basketball Great Abdul-Jabbar Has Cancer

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 03:00:00 -0800

CNN: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, one of the greatest college and professional basketball players of all time, says he has been diagnosed with a form of blood cancer.

"I have chronic myeloid leukemia," Abdul-Jabbar told CNN. He said he received the diagnosis last December.

The 62-year-old former center for the Los Angeles Lakers said aside from having to see his doctor and checking his blood levels on a regular basis, having chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) hasn't significantly affected his quality of life.

Abdul-Jabbar said he's going public now to educate people about this disease.

"I think it's possible for someone in my position to help save lives," he said.

Abdul-Jabbar is best known as the 7-foot-2 center who led the UCLA Bruins to three NCAA championships in the 1960s, then went on to win one NBA championship with the Milwaukee Bucks in 1971 and five more with the Los Angeles Lakers before retiring in 1989.

He also has dabbled in acting, notably as an airline pilot in the 1980 comedy "Airplane!"

However, raising awareness about cancer has been part of his portfolio for some time now, too.

He said cancer has been prominent in his life.

"My grandfather died from colorectal cancer, my uncle died from colorectal cancer and my father almost died from colorectal cancer," Abdul-Jabbar said.

He added that he has the gene for colorectal cancer. This led him to get involved in a colorectal cancer awareness campaign in the African-American community. He's also participated in an NBA-sponsored prostate cancer awareness campaign.

But now he's a cancer patient himself. He said he first realized something was wrong when he began having hot flashes and sweats, something he admits wasn't normal, "even for someone my age."

After seeing his physician, blood work showed he had a "white blood cell count that was sky-high." The National Cancer Institute describes CML as a "slowly progressing disease in which too many white blood cells are made in the bone marrow."

Abdul-Jabbar said when he received the diagnosis of early stage CML, he wanted to know what was possible in terms of treatment.

He said his specialist told him the cancer diagnosis did not have to be a death sentence, as long as he followed a proper treatment regimen.

Abdul-Jabbar wouldn't reveal what his prognosis is, but he did say he is managing his disease and that having CML "doesn't impact my life too significantly."

In the process of researching CML, Abdul-Jabbar says he was shocked to learn that some cancer patients do not regularly take their cancer medication. This led him to approach the pharmaceutical company Novartis about launching an educational campaign.

Abdul-Jabbar said Novartis is paying him for his travel and time, but the idea for the campaign was his.

"The message is simple: You have to have the expert advice of a specialist. You have to take your medicine and get your blood analyzed," he said.

In an effort to provide more information about this type of cancer, he is launching a Facebook page -- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Patient Advocate -- supported by the pharmaceutical company, which manufactures drugs to treat this and other types of cancer.

According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), the average person's chance of getting CML is less than 1 in 500. The cancer society says CML is slightly more common in men than women, and it accounts for 10 percent to 15 percent of all leukemias or blood cancers.

The ACS estimates just over 5,000 people will be diagnosed with CML this year, and that 470 will die from it. The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society estimates the five-year survival rate for CML of 44.4 percent.

More information on CML can be found at www.cancer.org and www.leukemia-lymphoma.org.

Read more hot stories Moms Are Talking About.

Teacher Reassigned Over Racy Essay

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 03:00:00 -0800

ABC7: A teacher in the Bronx is in some hot water over an essay he showed his class. Many say the content of the written piece was completely inappropriate.

By most accounts, Greg Van Voorhis, or "Mr. V," is a very popular English teacher at the Bronx School of Law and Finance. Students like Lauren Henriquez say he knows how to relate to them.

"He's a really, really good teacher," she said. "He understands. You can speak to him about anything."

But school officials say Van Voorhis may have gone too far when he gave his 11th graders a graphic short story about masturbation involving a carrot, among other things.

After learning of the explicit reading, the Department of Education re-assigned Van Voorhis to an administrative office, pending the outcome of an investigation.

Some students, meanwhile, have launched a Facebook campaign to "Save Mr. V."

"I don't feel there was nothing bad about it," Henriquez said. "It was just a story. We read it outside of class, so why can't we read it inside class?"

But Louella Hatch, who has a grandson in the tenth grade at the school, isn't laughing.

"If it is true, he can't still be around the school, you know?" she said.

Alec Nightengale is also an English teacher at the school and a personal friend of Van Voorhis. He says his colleague deserves to be back in the classroom.

"I've known him all my life, and I know he had the best of intentions," Nightengale said. "And he only wants what's best for the kids."

Read more hot stories Moms Are Talking About.