Tension at Tarrant – Principal defiant as teachers want him out
BY INGRID BROWN Associate editor – special assignment [email protected]
Wednesday, January 23, 2013

TARRANT High School Principal Garfield Higgins is resolute that he will not be forced from his position despite attempts by the school board to oust him, as well as discontent among some teachers who are adamant that they will not work with him.
A decision by the board to terminate Higgins’ service is now before the Supreme Court after the principal sought an injunction to stay his dismissal from the Kingston school.

According to Higgins, who has held the job for just under two years, the discontent is because of his drive to eliminate the level of tardiness, chronic lateness and non-performance among some teachers.
However, the teachers have accused him of being vindictive and disrespectful.
Yesterday, the Ministry of Education was called in to intervene after teachers stayed away from classrooms for the morning session to attend a meeting to decide how they would deal with further issues concerning the principal.
According to Higgins, the friction started after he found it necessary to implement measures to address and chronicle, among other things, the lateness of teachers. The records, he added, were there to show that lateness has been a chronic problem with one teacher being late 89 times, another 69 and yet another 61 times last year.
“[A total of] 286 hours were lost in one year of teaching and learning time,” the principal said, adding that he has been a stickler for teachers coming to work on time, attentiveness to lesson planning and getting to class on time.”
He added: “If they were working at the bank and they were late this many times in one year they would be out of a job, and so I tell them they must go to class on time and give a full day’s work for a full day’s pay.”
Higgins said among the other issues with which teachers were disgruntled was his decision to put an end to them selling merchandise to students and the privatisation of the canteen and the bookshop which was being operated by teachers. “Since then, there has been some friction,” he told the Jamaica Observer.
Higgins said the teachers have also objected to him making unscheduled visits to their classrooms, claiming their space was being invaded.
According to Higgins, the school has seen an improvement in both academics and discipline since his tenure, with 100 per cent passes in Spanish, Home and Family, Religious Education, and 52 per cent in English, up from the 16.3 per cent it was in 2008.
But the teachers say the principal’s management style has caused him to lose the respect of both teachers and students alike.
The teachers, who spoke with the Observer on condition of anonymity, said the problem started from very early in Higgins’ tenure.
Regarding the claim of a chronic problem with lateness, the teachers said this was only the case with about four of the 63 teachers on staff.
“He has singled out these teachers and wants it to appear that his measures have been the source of the problem but it is his disrespectful and vindictive behaviour,” one teacher alleged.
Commenting on the bookshop issue, teachers said proceeds from it were given to the school and the students’ welfare when it was being operated by their peers.
The teachers alleged that at the heart of the problem is a teacher who the principal has since put in charge of the Career Advancement Programme (CAP) and the summer school programme. The entire English Department, they said, was ousted from the English room so the teacher could use the sppace.
The Ministry of Education, the teachers said, has ordered that the room to be returned to the teachers and for another person to take over the co-ordination of the CAP.
“You can’t single-handedly appoint one person and you take a staffroom and have that one person occupy that space,” one teacher said. The teacher added that those displaced were ‘kotching’ all over the place.
The teachers said it was not true that the academic improvements came about because of the principal’s intervention as shortly before his appointment the school recorded the best grades in its history.
“We challenge him to tell us how he has contributed to academics of the school. We are challenging him to a one-to-one interview and we can flesh this out in the media,” said one teacher.
“We are saying we will not work with Mr Higgins, won’t work with him and we won’t be satisfied until he leaves. In the best interest of the school he needs to go,” said another.

Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Tension-at-Tarrant_13469230#ixzz2IxWFUpam

Dead man’s ghost strips FAMILY NAKED every NIGHT

Sleeping at night has become a luxury for a Bulawayo’s Cowdry Park family as they are reportedly waking up every morning naked despite having slept wearing clothes.

Sources said the Kazembe family has been experiencing sleepless nights since October last year. The source alleged that the spate of incidents was linked to the forces of the underworld. he said it all started after a family member reportedly killed a friend in Tsholotsho.

“I think it should be that because it started just after the guy was killed by one of the family members. It must be the dead man’s spirit that’s now revenging,” said the source.

The father of the family- Noel Kazembe – in an interview with a local weekly, said at times they spend nights sitting waiting to see what was going to happen.

“I do not know what to do anymore. We sleep wearing clothes and find clothes thrown outside the house,” he said.

Kazembe who is a member of an apostolic sect said prayers have failed to free his family from the torment.

“I have done all you can think of in terms of prayers but nothing has happened. I took up the issue with my church elders and they tried to help but to no avail. Even a senior prophet came to my house and prayed but we woke up naked the following morning,” he said.

The man went on to give a graphic description of the family’s ordeal.

“We go to bed without hassles but at around 1am we hear weird sounds but when we try to rise we find ourselves failing to move, as if we have been tied to the bed. I don’t know what happens afterwards but we wake up naked in the morning,” said the man.

A mother to the family revealed that the whole family once slept in one bedroom because of fear.

“Our children are old but we were left with no choice and we shared the bedroom with them. They were saying they couldn’t sleep in their rooms,” she said.

Kazembe said he was contemplating seeking traditional help.

“I have a grandfather who is a sangoma so I guess I will be forced to seek his help if prayers continue to fail me,” he said.

Kazembe however, refuted claims that the matter could be linked to his brother who murdered a friend.

“Why would that person’s spirit come here? It’s nonsensical to think like that,” fumed the man who mysteriously wakes up naked.

Another biblical variable that affects our lives is the spiritual battle raging between the forces of good and evil in the realm beyond our five senses. Remembering from Ezekiel 28 and Isaiah 14 how much power and wisdom God originally gave “Lucifer” should help us to understand how formidable a foe we now have, and how diligent we must be in resisting him.

If you read Daniel 10:1-14, you will see that Daniel saw a vision from God, but he did not know what it meant, so he asked God to show him. Three weeks later an angel showed up. He told Daniel that his prayer had been heard when he first prayed, and that he had at once left “Angel Headquarters” to bring him the answer.

So why did it take him three weeks to get there, you ask? Because Daniel did not have enough faith? No, it was because “the prince of the kingdom of Persia” withstood the angel twenty-one days. Of course this “prince” was not a human being, but a high-ranking, territorial evil spirit. We do not know the details of their confrontation during those three weeks, but this account makes it clear that the spiritual battle raging beyond our senses may be the reason why certain prayers take time— a little or a lot— to be answered.

Daniel’s attitude, however, is pivotal in this record. At the end of one day of prayer, he did not say to God, “Oh brother, you give me a vision and no explanation, and now you’re asleep up there! I quit!” Then twenty days later an angel pulls in and says, “Where’s Daniel?” No, it didn’t happen that way. Daniel continued to have faith and look to God, and he did receive the answer to his prayer.

A verse in the Church Epistles illustrates this same truth.

1 Thessalonians 2:18
For we wanted to come to you— certainly I, Paul, did, again and again— but Satan stopped us.

The Greek word for “stopped” was “used of impeding persons by breaking up the road [as by digging a trench across it], or by placing an obstacle sharply in the path.” [1]

We see that, in the temporal realm, God is not totally in control of all circumstances. But He and His Son are right in there with us, working to help us go over, under, around or through whatever obstacles the Devil puts in our paths. In Acts 14 we read that Paul was stoned, yet through the prayers of the saints the power of God healed him. [2]

God is not a spiritual vending machine, where we just push a button and out pops what we need. Often we must hang in there for quite a while, as Job did, and continue to expect God’s deliverance. In the context of spiritual warfare, it is significant that our heartfelt praise to God is a catalyst to help roll back the forces of darkness (2 Chron. 20:22). [3] No matter what happens, we have the ultimate victory— everlasting life in the age to come.

Shoplifter With Taste for Jimmy Choos Bit Boutique Worker, Cops Say Updated January 24, 2013 6:55am
January 24, 2013 6:55am | By Serena Solomon, DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

EAST VILLAGE — This alleged shoplifter had more than just an appetite for designer shoes.
Melissa Scott, 28, was caught red-handed Sunday for allegedly stealing a pair of Jimmy Choo boots from Cadillac’s Castle at 333 E. Ninth St. — after biting both a store employee and a police officer who tried to restrain her, according to the clothing store’s owners and cops.
The Brooklyn woman, who has a prior history of assault charges, was arrested about 12:40 p.m. on Jan. 20, and charged with robbery, assault and possession of stolen property in the toothy attack, according to cops.
“She [the employee] saw that she [Scott] had security tags hanging out her bags,” said Cadillac’s Castle owner Kreg, who only wanted to give his first name.
The store specializes in used, modern clothing from high-end brands such as Prada and Chanel.
When the employee approached Scott and attempted to take back the knee-high Jimmy Choo boots boasting a $350 price tag, a scuffle ensued onto the sidewalk, the owner explained.
Scott then bit the employee on the right hand — her jaw clenched so tight a neighboring store owner had trouble prying her off, according to Kreg.
“As they pulled [Scott] off, the bite went up [the worker’s] hand,” he said, adding that it drew blood.
“[The employee] had to go out and get all her booster shots, tetanus, et cetera,” he added.
Scott then fled up the street to St. Mark’s Place before she allegedly bore her fangs again, this time biting the police officer who arrested her, cops said.
Kreg said only the store owner and a few other shoppers assisted the employee as she struggled with Scott.
“All the people on the street just stood around and did nothing,” he said. “Absolutely nothing.”
Also on DNAinfo.com…

Read more: http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20130124/east-village/shoplifter-with-taste-for-jimmy-choos-bit-boutique-worker-cops-say##ixzz2IvOUT2N8

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