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STUDENTS BACK TEACHER SUSPENDED FOR CRITICIZING CLAY AIKEN
She accused him of having a hissy fit and berating kids.
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| Clay Aiken |
A brave New Jersey
teacher was
suspended after
publicly denouncing
the outrageous
behavior of "American
Idol" also-ran Clay Aiken
-- but friends and students
are rallying to her
side.
Susan Barry was barred
from her own classroom
for a week after sending
out an e-mail that charged
the singer with throwing a
hissy fit and berating students
in her school's
nationally acclaimed vocal
ensemble.
SCATHING MESSAGE
Barry, who teaches at
Clearview Regional High
School in Mullica Hill,
was punished after referring
to the carrot-topped
crooner as a "little turd."
She sent the scathing
message to her e-mail list
-- and to an Internet site,
which posted it.
The English teacher,
who works with the
school's famed vocal ensemble,
was furious at
Aiken's alleged diva-like
behavior.
The young performers
worked hard to back up
the pop singer at a recent
show -- after his people
reportedly promised a
$500 donation to the ensemble.
With great flourish, a
check was presented to a
choir member.
But later, the student
was stunned -- after opening
the envelope and
discovering it was empty!
Sources charge that the
Idol with feet of Clay also
backed out of a promise to
spend time with students
and provide autographs
. . . sicced security on a
kid who dared take a
photo during rehearsal . . .
and tangled verbally
with a respected teacher.
To top it off, Aiken's people
reportedly kept the
hungry students waiting
for hours to eat . . . before finally
showing up with cold
Happy Meals just before
show time.
After Susan Barry was
booted for practicing her
right of free speech, upset
students protested
and even circulated a petition.
And while Barry still received
a paycheck during
her suspension, students
pointed out her absence
also impacted them.
Mik Matusek, 16, said
that he thought that
administrators went
overboard with Barry's
punishment and that by
keeping her out of class
for a week "it's the students
getting punished."
Matusek collected some
40 signatures on his petition.
Carolyn Frassenei,
who's in Barry's 11th-grade
honors English class, signed
it -- and her mother Christine,
an elementary school
teacher, also blasted the suspension.
"I'm flabbergasted," she
told a reporter. "[Barry's]
a fabulous teacher who's
showing the kids to
think for themselves and
when they write, to dig
deeper."
An insider, who worked
with Clay on "American
Idol," told The ENQUIRER:
"Clay has maintained this
public image of being such
a nice, sweet guy -- a real
Goody Two-Shoes. However,
anyone who has worked
with him like I have knows
that's a fa?ade.
"Unfortunately, these
kids saw the real Clay
Aiken in action and it
wasn't a pretty sight.
"It's too bad that this
brave teacher, who had
the guts to speak out, was
punished for it. What kind
of a message does that
send?"
-- MICHAEL GLYNN and ROBIN MIZRAHI
Published on: December 29, 2004
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