So it turns out that Tampa Bay’s 10, who’s reporting caused quite a stir on the blogosphere and was mentioned on the cable news program Countdown with Keith Olbermann, did do some follow-up reporting on the case. They report:
The same school district that allegedly fired a substitute teacher after he performed a magic trick in class has paid a Largo man to perform magic tricks at a summer program for years.
Windy Douton, who’s been a magician for 54 years, says he’s worked with the PLACE Program for the last few years and is scheduled to perform magic shows this summer.
They also provide the following documents:
I just got off the phone with Pasco County school district’s director of human resources Dr. Renee Sedlack. She confirms that the term “wizardry” was used in the conference with Piculus, but says it was not used as a reason for his dismissal. She says magic trick was brought up as an example of him not following lesson plans, not as a reason for dismissal in and of itself.
Previous coverage on Technoccult:
Update in Florida ‘wizardry’ fiasco – school administrator denies accusations