Goodbye, Mr. Chips

Cute education story of the week comes from Clarín, reporting on an incident in a school in the city of Rosario Argentina. Here's an excerpt (translated):

"The unusual episode occurred yesterday, at the 'Luis Laporte 468 Middle School', Rosario. During the 8pm break, a group of students at the school, located at 1059 1er de Mayo Street, decided to stay in the classroom and listen to music.

At the end of the break, the metalwork teacher came back into the classroom to continue with the metal turning class. It was then that was told that a 20 year old student still had his earphones in (listening to music).

According to the police spokesperson, the annoyed teacher asked him to stop listening to music but the student refused. It was at that point when the teacher reacted badly by taking a gun out from under his clothing and threatening the student with it."

The report goes on to tell us the gun was loaded with seven live rounds at the time. The teacher has been suspended, apparently. Gotta love Argentina.

"It was the tobacco that killed him"

News from Colombia. José Rosario Serrano Arencas (photo above), born March 5th 1881 and known as Colombia's (and quite possibly the world's) oldest man has died today aged 128.

The father of 24 children, including the youngest aged 57 who was born when José was 70, attributed his longevity to "being with God and not thinking bad thoughts" and also "spending long periods in the mountains to avoid the vagabonds of the city and not speaking with drunks".

A lifelong smoker, one of his daughters said today that (and I kid you not, here's the link) "It was the tobacco that killed him."

José Rosario Serrano Arencas, que en paz descanse, señor.