Dirty Harry in the Classroom

I used to be a fairly big fan of the David E. Kelley show Boston Public, which was about an urban high school in, you guessed it, Boston. In the first episode, a young teacher is assigned to a group of "trouble children." After proving ineffective at getting control of the deviants, he pulls a gun from his jacket and shoots it into the wall. (I do not endorse this manner of discipline.)

Later in the series, a science teacher attempts to prove a point to a student who is drag racing. The class goes outside to find a crane hoisting up a car to a given height. They calculate the velocity of the car upon impact, coming up with 20 miles per hour. The car drops, demonstrating the effect of even a low-speed collision. (This should, I think, be a required experiment in driving courses - forget that lousy Blood on the Highway film.)

These two themes - guns in the classroom and dramatic scientific displays - have recently come together in real life when a teacher fired a gun in a classroom demonstration of the ballistic pendulum. The teacher apparently does so every year, but it just now occurred to someone that, perhaps, this might violate some sort of law. While I don't endorse this as a teaching method, there's a rather thoughtful analysis of the matter over at the Cosmic Variance blog.

Regardless of your stance on guns, I'm guessing that the kids were fully engaged in that demonstration. Should the teacher be fired? Suspended? Disciplined? Left to teach his class? Did you ever have a teacher who crossed the line in an attempt to make science exciting? Join our discussion in the About Physics Forum to express your opinion!

Special thanks to Nick Greene, the About Space Guide, for letting me know about this intriguing situation.