Demagogue

The Dutch-speaking world (meaning basically the Netherlands and the Flemish half of Belgium) has a new pop star: Yves de Racker, a former army officer and now high school math teacher in Antwerp. It seems that Prof. de Racker's students secretly recorded him cursing at the class one day, then added a sample of the tape to a techno soundtrack. The resulting song is now a hit on Belgian radio, where it debuted last week, and its fame has spread to blogs and newspapers in the Netherlands. There's even a de Racker fan club, where you can listen to the many versions of the song (the original, the drum & bass, the one played on the radio, etc.).

As for the administration of Prof. de Racker's school, their reaction reminded me of the low-key response of the principal to the Juf Ingrid nude-photo to-do here in the Netherlands.

Vice dean Anne Goffin said the school could not condone Prof De Racker's language in class.

However, she added: "They are all big boys and sometimes it is not easy to attract their attention. Every teacher has his own way of teaching and Prof De Racker has been in the army for a long time."

Prof. de Racker himself seems to be taking his new celebrity in stride:

I'm very glad my students were able to make a sample like that. I don't think many collegues can boast of having their own song.