NORTH PORT, Fla. (AP) — High school principal George Kenney acknowledged using hypnosis to help people: students who needed to relax before tests, a basketball player having trouble making free throws and even school secretaries who wanted to quit smoking.

But now the popular 51-year-old principal’s future at North Port High School is in question since it came to light that he had hypnotized two students before their separate suicides this spring. There is no indication their deaths were any more than a tragic coincidence. However, Kenney acknowledged conducting the sessions after being warned by his boss to stop such one-on-one hypnosis with students at school. In April, according to the Sarasota County School District report, he hypnotized a 16-year-old student to help him better focus on a test. The next day, the boy committed suicide. Kenney was put on leave in May when the boy’s parents, who had given their permission for the sessions, raised concerns after his death.

The administrator’s situation then got stickier when an investigation showed that he had also hypnotized another student five months before her May 4 suicide, initially lied about it and had defied three separate verbal warnings to stop the sessions with students.

A 134-page independent investigative report released by the district last week includes an interview with Kenney, who acknowledged defying the orders and then lying.

“I’m not saying I used great judgment all the time here,” he told an investigator. “I think I used poor judgment several times.”

Poor judgment would be an understatement, sheesh.




  1. lynn says:

    Bobbo, I really enjoyed your last post. You are a philosopher. And lest I sound too sappily positive for DU, thanks for sharing about your anus.

  2. bobbo, sometimes a doll is just a doll says:

    lynn–I was careful in posting that knowing how you like to plumb the depths of things philosophical. Some habits are hard to break, I don’t know what your particular order was into but its one of the few things that men and women share in common. In fact, all too often, it appears to be the only thing we share in common? Ha, ha.

    Another break?

  3. Uncle Patso says:

    While hypnosis is known to sometimes help with problems mentioned in the article, anyone who messes with the emotional mine field that is an adolescent’s mind must be VERY careful to do no inadvertent harm and should probably be very highly trained before being allowed to do so.

  4. bobbo, sometimes a doll is just a doll says:

    Uncle P–I suppose thats true but if the goal is to relax the kiddie before taking a test, how would one slop over into implanting thoughts of suicide?

    “You are in a deep sleep. You are in class about to take a test. Imagine this is the best day of your life and the test is like petting your pet dog. No matter what, don’t imagine your dog gets loose and runs into the street and gets hit by a car and that you killed him. It was just an accident. When you hear me snap my fingers, wake up refreshed and start looking for your dog.”

    I don’t think you have to be an expert to avoid mistakes like that one anyway. Maybe it is more subtle. To sleep, to dream, to die. Horatio!!!

  5. lynn says:

    #33, Bobbo, “its one of the few things that men and women share in common. In fact, all too often, it appears to be the only thing we share in common? ” – an anus?

    Yeah, it’s a slow day here.

  6. lynn says:

    Hey it’s nearly 5PM! I’m outta here! ‘night –

  7. bobbo, sometimes a doll is just a doll says:

    Whoa! lynn!!!!===Where did THAT come from? No. Certainly Not. Never. In context, obviously, I’m talking about the love of delving into the depths of human psychology. My word, anus indeed. Who would ever think/say that? ….and I didn’t even say “Taken as a whole….”

    I’m watching Reindeer Games right now while having fun with word games. They just fell through the ice. Only in Hollywood would they live. Do guns shoot under water? I can see they would but the bullets not go far if even out of the barrel? More false physics?

    Speaking of which, how could men and women share an anus? Maybe joint custody of a kiddie?

    Ha, ha.

  8. bobbo, sometimes a doll is just a doll says:

    Speaking of our blessed kiddies, here are 9 things you should never say to them. Read closely: probably better off to never say these things to anyone? Or not talk at all?

    http://cnn.com/2011/LIVING/07/12/dont.say.to.child.p/index.html?&hpt=hp_c2

    Pedro: STFU!

  9. John E. Quantum says:

    #38 “9 things you should never say to them”

    Richard Prior added one more-

    “The worst day of my life was the day my daddy told me I wouldn’t even be here sep’n the rubber broke.”

  10. Olo Baggins of Bywater says:

    “Progressive are hypnotized already…we need a way to wake them.”

    …says the guy who gets his major opinions from Rush and Beck. Al, that’s called projection.

  11. Olo Baggins of Bywater says:

    Bobbo…you did refer to plumbing the depths. LOL

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