Posted on 11/17/2005 11:52:03 AM PST by HostileTerritory
An American high school teacher who screened the Oscar-winning film Elizabeth for his students lost his job following complaints from parents. Ed Youngblood, 62, had taught at South Gwinnett High School in Atlanta, Georgia, for 37 years before screening the film to his advanced British literature class earlier this month. He says that he was given the choice of quitting or being fired after being informed that an official investigation was under way.
(Excerpt) Read more at film.guardian.co.uk ...
The guy lacks some serious common sense.
I think it is stupid for anyone to raise an issue about this. I understand 'procedure', but to force someone to resign? Come 'on! These students are 17 and 18 year old HONORS students. It's not like he showed Fast Times at Ridgemont High or anything. Talk about over reacting.
It was a great movie. Cate Blanchett was robbed of the Oscar. Instead it went to that "gawky bird" Paltrow.
How about this issue: why are students in an honors British Lit class watching a movie to begin with, much less a highly fictionalized account of Elizabeth. Maybe a film of Shakespeare, but why are movies being shown so often now. I have a nephew who claims that his History class watches at least 1 film per week over 2 days. This is absurd. Teachers showing movies are just too lazy to teach and producing dopes.
Those in charge of the credits have also been sacked.
PC kills.
I agree. And that film is magnificent.
Why does the Guardian newspaper care about what happens to a schoolteacher in Atlanta, Georgia? Because it involves a British literature class and Elizabeth I?
I agree that kids watch too many movies in high school, but I'm willing to make an exception for this one. It's excellent--fiction, yes, but if these are honors students, they know that already. They can and should enjoy it for whatever it renders.
I'm sure they love stories that enable them to look down their noses at us and laugh. This is exactly the type of story that Europeans (and Brits) love because they have different standards about what teenagers can watch.
What, and bore them to death?
I was going to post with the same observation. You have nailed the problem.
To be fair, we don't know what literature he had recently assigned or what the kids were reading at the time.
The directors of the firm hired to continue the credits after the other people had been sacked, wish it to be known that they have just been sacked. The credits have been completed in an entirely different style at great expense and at the last minute.
They showed "Schindler's List" last year here to 8th graders. There wasn't a fuss about that movie.
i know when i was in HS - we used to watch the accompanying movie to the novel in my AP classes. Our assignment afterwards was to critique the movie for how closely it followed the novel, as well as how it handled the symbolism, etc... It was good - it demonstrated how well we understood the novel and how closely we could pay attention... if handled correctly - this can be a benefit.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.