Posted on 03/18/2006 10:46:26 AM PST by Lunatic Fringe
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) - A central Missouri high school drama teacher whose spring play was canceled after complaints about tawdry content in one of her previous productions will resign rather than face a possible firing.
"It became too much to not be able to speak my mind or defend my students without fear or retribution," said Fulton High School teacher Wendy DeVore.
DeVore's students were to perform Arthur Miller's "The Crucible," a drama set during the 17th Century Salem witch trials.
But after a handful of Callaway Christian Church members complained about scenes in the fall musical "Grease" that showed teens smoking, drinking and kissing, Superintendent Mark Enderle told DeVore to find a more family-friendly substitute.
DeVore chose Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream," a classic romantic comedy with its own dicey subject matter, including suicide, rape and losing one's virginity.
DeVore, 31, a six-year veteran teacher, said administrators told her that her annual contract might not be renewed.
"Maybe I need to find a school that's a better match," she said.
Both Enderle and the high school principal declined to discuss DeVore's resignation, citing privacy concerns. The resignation must still be approved by the school board.
Publicity over the drama debate, including a front-page story in The New York Times, has cast an unflattering light on Fulton as an intolerant small town, several of DeVore's colleagues said.
"We have become a laughingstock," teacher Paula Fessler told The Fulton Sun.
Every time I read a thread like this, I get the theme from the Beverly Hillbillies going through my head. Which is a shame because Jed and all his kin had a lot more sense than some of the posters here.
Not to hijack the thread, but I never realized how much of an impact Deliverance had until I see comments like the one you posted. It's very gratifying...
Let me guess.. you went to school in Missouri?
Jeez, do you think the government schools should do as it pleases without any interferences from pesky parents?
Are you asking if I believe schools should be allowed to create a well-rounded curriculum of math, science, and arts without parents imposing their subjective moral judgements? Yes.
"...in an Amish high school."
I'm pretty sure there's no such thing as an Amish high school. Decisions about what books go in the library and what plays get performed are made by curriculum committees, which often include parents. I'm sure students can find books in the library (perhaps even a version of "Grease") that many parents would find offensive--"Catcher in the Rye" is a good example. But parents do not have the right to simply yank a book from a school library (Supreme Court says so) and they don't have the right to ban a harmless and inoffensive play like "Grease." If they don't like it, they can yank their kids from the school.
Let me ask you this, if this controversy had erupted in an Amish high school, and the Amish had rejected all 3 plays (which they undoubtedly would), would we be having this discussion?
I'd pay top dollar to see an All Amish production of Grease or West Side Story. Anybody with me on this?
"Asking for a family-friendly play is hardly the same as changing the curriculum."
I'll bet they've had some "family friendly" plays over the years. (In fact, I think "Grease" is a family friendly play). In 1971 my school put on "Inherit the Wind." I'll bet a lot of rubes and some Freepers would object to that play today because of its treatment of evolution. But art is art, and parents should have no right to bar such activity in a public school.
http://www.amishacres.com/aa_musical_theatre/2003_season/grease/grease.htm
I love the Internet.
I mean, I feel a bit bad because I actually like a lot of banjo music.
LOL! OMG!!!!!! HOLY CRAP!
Coffee just came out my nose...
Game, set, match!
James Dickey was one of our finest poets (and I'll defend that statement tooth and nail). Deliverance is a terrific book. The movie was just so-so, though Dickey has a bit part in it.
A town that can't handle Shakespeare isn't a good match for anyone.
I think I read it years ago. Does Dickey play a cop in the film? I can't remember. Of course, everyone remembers, "squeal like a pig!" (Maybe some high school should put THAT on!)
Yeah, he's the sheriff at the very end of the film who tells the suburban guys never come back...in real life he was a very prickly character. Whatever fates put John Boorman, James Dickey, Burt Reynolds and Jon Voight on the same set had a real sense of humor.
And the same type of censorship would have been applied if the teacher tried to do a Passion play or if they tried an oratorio like The Messiah.
And the same type of censorship would have been applied if the teacher tried to do a Passion play or if they tried an oratorio like The Messiah.
The two cases are actually more similar than first meets the eye. Both have to do with imposing religious views in a secular, public forum. One is substraction (protesting the play) and the other addition (pushing the play)...
"And the same type of censorship would have been applied if the teacher tried to do a Passion play or if they tried an oratorio like The Messiah."
It wouldn't be the same type of censorship to bar a passion play. The law forbids that kind of explicit religious advocacy. The Messiah, on the other hand, could be legitimately performed in a public school, as long as it was part of a performance that included secular material.
Complaining about Grease makes them even MORE ignorant, stupid, yokel-like and just plain retarded.
As for the Amish, I believe they operate their own schools.
I still maintain that complaining about ANY of the plays under discussion is the height of uptight stick-in-the-assism.
I see your problem right away. No one here wants a larger government entity to rush into Fulton to set things right. No one here expects anything official to be done at all. However, we have the right to hold these hill billy rejects up to ridicule and scorn for being the Shakespeare hating troglodytes that they have proven themselves to be. The only pity is that the Jethros in Fulton aren't fully aware of the contempt that those with room temperature and better IQ scores have for them.
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