Vermont teacher fired for showing graphic movies (no parental notification)

Rutland Herald | Nov. 16, 2001 | Donna Moxley

[Straight Vermonter]

Even more examples of the mire that Vermont has become.

[meandog]

I believe this to be appropriate punishment for the teacher...neither film, IMHO, has any social redeeming value.

[so_real]

What ever happened to "readin', writin', and 'rithmatic"?

[He Rides A White Horse]

Bammarito said Van Stechelman, whom she and many other students say they consider a friend

I'll bet.

Students have commented over the past week that they felt close to Van Stechelman — that he treated them like adults, like friends and could get them to talk.

I wonder how many of his students he's had sex with. This guy reads like a classic pedophile.

[Lizavetta]

Asha Bammarito, 18, a senior at the school whom Van Stechelman has coached on the track team for years,

Hmmmmmmm.....

[xm177e2]

Were the students freshmen or seniors?

graphic depictions of sexual acts

It was nothing to get excited about, really.

The violence was disturbing (especially because it's easy to emphasize with the Nazi character), not the small amount of nudity.

[xm177e2]

Hmmmmmmm.....

He showed a couple of R-rated movies to a high school class, probably seniors.

From this I see you're ready to insinuate that he may be a child molester.

[Lizavetta]

No, no.....he coached the high school track team. That means he was a stalker/pervert/pedophile for sure.

[xm177e2]

A lot of teachers coach sports teams.

[so_real]

Well ... he sure isn't a teacher....

He's got no business showing R rated films to students during class. It's not "Weekend at the Bijou" for crying-out-loud. It's school! Teach the kids how to read, write, and do math. Save the movies for after school where the parents decide what is appropriate.

[xm177e2]

Agreed there. Way too many movies shown in-class.

[Cleburne]

Oh, that mess is so passe. What really matters is...hey lets go watch a movie!

[Lizavetta]

I was joking.

[thefactor]

I assume you mean EPMATHIZE with the Nazi character. You mean the one who sees the errors of his ways and tries to change himself and the others around him? Yeah, that one.

[xm177e2]

No, I may have meant Empathize, but I definitely did not mean EPMATHIZE.

[He Rides A White Horse]

From this I see you're ready to insinuate that he may be a child molester.

Read between the lines, xm177e2.

[jra]

Well, I can't speak for my FRiend, but I wouldn't give the teacher the opportunity to either prove or disprove his potential for perverse sexual leanings...

However, I will say that one way that pedophiles begin to 'steer' potential victims is to begin conversations that can bleed over into sexual experimentation...to wit: why in the name of God would a teacher of Social Studies and Psychology be having a conversation about phallic references in the Bible?

Not that I expect schools in Vermont to teach the Bible--(It was offered in my schools but was optional)--but the next likely class for that discussion to happen would be English or Literature, no?

Pedophile? Maybe, maybe not...Potential pedophile? Sounds like a classic case to me...

[MisplacedinOR]

So it's ok for kids to read about sex and violence {anyone else here ever forced to read any Shakespeare in high school?} but taboo for them to see anything depicted visually?

Perhaps we should issue blinders along with school books.

[thefactor]

Yeah. That aixelsyd, I mean dyslexia, strikes at the worst times don't it?