Posted on 10/30/2006 5:46:15 AM PST by paltz
(CBS4) FT. LAUDERDALE An art teacher at a Fort Lauderdale charter school is facing indefinite suspension after showing a self-made documentary on ‘good and evil’ to a group of 10 and 11 year old students, featuring gory abortion scenes. Some students and parents complained, and the school objected, but teacher Marc Greenblum says he has no regrets in showing the graphic video.
The film was shown approximately two weeks ago in Greenblum’s art class at the Downtown Academy of Technology and Arts, a charter school funded with tax dollars and under the oversight of the Broward County School Board.
The video, as described by parents who saw it with school officials, included graphic images of the Holocaust, 9/11, and the Ku Klux Klan, among others, and juxtaposed them with extremely graphic images which were allegedly from abortions.
School officials declined to allow CBS4 to view the video, saying they wanted it first to be viewed by Broward County School District administrators, but one student shared his memories of the presentation.
“It was very gory, and all red all over the place,” said one 11-year-old student whose identity is being withheld by cbs4.com at the request of his parents.
“I don’t have any regrets for having shown it and presented it,” teacher Greenblum said Thursday, admitting that even he found the abortion video in the documentary disturbing enough to make him cry. Some of his students said the video was upsetting.
“There was this disturbing picture of a baby’s hand reaching out from the Mom’s stomach and grabbing the doctor’s finger, and there was a baby in a bucket,” the boy said, describing the film played to his art class by Greenblum.
“It’s just so graphic, and I broke down in tears,” said parent Joan Daniel, whose son attends the school and viewed the documentary. Daniel said she viewed the video for the first time Thursday, after her son complained to her, and she complained to the school.
The film was made with the knowledge of the school, and even featured an interview with the school’s principal, according to parents who viewed the video. However, school officials say they were unaware of the full content of the final product and had not authorized its presentation to students.
“He should not have shown this,” said principal Jim DiSebastian, who suspended Greenblum Thursday after CBS4 News began investigating reports of the video’s classroom presentation.
Daniel said she was upset it took two weeks for the school to show her and another parent the video after they complained, and in that time, other parents were not notified the film had been shown, and teacher Greenblum continued to meet with students. When they viewed the video Thursday, the school has yet to take action against Greenblum, and she was at a loss to understand why.
“Someone that’s an educator should know that this is not acceptable, should already know what’s acceptable and what’s not acceptable, and this is way over the line,” Daniel told CBS4’s Evan Bacon in an exclusive interview.
“There are consequences,” said DiSebastian, “and he didn’t think, and it can’t ever happen again.”
But despite the objection of his employers, Greenblum remains unapologetic for showing his young students the graphic and bloody images without the permission of the school or their parents.
“I regret maybe showing it a little prematurely,” Greenblum said, “but having done it, no, and having shown it and educating them and maybe it will change their lives, and they’ll say ‘hey, I saw that' and they’ll talk with someone why may be considering it, and then they can actually touch other lives that way, no, how could you say I would regret that, no.”
Not all parents objected to the video. Some gathered at the school Thursday and spoke in defense of Greenblum, saying they believe students need to know about ‘evil’ in the world.
“Instead of keeping them in the dark”, said one parent, “Might as well they be exposed to everything. That’s my opinion. I have no regret.”
The film was turned over to the Broward County School Board, which controls the charter under which the Downtown Academy of Technology and Arts operates. The Academy receives tax dollars for every student enrolled, and most follow all state laws and meet state and county requirements to keep its charter.
Thursday, school officials said they were looking into the situation but had no immediate reaction.
At least one parent was reported to have withdrawn her child from the school over the incident.
"oy. It's a no win situation, huh?"
If he's tenured...it's a real mess.
Administrators have to get creative - and they often find themselves in "no win" situations...yes.
"LOL. Actually, I'd like to see the schools cleaned out and start over, but I'm not holding out for that"
Everyone would like to see that.
It would require a complete dismantling of the NEA.
Quite a battle.
No. How is that relevant to what I wrote in #127?
Think about it.
So, it wasn't really elective surgery in the sense that nearly all abortions are?
Still not getting it.
That's a stumper, since one has nothing to do with the other.
Granted I have not seen the specific images but if these images are in question then I could easily provide some images that are anything but "alleged."
Liberal school boards know that such images verify one unquestionable fact: abortion is the termination of a reconizable human child at almost every stage of gestation. These images, when seen, leave a clear understanding of the reality of abortion and therefore cannot be allowed to be shown. But guess what - you can't stop the truth to be seen on the net.
wagglebee, I have no problem with EDUCATING our children about abortion or anything else. That isn't the debate here. The debate is about a teacher who crossed the line and showed something horrendous to children without parental permission. We should oppose that no matter what the subject. We can't betray our basic principles because it serves our ends. I've read your posts for over a year and I know that you would say the teacher should be fired if the agenda of this teacher had been pro-abortion. I would completely concur with you in that case.
I find it quite interesting that you are challenging that women can have a lifetime of guilt over an abortion? I am not a woman? Do women have some kind of built in defense mechanism where killing their fetus (baby) does not impact them? Being a man or woman has nothing to do with it, but it is a common attempt of idiotic women who somehow think they can exclude men from a HUMAN issue.
ping
It's hypocritical for us to be angry about homosexual "tolerance" films being shown to our children, while cheering on the teacher showing this film. The teacher was wrong to do so without the expressed consent of the parents.
But until it's in YOUR body, and all that goes along with that, the answer is no...you can NEVER understand the psychological ramifications of childbirth OR abortion.
But someone can take these teens to have actual abortions and that's OK. We just can't show them what really happens. I wonder if that was more gory than some of the horror movies kids vonuntarily pay to go see?
Ping me when you actually get a straight answer to your question.
How many jocks passed out? I keep hearing that the bigger they are, the harder they fall.
Let me ask you this: do you think it would require parental permission to vividly describe the gruesome process of abortions (especially partial birth) along with the process of disposal? Would that also be R-rated? Would the questioning of abortion policies/Roe vs. Wade be allowed?
I am just trying to figure out if you are against the showing of this film because of concern for the children or because you are pro-choice.
Because my original comment was about requiring women who are having abortions to be told of the potential risks like they are for other ELECTIVE procedures (like breast implants, liposuction, etc.).
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