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.
That's a ridiculous argument. I'm just saying you can't say you KNOW what is in a woman's mind after an abortion. You just can't. Period. Like I'll never know what a man's orgasm feels like. It's just a biological fact.
Lying MSM weasels.
The teacher did the right thing. He showed the kids what some disturbed people do to their and other's little ones.
He should be commended. I wish there were more like him.
10 and 11 year old kids?
I'm sorry. That's just stupid.
I didn't need to be shown a video with pictures of abortions on it to be against abortion when I was 10 or 11.
This will harm the pro-life movement more than it helps.
The truth about abortion:
http://www.renewamerica.us/news/061028sd2.htm
Simply repeating the same assertion does not address the distinction between understanding something exhaustively and understanding something truly. A doctor does not have to have access to the private, de se knowledge, or consciousness of a patient to be able to treat the patient. A psychologist does not have to have mental disorders in order to understand them. By your logic, though, I guess there should be no male physiologists or obstetricians, or for that matter, abortionists.
Cordially,
If you want to hear what over 2000 women testified as to the incredible harm abortion did to them, this is a good link:
http://www.voteyesforlife.com/docs/Task_Force_Report.pdf
oh yea, a study funded by an advocacy group....I always waste my time reading those.
As long as the parents were upset over graphic images in general and not just the abortion pictures, then I would agree - they have a right to know this stuff is being shown and to have their children excused from the class. If they are whining only because they didn't like it that abortion pictures were included, then too bad.
Cordially,
Women are greatly impacted by abortion both psychologically and physically. It's something they can't shake for the rest of their lives (even if they try to pretend it was a 'smart decision').
He probably considers it an 'art film.' According to the article, there were images of other things besides abortion, e.g. the holocast.
F'ing moron. Hope they fire his ass.
Then ask: pro-life.
But kids (certainly not 10~11 year olds) don't need exposure to images or subjects (Right or Left) that have nothing to do with the basic reasons they are in public schools: reading, writing, arithmatic, history.
How would you like it if this guy, instead of being a pro-life advocate, intent on teaching children the evilness of abortion, was a pro-homosexual advocate and made a movie showing two men "demonstrating their love" in graphic pictures. I mean, that's what it looks like, why shouldn't 10 year olds see it?
You are correct that parents don't want to face these things, but the way sex ed was introduced into the schools in the first place was to "compensate" for the bad parents out there. It has been nothing but downhill since.
Ah, I see.
But you can ASK her.
It was a Task Force appointed by the SD Legislature and the Governor. Their findings were what the State of South Dakota based their ban of abortion on.
By the way, there was a representative of Planned Barrenhood on the Task Force.
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.