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.
So you would prefer to leave kids thinking that abortion is nothing more than removing an inconvenient lump of cells?
Was it "The Silent Scream"?
No, when I was 18. Yes, showing to young children is not good. But I think teens 16 and over should see this- it is reality.
exactly
If they are being instructed on how to have sex (which is what sex ed is all about), then they should definitely see a film about one extremely common result of having sex: abortion.
I don't support showing this kind of material to kids under 16. But I do think that if teens over 16 saw this, it might make them think twice about a lot of things.
There is a big difference between stating that you believe abortion is wrong and imposing a graphic video on children age 10 and 11 without parental permission.
If an anti-war teacher decides to show a graphic video of war casualties to your 10 year old in order to promote his or her agenda without parental notice or permission, would you be ok with that? Because this opens the door to all kinds of explicit videos in the name of "education".
I completely agree.
I would support this teacher if it was high school government, current events, or other social studies.
But, this was very young kids in art class.
It was not content-appropriate.
That said, his suspension should be temporary.
filmed abortion = "snuff" film (albeit a legally sanctioned one)
I wonder if any of your classmates reacted the same way you did.
You don't think R-rated stuff should be shown in school? You are a bit wacko.
There are many movies, especially in history, that would make a big influence on the study of it and help kids understand it better.....and many are R-rated.
Should they be shown in elementary or middle school? No. But, in high school? Yes.
Obviously the kids are too young. However, I gather that there would have been objections if the kids had been high school seniors, kids old enough to have abortions without the consent of their parents.
In high school. After all, the courts allow 14-year olds to have abortions with parents having no say in the matter.
I've seen this picture. I wouldn't be showing the film to 11 year olds, but I could imagine showing this picture to 11 year olds.
The name might be the The Silent Scream.
I'm pro-life and I would not let my 10 year old see this film - nor do I want him to see pictures of lynchings and genocide. 16 sounds about right.
What you can do for younger children is show them pictures of babies in the womb, teach fetal development. That way they will know what is being killed in an abortion.
And if they see pictures of aborted children later - they will see more than blood, that might be all the ignorant see.
Mrs VS
I was responding to someone else's comments about a parent who SUPPORTS showing the video.
Yep. They did. Even the guys were shocked.
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