CNN.com - Teacher suspended for showing 'Passion' clips - Mar 8, 2004

Read the article first. Then ask the questions.

While it might look like a man was unjustly condemned for showing portions of a "religious film" to students - at first, like cutting out parts of the Pledge of Allegiance, or removing the 10 Commandments in Alabama, something that might be protected under a freedom of speech kind of defense - there are still a couple of things wrong.

• Showing an R-rated film to under-aged students without parent's permission - I'd have a problem with that.
  
• Having an illegal (probably, unless he showed clips from the trailers) copy of the film.
  
• Not at least advising parents that this was coming, letting them know that they might consider dialogue in their own homes in some way, or asking them to consider allowing their kids an alternative if they felt it was inappropriate.

Those are just the questions I come up with, mostly in response as a parent. Yes, it could be a part of a broader social studies discussion - but this was the wrong film to preview, even if there were no violent scenes shown (which means that only "teaching" and flashback scenes were shown, which is a whole 'nother religious bugaboo).

I can defend his right to show even the teaching scenes to students. But not this particular film to minors, and not this possibly illegal copy of a currently released blockbuster. Ethically, you're teaching truth while lying, teaching them to honor mom and dad while you dishonor their parents. Doesn't work for me.
- posted by Rick @ 16:10