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FORT WORTH, Texas - An elementary school teacher was disciplined for showing her fifth-graders parts of the R-rated film "Amistad" during a lesson on slavery.
On Jan. 25, Larue Washington showed her Ridglea Hills Elementary class clips from the 1997 Steven Spielberg film depicting slaves en route to the Americas, including a scene in which a character was stabbed, district officials said.
Washington failed to follow school board policy requiring commercial movies to be reviewed and approved by the school principal, the district said.
Washington failed to follow school board policy requiring commercial movies to be reviewed and approved by the school principal, the district said.
The policy also prohibits showing any portions of an R-rated movie, and the principal would not have approved the film, district spokeswoman Barbara Griffith said. Letters explaining what happened were sent to parents this week, Griffith said.
Washington, who has taught for 27 years, declined to comment. The school district did not disclose what disciplinary action was taken.
"Amistad," released in 1997 and starring Morgan Freeman and Anthony Hopkins, is based on the true story of the 1839 revolt by Africans aboard the slave ship Amistad and the ensuing court case against them.
Larry Shaw, executive director of the United Educators Association, said Washington was trying to give students a sense of what life was like on a slave ship. He said it's not uncommon for teachers to forget to submit movie clips for approval since they are not showing a whole movie for entertainment.
Last May, officials in the Alvarado school district apologized after teachers showed fifth-graders a clip from "Saving Private Ryan," another R-rated Spielberg movie, this one about D-Day. Also last year, a teacher in the Birdville district was suspended after showing the Gulf War movie "Jarhead" to a high school class.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070202/ap_on_re_us/teacher_disciplined_film
On Jan. 25, Larue Washington showed her Ridglea Hills Elementary class clips from the 1997 Steven Spielberg film depicting slaves en route to the Americas, including a scene in which a character was stabbed, district officials said.
Washington failed to follow school board policy requiring commercial movies to be reviewed and approved by the school principal, the district said.
Washington failed to follow school board policy requiring commercial movies to be reviewed and approved by the school principal, the district said.
The policy also prohibits showing any portions of an R-rated movie, and the principal would not have approved the film, district spokeswoman Barbara Griffith said. Letters explaining what happened were sent to parents this week, Griffith said.
Washington, who has taught for 27 years, declined to comment. The school district did not disclose what disciplinary action was taken.
"Amistad," released in 1997 and starring Morgan Freeman and Anthony Hopkins, is based on the true story of the 1839 revolt by Africans aboard the slave ship Amistad and the ensuing court case against them.
Larry Shaw, executive director of the United Educators Association, said Washington was trying to give students a sense of what life was like on a slave ship. He said it's not uncommon for teachers to forget to submit movie clips for approval since they are not showing a whole movie for entertainment.
Last May, officials in the Alvarado school district apologized after teachers showed fifth-graders a clip from "Saving Private Ryan," another R-rated Spielberg movie, this one about D-Day. Also last year, a teacher in the Birdville district was suspended after showing the Gulf War movie "Jarhead" to a high school class.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070202/ap_on_re_us/teacher_disciplined_film
