Teacher getting fired for Nick Berg Video

**Lohman446** · 05-19-2004, 10:24 AM

Originally posted by CaptaiN_JacK

this morning my parents were telling me about a teacher in our high school who might get fired for showing the nick berg video to a class. it is one of my favorite history teachers, and he is a brilliant teacher. in fact, i was one of the people who saw it in the class. he had it on his computer, and if you wanted to watch it you could. it pisses me off that some little sophmore complained to his parents and his parents got pissed at the school and now one of the BEST teachers in the school may get let go. this kind of stuff totally yanks my crank. the kid and his overprotective parent should be shot for ruining this guys career. some people just dont get the reality of their tattling. has this kind of thing happened in your schools?

They showed a real movie of a beheading without permission? Wouldn't that be like showing soft porn in sex ed.? Ok, maybe not but you get the idea. By the way, spend more time with your English teacher and learning how to capitalize, it will make you look smarter.

**ASDadam** · 05-19-2004, 10:27 AM

Oh for Christs sake, his capitalization has NOTHING to do with this thread, damned grammar nazis. Comment on his post not his grammar.

**cphilip** · 05-19-2004, 10:29 AM

Originally posted by ASDadam

Oh for Christs sake, his capitalization has NOTHING to do with this thread, damned grammar nazis. Comment on his post not his grammar.

Smartest thing I heard today!

**Archangel Kid** · 05-19-2004, 10:33 AM

I'm sorry but that teacher should NOT be fired. The video was bad yes, but it wasn't like the teacher forced them to watch it. The kids who chose to watch it watched it. I saw it I'm a minor, It was bad yes, but if you need therapy for that then there was already something going on. Almost every kid is curious about it, and if they wanted to see it they should be able to. It's war, and when there are countries that don't follow the rules of war things are going to happen. If they wanted to see it they should be allowed and their parents should NOT choose whether they can see it or not.

**Slimm Jimm** · 05-19-2004, 10:43 AM

Originally posted by Archangel Kid

If they wanted to see it they should be allowed and their parents should NOT choose whether they can see it or not.

I have to disagree there, it was graphic and it was REAL, my comparison above to the holocaust was that it may someday be viewed in the same light and be shown in class. I'm stating that double standards exist in our school system and that the parents should be at least notified when such a thing is displayed in school. Whether it was made 50 years ago or 3 hours ago. The parents of minors must be notified.

**shartley** · 05-19-2004, 10:56 AM

**Trigger_Happy** · 05-19-2004, 10:59 AM

Some of you say the kids weren't *forced* to watch it, but being given the *opportunity* to watch it is grounds for dismissal. This is real life, not video games. You do something stupid, you don't get a bunch of chances.

He's a great teacher? Good. He'll find a great job somewhere else. The school has perfect reason to fire him if they choose to.

**cphilip** · 05-19-2004, 11:07 AM

I think an interesting fact to be considered is Parental responsibilty is not transfered to the school or teacher. It remains with the parent. And so are certain liabilities of what the minor does. So the parent has certain legal obligations that he/she cannot get out of. And when a Teacher takes one of those on it does not transfer that responsiblity to the teacher. The parent would still be liable for what happened to that child after being exposed to that. And so must monitor and make decissions on what is appropriate or not for that particular child. If a teacher steps out of his role of deliver just what it required of him to teach the class then he/she takes on all the responsibility of the parent without any repercussions. And so it must not occur without parental consent. Its not nessicary for teaching the material approved to do what he did. So therefore its extraneous and dangerous to breach that line without full support of ALL parents. If he did not get that then he made a poor judgement call that could harm a particularly sensitive student. And not know it. He would be allowing minors to make a decission that they are not allowed to make. Simply giving the student a choice to watch it or not does not equal the parents making that choice. Certainly not. Many children may watch it due to peer pressure or wanting to fit in and then some of them may be emotionaly damaged or mentaly impared by its content. And then its too late. And the only real person that might be able to tell you if that particular child would be negatively affected by it would be the parent. And in this case was not involved in the action.

**shartley** · 05-19-2004, 11:19 AM

**Timmee** · 05-19-2004, 11:27 AM

The teacher should be severly reprimanded, but I don't believe he should be fired. While the material isn't the kind of stuff that some parents would allow their children to watch, it's current events. Also, to adress the complaint that the kids shouldn't have been given the choice, if they're curious enough about it, they'll see it regardless of what their parents say. Would you rather they see it while they're alone, unable to discuss it with anyone else, or would you rather they see it in a group setting, where they can talk about how it made them feel (so they can try to cope with the images in the video)? Personally, I'd pick choice #2.

**shartley** · 05-19-2004, 11:40 AM

Originally posted by Timmee

The teacher should be severly reprimanded, but I don't believe he should be fired. While the material isn't the kind of stuff that some parents would allow their children to watch, it's current events. Also, to adress the complaint that the kids shouldn't have been given the choice, if they're curious enough about it, they'll see it regardless of what their parents say. Would you rather they see it while they're alone, unable to discuss it with anyone else, or would you rather they see it in a group setting, where they can talk about how it made them feel (so they can try to cope with the images in the video)? Personally, I'd pick choice #2.

**Slimm Jimm** · 05-19-2004, 11:53 AM

In a perfect world this kind of stuff does not happen, but the truth is it does, and parents need to aknowledge that their children will view and hear things that they don't approve of, regardless of religion, lifestyle, or culture. Your best bet is to know how to guide that child and help them deal with the experiences. A parent is also supposed to be able to teach their children to be responsible. On the flip side, while the teacher does not (nor should they) make parental decisions for the child, they are there as a form of support for the parent and so share the responsibility of the parent in teaching the to be child responsible. The teacher needs to be able to recognize when something may be considered questionable, and in doing so help the parent by teaching (through example) good morals or at least good judgement in where certain things must be done.

**cphilip** · 05-19-2004, 11:59 AM

If my child had created a video much like this and then posted it on the net and while at school he asked all his buddies if they wanted to see it (didn't make them but) then he got found doing so and the teacher or Administrator looked at what he was showing the other kids.... who do you think it going to get the call?

Yep.... me.... Cause I am the parent.

**ZapTheMad** · 05-19-2004, 12:11 PM

I'm with Shartley. If I find out that my kid sees this crap at school, I'm filing a lawsuit. In fact, I'm going to call them and make sure it doesn't happen. This is just as bad as porn or any other material that should be banned from schools.

It's one thing to discuss it, without video, as a history lesson. The video only incites violent behavior among our children. That's something that young minds are not prepared to deal with. Can you imagine some kid bringing his dad's gun to school to kill arabic students over this? That was my first reaction to the video, kill all the MF'ers. But I'm an adult and I can deal with it maturely. Kids are much more open to make bad decisions.

**nastymag** · 05-19-2004, 01:53 PM

i dont know if a have a problem with the fact that he showed that clip but showing somthing that graphic with out parental permission wrong. he should have known there was going to be some severe consquences. i think he should be severely reprimended if not fired. He should have known nothing good could have come of it. while i dont think i would have problem with my child watching it in a class setting with a discussion, i would be very angry if i didnt receive a slip to sign.while im not a parent i do have younger sisters and sometimes i have to take the role of parent.

i think he should get fired and leave it at that, i dont believe sueing the school system is going to help at all.