An editorial from The Journal
MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — Hampshire County school officials may well have turned 50 shades of red in their embarrassment over a fiasco last week. They were right to discipline the teacher involved.
It seems that students in the teacher’s class asked if they could watch a movie – “50 Shades of Grey.” She said yes. One student obtained a DVD copy of the film and took it to school.
About 10 minutes after the showing began, an assistant principal brought down the curtain on it, after being alerted by another adult.
The teacher, who handles health occupations classes, claims she did not know what the movie is about. Hampshire County Board of Education members did not buy that. This week, they suspended her without pay for the rest of the school year.
One does not have to know “50 Shades of Grey” scene by scene to be aware it is, to put it mildly, a sexually oriented film.
Experienced high school teachers understand a substantial percentage of students are always on the lookout to put one over on the faculty. With that in mind, the teacher should have at least checked on “50 Shades” before giving her approval.
Most parents attempt to teach their children that misbehavior and mistakes have consequences. Hampshire County school officials acted appropriately in reacting to the teacher’s bad judgment.
