R-rated Movie Costs Teacher His Job

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution — Ed Youngblood said he never considered the rating of the movie "Elizabeth" when he showed it to his English literature class. "I didn't think about it being R-rated," he said. "It's such a good movie."

That decision has cost the popular South Gwinnett High School teacher his job. Youngblood, 62, said he resigned Wednesday after being given the choice of stepping down or being fired by Gwinnett County Public Schools.

The resignation has upset many current and former students at South Gwinnett. "I understand that Mr. Youngblood broke a rule and you have to be punished, but I wouldn't expect him to be forced out for this," said Marcus Spencer, a former student who now attends Georgia State University.

Gwinnett County Public Schools spokeswoman Sloan Roach said she does not know if Youngblood was given that ultimatum. She said that Youngblood chose to resign after being told that an investigation had begun. "It was clear that he did not follow the process," Roach said.

Youngblood taught for 37 years before retiring at the end of the 2004-2005 school year. He continued working this year on a part-time basis, teaching British literature and Advanced Placement English. He is known as a demanding but popular teacher. "If anybody were to give him substandard work, he'd let you know all about it," said South Gwinnett alumnus Jonathan Townley, a junior at Georgia Tech. "He expected better things from us."

Youngblood showed the movie as the class was beginning study of the Elizabethan period. Released in 1998, the movie is a portrayal of Queen Elizabeth I of England. The Motion Picture Association of America gave it an R rating for violence and sexuality. Youngblood said he had shown it once before with no complaints.

Gwinnett teachers are required to submit unapproved teaching materials to a board of students, teachers and parents for review. The board can approve or deny the usage of the material, or mandate that the teachers first gain parental permission. Youngblood showed the movie without going through any of those steps, Roach said. "Teachers know it's there and know if they want to bring in something that is not a part of approved instructional material, then this is how they need to go about doing it," Roach said.

Roach said that after the movie was shown two weeks ago, the school and the county office received complaints. That prompted an investigation.

At a meeting with a county school official last Wednesday, Youngblood said he was prepared to apologize in writing to parents and teachers. But Youngblood said he was told he had a choice between resigning or being fired and he had five minutes to make his decision. "I couldn't believe it," Youngblood said, who added that he chose to resign to not jeopardize other opportunities.

Spencer said he and others are considering some form of protest in hopes of restoring their former teacher.

It is at least the second instance of a teacher resigning after showing an R-rated movie at the school. In 2002, two special-education teachers were forced to resign after showing the 1981 comedy "History of the World Part I."

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Geeeeeeeeeee-zus. My friend Nathan sent me this article with the subject head "People suck." Indeed they do. I can't tell you how angry this makes me. Yeah, sure rules are made to be followed, etc. etc., but this is beyond ludicrous. In this day and age how many fuckin' teachers out there have stayed with their job for 37 years? The man obviously takes pride in his job, so what, we toss him out on his ass for showing a 'R'-rated movie to his high school English Lit. class? Gimme a fuckin' break! With more than half of 15- to 19-year-olds already sexually active, something as nominal as culture is going to send them reeling towards the fire and brimstone? Puhlease!

I remember when I was in high school, our French teacher showed us 2 'PG'-rated French films, Jean de Florette and it's sequel Manon des sources (Manon of the Spring). Manon had an oh-so-brief scene where you saw the nude backside of the lead character bathing in a waterfall. Pfft. Big deal! She (the teacher) even "warned" us ahead of time, just in case anyone with sensitive capabilities needed to be elsewhere during its showing. We were all mature enough to handle it. Afterwards, none of us were in need of extensive therapy nor was our teacher subjected to hours of mandatory "sensitivty training."

And that's what pisses me off the most, I think. The retarded parents who pitched a fit over this. I could understand the lone student (there's always one...more today, I'm sure) who lives in a fuckin' vacuum and craves attention. We had those in our school "back in the day" as well. You know the types: The kids (usually girls) who get the vapors in Biology class during the reproduction lecture, complete with visuals of the uterus (gasp!) and the penis (huh?). The ones who think masturbation is "gross" and don't do that. One of ours was named Andrea. The mere reference to masturbation sent her reeling into a symphony of "ews" and "that's disgusting." She claimed she never masturbated. Yeah, right, Andrea. Now she has multiple children. She must be the proud owner of Magic Vag™, from the makers of "Intelligent" Design™.

My point is that parents and their biproducts are too goddamn sensitive. Now I know what generations before me meant when they say they miss "the good ol' days." I miss them too. Back when people had bigger things to worry about than catching a glimpse of boob at the Super Bowl and/or whether or not their children get taught some fairy tale concept of evolution. Bring on the unicorns and rainbows!

I know I have a handful of educators who read my blog on occasion. I'd be interested in what they have to say about Gen whY (AKA Echo Boom/Byte Block/Internet Generation/South Park Generation/Babies On Board/Millennial Generation)/Gen Z. I know the consensus among my friends and I are that one thing is for certain: Neither can spell for shit.

- Part 2 of my rant about 'The Pussy Generation' coming on Monday.