San Diego teachers show beheading video to students

Two teachers at Grossmont High School in San Diego have been placed under suspension for showing video and still photos of the beheading of Nick Berg. The viewings were not sanctioned by the school, but the studets were not pre-warned, either. One teacher said words to the effect "That's what we get for going to war". Another teacher held up a picture of the decapitated head and said "Hey! Look what I have for you!". She then played the audio of Berg's screams to the class.

Here is the link to the story:

here

These teachers should lose ther jobs immediately. I think that parents have legal grounds to make their lives a living hell, also.

Job loss is the least of what should happen should they be convicted.

Corruption of a Minor for one.

Adults are one thing, but kids are another entirely.

How an adult in a position of responsibility could act so reckllessly is beyond me. I cannot think of one good reason for doing this to children. What could they possibly have been trying to achieve?

Trying to protest the war...BAH! Such a stupid and sick way

I believe that the war is unjust but for teachers to show this without prior warning is despicable. Many young people are able to deal with such things, in fact I am aware of one particular young woman with the mind of a far older person (Thats you, LC ). The point is that not everyone at that age is able to deal with it. Showing this video was not wise.

[Edited on 14-5-2004 by Pisky]

Funny how "war is good and war is necessary and we should have gone to Iraq" yet as soon as someone shows the true side of war to the public there is outrage. The purpose of school is to educate. By showing a video that shows the true face of war you are educating the high schoolers (our future) on what war really is.

They could have went about it without a political agenda and made it optional viewing, but showing the video is completely acceptable. By sheltering our youth from the truths of war, war will become depersonalized to them and they won't be able to make the proper decisions in the future regarding war. The only way to make an educated decision on war is to know what war really is.

I commend the teachers showing the video but not how they went about it.


[Edited on 14-5-2004 by Cutwolf]

I see your point, and agree with the fact that war in iraq is stupid and pointless, but the students shouldn't have been subject.

Just another nutcase teacher. This happened recently near me.

"Robert hit this little boy because he was messing with him, and his teacher, Miss Jacobs, let the little boy hit Robert and she let him hit him two or three times," DeChant said. "Every time he'd hit him, he'd say, 'That doesn't hurt.'"

The teacher then reportedly told all of the students to line up to take turns hitting Robert.

"I think probably only about five kids got to hit him, and then she made them stop because he was screaming so loud," DeChant said.

Nutty Seagoville Teacher

This is sickening. Dont try to argue that these teachers were tryin to educate!! This is clearly a case of where they wanted to further their political views. And i dont see the teachers goin into class and sayin the war is a good thing. I mean i really dont feel like this video has any place in the class room But if it did they should have told the students about it and got the parents to sign a permission slip. These teachers should be fired immediately and legal action should be pursued. And for the one teacher promoting hitting that kid the same thing should happen.

Originally posted by Cutwolf
Funny how "war is good and war is necessary and we should have gone to Iraq" yet as soon as someone shows the true side of war to the public there is outrage. The purpose of school is to educate. By showing a video that shows the true face of war you are educating the high schoolers (our future) on what war really is.

They could have went about it without a political agenda and made it optional viewing, but showing the video is completely acceptable. By sheltering our youth from the truths of war, war will become depersonalized to them and they won't be able to make the proper decisions in the future regarding war. The only way to make an educated decision on war is to know what war really is.

I commend the teachers showing the video but not how they went about it.


[Edited on 14-5-2004 by Cutwolf]

Even without the political objectives it is wrong.

Parents are fully within their rights to approve of the material taught to their children, and in such are excersizing their right to exclude their child from anything they deem inappropriate to them.

That is their right and freedom.

Children are not adults and it is not their choice on what to be taught (which they didn't even give them that much).

I say release all things to the public, and let the parents censure their own kids.

I do agree that parents should (being a parent myself) remove the warm and fuzzy goggles most American kids have be trained with and show the reality of the world.

But how and when should be left to them. We can only tell parents what they should do, not force them.

Originally posted by Cutwolf

I commend the teachers showing the video but not how they went about it.

[Edited on 14-5-2004 by Cutwolf]

Anyone that would commend a teacher for such a stupid move has got their head up their ass. You're an idiot.

I agree with you jethro. But i say let your kids have the fuzzy goggles on while they are young. They have teh rest of their lives to see teh real world. Just let them be kids

Originally posted by Cutwolf
I commend the teachers showing the video but not how they went about it.[Edited on 14-5-2004 by Cutwolf]

I don't care what these teacher's agenda was, showing a snuff film to minor's is wrong. I hope they lose their licenses to teach.

These kids were in 9th grade, just so everyone has a point of reference.

Just curious - how is this any different than me being forced to see images from WWII or the Holocaust (or else not being able to pass the test and thus failing the unit)? Because it is recent it is wrong? I recall having to watch a video with the Nazis tossing bodies from the concentration camps into a pit. How is that different or any less "offensive?" Simply because he is an American? A bit of a double standard here, don't you think?

If the teachers went about it in a politically unbiased, educational, historical manner, there would be nothing wrong with it. If the kids were offended they could leave the class. I've seen it done in my school.

Originally posted by Cutwolf
Just curious - how is this any different than me being forced to see images from WWII or the Holocaust (or else not being able to pass the test and thus failing the unit)? Because it is recent it is wrong? I recall having to watch a video with the Nazis tossing bodies from the concentration camps into a pit. How is that different or any less "offensive?" Simply because he is an American? A bit of a double standard here, don't you think?

If the teachers went about it in a politically unbiased, educational, historical manner, there would be nothing wrong with it. If the kids were offended they could leave the class. I've seen it done in my school.

i think they're a difference between watching film of dead people and actually watching someone GET killed.

both are bad IMO but i truly think watching it happen is far worse.

however these are still minors.

curme trying to give a point of reference by telling us what grade they are in is immateriel. their parents should be deciding what their children see, especially when it comes to this. minors especially teenagers are impressionable and idealistic. now i wasnt shown any footage of any sort when i was in school but i still knew war was bad and wrong. now how did i come to that conclusion without being shown these sorts of images?

if they show this why not show them people smoking crack? why not show them the worse things you can find? after all why stop at just this? this is about the worst thing you can show them. why dont we show them executions so as to help "educate" them about how bad crime is? why dont we show them footage of a smack addict "drying out" to show them how bad drugs are?

showing these things to YOUR kids might be fine and dandy but i wasnt shown these things but i still knew how bad and wrong these things were. it doesnt take the showing of someone getting their head cut off to make a person learn that cutting someone's head is wrong!


here's a question and maybe someone here can explain this to me. why didnt any teachers shopw footage of saddams thugs killing iraqi citizens (you know, those executions where's they're tied to stakes blinded folded and shot numerous time)? why didnt any teacher show the students the atrocities of what kim jong il has done to his people? why not show what the victims of war look like in wars where america hasnt been involved? since this is a lesson in showing them how bad things are in the real world why not give them a slice of it from all over the world? why only one? show them the atrocities of mass murder in africa! show it all if you're going to show this sort of thing to them. be consistant!

lets not be biased if you're going to show them traumatizing images show them all, not the ones YOU want them to see so as to mold their minds to YOUR point of view.

kids have a hard enough time as it is growing up, the last thing they need is THIS crap in their face. its bad enough some of them go home and see this sort of thing on their own streets. let them be kids and let them learn about reading writing and math. the rest they'll learn as adults anyway and you know it.

(edited for spelling and i probably missed some...so excuse me! :duh

[Edited on 15-5-2004 by ThePrankMonkey]

Even if they WERE allowed to show it, it still wouldn't have helped. It would have just built upmore anger for Iraqi's. LIke a girl in my class is so close-minded, I am not surprised but here are some things she say.

"Lets Bomb all of Iraq I hate them".

And the worst was

"Iraq is filled with nothing but animals".

So most likely this video will spawn hate, or a sick stomach

Good point to the person who asked about watching WWII videos with dead bodies being thrown in a pile and set on fire. Videos or pictures of jews being led to the gas chamber. Or one I saw in school, pictures and video of the Rape of Nanking. The teacher isn't in trouble. Why should these two? Cause it is recent? Or cause it makes the Bush Admin. look bad? I swear, if you make Bush look bad, you screwed. A coomercial on local radio had a joke about Bush and were ad. for their resteraunt. Guess what happened? The commercial is banned by the FCC. Howard Stern has a radio show for years, but once he says stuff bad about Bush, he gets banned. A show of Bob and Tom Show got Bob and Tom fined cause they had a guest on who made fun of Bush. In other words, don't mess with Bush cause then he sends the FCC on you.

What also is a problem, when you say these kids have a fuzzy view, is the teachers using those pictures for their Political agenda Just because , the you believe its wrong, the teachers believe it wrong , doesnt mean you say look see this is what happens you get beheaded. YOu want to show that 6 million Jews Got murders or 10 Millions russians or what happend on D-day, that fine.

But it is not there place to slip there agenda to these open minds, let them choose for themselves, I sure they knew all about the beheading and didnt need to see the graphics or at least again it should have been the kids decsion to see..

I'm no right wing, I'm a democrat, but Damm I hate them Hippy F U C K S

curme trying to give a point of reference by telling us what grade they are in is immateriel.

I think it is material. It staves off a lot of arguements. I personally think the teachers were wrong. But some posters
will say that kids of a certain age should see it. I cannot see how, adding more information can be immaterial. It will save some immaterial postings.

EDIT: When I was in elementary school, I remember watching live, the hostages being released when Reagon was elected. When Challenger exploded, we saw it on tv and then ran outside to watch it in the sky (I lived in Florida at the time). And I remember when Reagon was shot, my Thundercats, or whatever I was watching, was interupted. Really got me mad! Just for a point of reference.

[Edited on 15-5-2004 by curme]