Teacher jailed for showing high school class violent movie

[Jazzy]

A former substitute teacher convicted of showing a movie including graphic sex and violence to a high school class was sentenced on Wednesday to 90 days in jail.

Sheila Kearns, who was convicted in January of four felony counts, apologized in court, saying she hadn't watched the movie before showing it to her Spanish classes at Columbus' East High School in April 2013. The movie, "The ABCs of Death," consists of 26 chapters, each depicting some form of grisly death and representing a letter of the alphabet, such as "E is for Exterminate," ''O is for Orgasm" and "T is for Toilet."

Kearns, who showed the movie during five periods of the class, was convicted of disseminating matter harmful to juveniles. The Columbus Dispatch reported the judge placed her on probation for three years but made the jail time a condition of probation.

Kearns, 58, contended she was unaware of the movie's content. Her attorney said she never would have knowingly showed it.

But a student testified Kearns watched the 129-minute movie. The student said the movie was "disturbing" and said students in the class went "crazy" while watching it.

An assistant principal who saw the DVD movie playing in the classroom confiscated it.

Prosecutors said the movie's title should have tipped off Kearns that she should check it out before showing it to her students, who ranged in age from 14 to 18.

Source

Did this teacher deserve to be jailed for showing this movie? Why/Why not?

 

[MrDawn]

I have no idea why she was showing it to kids in a class room. I don't buy her story for not having ever seen it. I do think appropriate action is being taken. Some shows and movies they do have laws, even copyright laws that are not allowed to be shown in a public school.

 

[seasidemike]

I don't know about being jailed, that's a bit harsh, but certainly fired

 

[Webster]

Did this teacher deserve to be jailed for showing this movie? Why/Why not?

Did she deserve to be jailed or given probation? No, probably not.
Did she deserve to lose her job over it? No, but given the "sensibilities" of the local populace, it wasn't surprising.

 

[DrLeftover]

OK, let me see here, "ABC's of Death", which she didn't watch beforehand, in Spanish class, not once, but five times.

Got it.

Homeschooling, definitely looking better.

 

[Dee]

I don't think she should have been jailed, but taking her license away or just suspending her would have been fine. Honestly, jail time for this is too harsh a punishment. Had she caused bodily harm to a student or done something else inappropriate, that would've made more sense.

 

[WHO IS SERAFIN]

If it would have just been sex the liberals would have been cool with it. But the violence part well thats just going to far dammit!

The teacher should be doing some time in jail and never teach again.

 

[Gizmo]

The movie is crappy so I am confused as to why she would show it in the first place.

 

[Ashley]

I have no idea why she was showing it to kids in a class room. I don't buy her story for not having ever seen it. I do think appropriate action is being taken. Some shows and movies they do have laws, even copyright laws that are not allowed to be shown in a public school.  

I agree with Richard. She really should have viewed the show herself before showing it to her kids. I don't watch nasty movies like that and I wouldn't want to watch anything like that in school, either.

 

[Nebulous]

Aren't substitute teachers supposed to simply follow the sub plans left for them by actual teacher? Who told her to show it?

 

[Webster]

Aren't substitute teachers supposed to simply follow the sub plans left for them by actual teacher? Who told her to show it?

Good question....

 

[Jazzy]

I don't get why she was showing a movie unrelated to Spanish in a Spanish class. Perhaps they couldn't find a sub who could teach Spanish and the regular teacher had a huge emergency and didn't leave a lesson plan. I'd also like to know where this sub got the movie. Oh well, at least she wasn't having sex with them.