Kimberly Fernetti, a school teacher from North Carolina's North Lincoln High School, was suspended from her position after showing her class a video that highlights the harm of LGBT+ bullying.
Ms Fernetti showed her class the popular video 'Love is All You Need', which follows a young girl in a world where homosexuaity is seen as the norm who falls in love with someone of the opposite gender. The film shows the girl bullied and harassed for liking a boy to the point where she takes her own life at the end.
The film has attracted huge amounts of praise for its portrayal of homophobic bullying and the effect that it can have on people. The short has also been praised for doing so by using the simple method of flipping the scenario to have hetrosexual people abused for their sexuality to show the ridiculousness of homophobic bullying.
Unfortunately, a number of the parents of Ms Fernetti's students complained about the video being shown in her class, resulting in the school suspending her whilst they launched an investigation into the incident.
A number of the parents cited the depiction of the girl taking her own life as the reason for the complaints, though several people involved in the matter have speculated that the complaints may have originated with the fact that the film sends the message that homosexuality is okay, and that it should be treated the same as heterosexuality.
Whilst parents have complained about the film, students from Ms Fernetti's class have praised it. One student told news station WSOC-TV, 'I think it's a great message to get out in the school. I personally have dealt with bullying, so I think it's good to get the point across that 'Hey, it's not okay to pick on somebody'.'
Ms Fernetti's suspension has since ended, however, no official comment has yet been made regarding the incident.
No comments:
Post a Comment