🏳️🌈🍿🏫 Disney Movie Debacle Dethrones District: Teacher Triumphs, Investigation Implodes
TL:DR; 🔥 What’s in a movie? In Florida, maybe more than you’d expect. A controversy exploded when a first-year teacher, Jenna Barbee, showed a Disney film, “Strange World” in her fifth-grade class, leading to her being under investigation by the school district and the state Department of Education. But hold up – the plot thickens! The school district’s investigation has now closed, with the state’s still ongoing. Barbee argues the film was relevant to her lesson on ecosystems and the environment, but the ‘big bad wolf’ here seems to be the portrayal of Disney’s first openly gay character. 🎥🌳🏳️🌈
A sizzling Florida saga of education and film censorship is taking a dramatic turn. Jenna Barbee, a rookie teacher who dared to expose her students to a Disney movie “Strange World” during a class lesson at Winding Waters K-8 school, is finally seeing some light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. The Hernando County School Board has closed its investigation into the incident. The Florida Department of Education, however, is still keeping its detective hat on. 🧢🕵️♀️📚
When Barbee initially showed the movie, she claimed that her intentions were purely academic. Barbee told students to grab their popcorn and pay attention because the film directly tied into their ecosystem and environment studies. 🍿🌍 But could it be the appearance of Disney’s first openly gay character that really stirred the pot? 🏳️🌈🤔
So, how did this film become a classroom scandal? 🎥🔍 Here’s a little backstory. After Barbee showed the movie, a student blabbered to their mom (who conveniently happens to be a member of the school board) about the film being shown. The mom and school board member, Shannon Rodriguez, was not exactly thrilled and reported the incident to the Florida Department of Education. Cue dramatic music as the school system opened its own investigation. 🎵🔎
Now, does this sound like Barbee was out to corrupt the minds of young students or merely trying to bring a creative element to the classroom environment? Regardless, she insists there was no school protocol in place for clearing individual movies and felt the signed permission slips from parents were enough. 🎬📝 But was she right?
Florida law bans the instruction of certain LGBTQ topics in schools, a controversial legislation Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis dubbed as “parental rights.” Some critics have unaffectionately labeled it the “Don’t Say Gay” law. Originally, it only targeted kindergarten through third grade, but recent developments saw its extension to all school grades, including Barbee’s fifth-grade class. Unbeknownst to Barbee, the law had become an unexpected bear trap. 🐻🚫🏳️🌈
Barbee’s encounter with the law and school politics led her to decide not to return to the district next year. She had already put in her resignation a week before the incident, citing “politics and the fear of not being able to be who you are” in the public school system. 👩🏫🏳️🌈💔
Meanwhile, a call for justice among the people of Hernando County is brewing as a petition urging the removal of Rodriguez from the school board has gathered over 16,000 signatures on Change.org. Shelby Waym
