Cannonsburg — An English teacher at Boyd County High School showed part of the movie “Brokeback Mountain” to students in her advanced placement class last week, said one of the students in the class.
The showing has angered some parents in a district already up in arms over anti-harassment training focusing on sexual orientation.
“This is a really bad time for all this to have happened,” said Kelley Smith, whose son Chris, 17, was in the class. “If she wanted to show it in class she should have gotten parents’ permission and if some students wanted to see it, it should have been their choice.”
Teacher Ann Qualls showed about the first 15 to 20 minutes of the Oscar-winning movie about the romantic relationship between two Wyoming sheepherders, Chris Smith said.
Qualls announced her intention to show the movie, handed out some background papers, and then started the movie, he said.
After 15 or 20 minutes Qualls stopped the movie and switched to a documentary on the special features menu of the DVD, he said.
No sexually explicit scenes were shown, he said.
He and some of his classmates would have preferred to leave but no one asked or tried to leave for fear of being labeled homophobic, he said. “It’s against my beliefs. That’s why God made a man and a woman ... It shouldn’t even be allowed in schools,” he said.
On Friday Qualls told the class some parents had complained to superintendent Howard K. Osborne and that she anticipated a possible suspension, Chris Smith said. “She said she didn’t give a s--- about it,” he said.
Qualls didn’t show any more of the movie that day, he said.
Smith didn’t attend school Monday or Wednesday and school was out Tuesday because of the election so he doesn’t know whether Qualls showed parts of the movie this week.
Qualls could not be reached for comment Wednesday. She was not in school, Osborne said.
Osborne said her absence was not due to a disciplinary action and that he didn’t know why she was not in school.
The district has launched an investigation and will be interviewing people today, he said.
He said he didn’t know who, including students, would be interviewed. “Whoever we need to with the inquiry.”
The movie won’t be shown again at school, Osborne said. He said he didn’t know whether school policy requires gaining permission to show a movie in class.
Chris Smith didn’t attend school Monday or Wednesday because those were the days the anti-harassment video was shown, Kelley Smith said.
“My children are sick. If they don’t attend, it’s an unexcused absence, so my children are sick,” she said.
Kelley Smith said her children won’t attend the training at all and that many other parents feel the same. “I’m not the only one, apparently, to keep my child home.”
Qualls appears in the anti-harassment video, leading students in a roundtable discussion.
Under the terms of an agreement that settled a lawsuit against the district, the anti-harassment training is mandatory for all students in the high school and Boyd County Middle School.
The settlement has angered many in the district who believe the training reflects a pro-gay bias.
MIKE JAMES can be reached at mjames@dailyindependent.com or at (606) 326-2652.
Local News
Related Photos
Discussion
Parents, students broiling at Boyd
Teacher shows ‘Brokeback’ to high schoolers
- Local News
-
-
Fun with paint after a hard week
After a week of state testing, one local elementary rewarded their fifth graders with a surprise visit from the Pottery Place. Oakview Elementary students were able to design and paint a ceramic tile with the help of instructors.
-
Work on Judd Plaza flagpole base begins
A group of third generation bricklayers is more than willing to give back to the Ashland community this week.
-
Ashland man arrested on heroin charges
An Ashland man was arrested Monday night on charges of trafficking in heroin, according to a release from the Ashland Police Department.
-
Crews dig through night after deadly Okla. twister
Spotlights bore down on massive piles of shredded cinder block, insulation and metal as crews worked through the night lifting bricks and parts of collapsed walls where a monstrous tornado barreled through the Oklahoma City suburbs, demolishing an elementary school and reducing homes to piles of splintered wood. At least 51 people were killed, including at least 20 children, and those numbers were expected to climb, officials said Tuesday.
-
Principal's demotion hearing to be public
An appeal hearing for demoted Wurtland Elementary School principal Barbara Cook will be open to the public at Cook’s request.
-
AT&T to hire 140 workers at East Park
For the next few months, AT&T officials have announced they will hire 20 people per month until they have filled 140 customer-service positions at the East Park Call Center in the industrial park between Grayson and Ashland.
-
Boards close to agreement on students
The Greenup and Russell school districts are close to an agreement on families that want to send their children to school out of their own district.
-
Memory Days to start Thursday
Memory Days volunteers invite everyone to “Come to Grayson to remember and be remembered,” during this year’s 43rd annual festival Thursday through Sunday.
-
Man arrested for using forged checks
The following information was taken from Ashland Police Department reports:
-
What's happening: 5/21/13
Cruzin on the Plaza will be Friday through Sunday at Pullman Plaza.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Fun with paint after a hard week
Tim Cook Defends Apple's Tax Accounting
AP Photograher: 'It Was a Miracle' They Got Out
Raw: Crews Search for Survivors of Okla. Tornado
Raw: Tearful Reunion After Okla. Tornado
OKC Hospital Describes Treating Tornado Wounded
Obama Pledges Urgent Aid for Tornado Victims
Raw: Massive Funnel Clouds in Oklahoma
