I’m ashamed to mention on what TV show I saw this, but hey – porn star.
Here’s the story: A young woman with a drinking problem and three kids decides to make end meet by starring in some adult films. After a short retirement, she makes more films. Ten years later, a couple of high school boys turn up said films on the internet (also available on DVD), and lo and behold, it turns out to be their science teacher. She has since reformed her ways, gotten a masters, turned her life over to Jesus, and was considered one of the best teachers in the school.
Until she got fired.
On this show it was unanimously agreed that there was no worse sin, no greater exploitation, no greater evil than porn. Kicking puppies is more moral.
On the one hand, some people stated that while porn = Satanism, America is a country of second chances, and no one should have their past held against them. On the other, some people said that teachers should be role models, and hormonal boys could never again take this woman seriously, and she should be barred from teaching forever. After all, would you want your child in her classroom?
I would qubble that America is not all about second chances, its all about having the choice to take a chance in the first place.
If the woman is a qualified and skilled science teacher, I could care less if she was a porn star or the papal nuncio. People change jobs, people find their niche, some people never do. Along the same lines people experiment, with jobs, with finances, with forms of sexual expression, none of those experiments brand you permanently as unworthy of being good at something else. If she knows her stuff, and can convey it into young minds in a way that they will retain it, can we as a society afford NOT to let her teach?
As my second cousin is a rather famous former porn star, and an extremely intelligent person who has written several interesting books and is active in political advocacy, I would say I would be fine with having my (hypothetical child) taught by a former porn star, as long as he/she was as intelligent as my cousin.
That said, my cousin is not ashamed of her past and would not try to hide it from an employer, so this situation would never arise.
Unless she was involved in underage porn (which I’m assuming she’s not), I don’t see how her past career presents any danger to her students. If she wasn’t doing underage boys when her business would sex, why would she be doing them now that her business is science?
We in the U.S. spend far too much energy condemning sex and not nearly enough condemning violence. Kids would be far better off if they had more sex education available and less wailing and gnashing of teeth on the subject.
It seems to me that the underage kids who saw the DVD and spreading it around the school were the only ones doing anything wrong or breaking any laws. Why weren’t they expelled for illegally distributing pornography to minors on school grounds? That football player sounds like a dick. Amazing that all these people can be so vocal about the evils of performing in the porn industry but have no problem with their kids passing the DVDs around at aschool.
I like the way the blogger on the linked site tries to argue that the teacher deserves a second chance only because she “regrets” her prior life decisions. Why the hell should she be required to regret it? Even the people who support this woman (both on the blog and on the Dr. Phil show) are still acting like she’s an ex-convict or something who deserves a 'second chance." What are they talking about? When did she lose her FIRST chance? As far as ai can tell, she never did anything illegal and she has nothing to atone for or be sorry about.
I don’t see any problem. Our public school system is teeming with talented and enthusiastic teachers in important subjects such as math and science, which is why we are one of the world leaders in such fields. One less teacher, regardless of her performance reviews, won’t make much difference.
Like Pochacco, I wouldn’t have a problem with an ex-porn star teaching my child science… but I would have a problem with a religious science teacher. Go fig.
Now that I think about it, my high school drama teacher was in a very, very bad movie before she taught- a low budget horror movie spoof called “Student Bodies” (she played the blonde english teacher, as I recall). Her acting was so bad, I’d rather have had a pornstar than that teacher, teaching high school drama.
I’m frankly getting more than a little annoyed at America hypocrisy towards sex. We use it for advertising. You can see sex, or at least innuendo, everywhere you go. Everyone has sex, even closeted homosexual Baptist ministers… and yet, if anyone actually admits to having sex, they’re suddenly evil.
I wonder if that school district would’ve had a problem with the teacher had she killed someone while DUI, eleven year previous?
If she had become a Catholic nun, there would be no problem with her teaching biology or astronomy. The Catholic Church got over its problems with modern science a while back.
And my children are now grown up – with one of them a high-school teacher, though no porn-acting in her CV – but I see no problems with her being a teacher.
I saw that one! It’s on my list of “Movies So Bad They’re Almost, But Not Quite, Good.” Your summation of her acting is on the money. Most porn stars are better actors.
I used to have Student Bodies on tape when I was in high school. I lived in Africa and entertainment options were limited. I actually remember the movie as having a couple of laugh in it. Something about horsehead bookends.