Although it's important to teach the next generation about the dangers of extremism in any form, when it comes to filling school-age children in about ISIS, there are limits. A Utah junior high school teacher learned this when parents complained after students were instructed to draw propaganda posters for the Islamic State, and now a New York middle-school teacher is in a similar situation. According to the New York Post, Alexiss Nazario, a teacher at South Bronx Academy for Applied Media, was almost fired—but was let off with a $300 fine—after she showed her middle-school class a video of Islamic State terrorists beheading a journalist and told them, "This is what's going on in the real world."
Investigators reportedly spoke to three eighth graders who said that the actual beheading was blacked out, but the video did show the man's severed head placed on top of his own chest. "I’m scared at what I just saw," one student said. "Ms. Nazario showed a beheading video and I was really scared." Another said, simply, "it was gross." Nazario told the Post she clicked on the video by accident and "freaked out" when it began to play. "It was an error," she said.
School officials weren't pleased. "This teacher demonstrated a complete lack of judgment, and this incident betrayed our schools’ promise to provide a safe and supportive environment,” said Department of Education spokeswoman Devora Kaye told the Post. Although investigators suggested Nazario be fired, an "independent arbitrator" ruled her penalty should be lighter based on her spotless record and numerous years at the school. Suffice to say, when it comes to ISIS, it's best to stick to the rubber duck version.
