Teacher losing job for performing in "Full Monty"- Page 2

[ljay889]

Posted: 3/14/07 at 6:35pm

I know I hold my teachers up to a certain standard, maybe it's because I'm in a Catholic school. But I don't expect my teachers to go posing for Playgirl/boy.

Obviously the school will be talking about the teacher who did it, and I'm sure kids will get a copy of the issue and bring it to school, and try to taunt the man. That would make the teacher very embarrsed.

Of course teachers have sex, of course teachers look at porn, of course teachers have sides to them we don't know. BUT Playgirl is readily available to the public to purchase. That's where I think it's wrong.

Like I said before what's next, a teacher making a porn film for the public to buy? Try to justify THAT.

ps. I have no problem with the teacher who did FULL MONTY. That's a ridiculous situation. Updated On: 3/14/07 at 06:35 PM

[thespian geek]

Posted: 3/14/07 at 6:38pm

Wow. I did a production of 'Jekyll & Hyde' with a man who was an 8th grade school teacher at a Catholic school, and he was playing the title role (his class even came to see the show)! So he can play someone who experiments with drugs & turns into a raging , schizophrenic, psychopathic murderer in a show where death, greed, and whores are quite prominent and yet retain his job? Wow. I didn't realize he could have lost his job if he'd been nude for two seconds even if no one could see anything.

[ljay889]

Posted: 3/14/07 at 10:46pm

I found that Playgirl teachers website, and he's smokin'. It seems he makes more than enough money being a fitness model, I don't know why he's working at a school. He seems very popular in the fitness circuit, he was the 2007 Playgirl man of the year. So he's pretty well known - which I find odd he's a teacher too.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 3/14/07 at 10:57pm

Who is Marco Dongo?

I guess some of you won't be taking your kids to see any more Harry Potter movies either.
Updated On: 3/14/07 at 10:57 PM

[sondheimboy2]

Posted: 3/14/07 at 11:01pm

I find this somewhat depressing, about the teacher in Florida, I mean.

After reading something like that, I'm surprised when I look at my calendar and see that it isn't 1955!

[Becoz_i_knew_you21]

Posted: 3/14/07 at 11:51pm

This reminds me that a teacher at my sister's school was a playmate. She didn't get fired or anything but I think she resigned from embarrassment.

I find this ridiculous. This is a musical not an actual a strip joint.
*edited for spelling. Updated On: 3/14/07 at 11:51 PM

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 3/14/07 at 11:59pm

I think the article stated the stupidity and injustice that occured.
But look at the pic of the guy who wrote it.

That school district should be sued definitely, they have no right asking the teacher to resign.
But congrats to him for taking the high road.

[evadiva]

Posted: 3/15/07 at 12:10am

I, too, am a music teacher. Since getting my job I have appeared onstage in bra, panties and garter belt in Cabaret and in flesh colored lingerie in Evita. Now I'm auditioning for Hair.

Looks like I made the right decision - about leaving my job at the end of the school year. Teaching consumes enough of my life, its not going to consume my acting choices too.

On top of that - the thought of any of my 12 year old boys seeing me in various states of undress is - as Deter would say - TRULY DISTURBING!

I am lucky enough to have a husband to help pay the bills. I feel for the actor/teachers who do not - and thus are at the mercy of their administration.

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 3/15/07 at 12:10am

I found that Playgirl teachers website, and he's smokin'. It seems he makes more than enough money being a fitness model, I don't know why he's working at a school.

If you were paying attention (which you were not - you were simply seeing what you wanted to see and filled in the rest to fit your argument), he is a Physical Therapist at a school. He is not a teacher.

P.S. I'm glad you found him to be "smokin'".

P.P.S. Don't you all think this thread would feel more at home on the Off-Topic Board?

Updated On: 3/15/07 at 12:10 AM

[Dover]

Posted: 3/15/07 at 12:19am

To me the thing that's creepy about the Playgirl guy is that he's not a teacher, he's a physical therapist. If he wants to pose nude I don't see what that has to do with his ability to teach math. But it's not just that he has to talk to the kids, he has to touch them, massage their muscles, etc. Some parents might question what his motives are (not saying I think he's a molester, but I can see where some parents might jump to that conclusion).

[colleen_lee]

Posted: 3/15/07 at 12:19am

I am also a music teacher, currently working on a production of Evita which opens this week. I have had to be rather hush-hush about this production as throughout a number in the show I do portray a stripper (though I am never nude, I do end up in period style undergarments giving a rather sexual lap dance) whom eventually murders her client.

I would never invite any of my students to this production even if I were not performing that particular scene because the shows themes and language are not material appropriate for children. However, I have also been unable to invite (or even discuss with) any faculty members as I do have concerns that my job would come into question if anyone within the school became aware of my activities in the production.

As an actor I find this extremely frustrating and as a teacher, completely discouraging. I don't feel like I should have to choose between my primary profession and my supplementary profession/passion. And the fact that I accepted this role does not make me any less capable as an educator. If I were ever put in the situation that this gentleman has been put in, I would also resign.

[teka21]

Posted: 3/15/07 at 12:28am

The man in question is not a physical therapist, he is an occupational therapist. School based PTs work on large motor skills, OTs help kids improve delayed fine motor skills, eye-hand coordination and self-help skills (like tying one's shoes). There is nothing remotely "intimate" about this kind of teaching in a school setting, or elsewhere. He is not a massage therapist.

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 3/15/07 at 12:28am

But it's not just that he has to talk to the kids, he has to touch them, massage their muscles, etc. Some parents might question what his motives are (not saying I think he's a molester, but I can see where some parents might jump to that conclusion).

Then that's the parents' problem. The parents don't employ the faculty and staff of the school. The administration should stand up for their employees and not cave into parents' misconceptions. And if the parents don't like it, they have every option to send their kid to a private school.

[ljay889]

Posted: 3/15/07 at 3:09pm

If you were paying attention (which you were not - you were simply seeing what you wanted to see and filled in the rest to fit your argument), he is a Physical Therapist at a school. He is not a teacher.

P.S. I'm glad you found him to be "smokin'".


- I knew he was a physical therapist. But there is basically no difference. He still working with kids, and teaching them things. A teacher isn't just someone who stands in front of a class and lectures.

Please, you would find him smokin too. You want the link?

I still don't think he should be involved with the school district, no matter how hot he is. This man's site charges you a membership fee to see his nude pictures, etc. That makes it creepier that he also works in a school, considering he also makes money getting people off through his pictures.

[Enjolras77]

Posted: 3/15/07 at 4:35pm

Here is the bio of Jason Brenner, the theatre arts and chorus teacher at Lemon Bay High School, as it appears on the school website. It was obviously written by a student. Does this sound like someone who should be fired?

Jason Brenner is a fairly new addition to the school. He thoroughly enjoys being part of the theatre and chorus department.

Brenner is currently the chorus teacher and musical director for the Lemon Bay Theatre Department. His favorite parts of teaching at Lemon Bay are the students that he teaches and the challenges that they present to him as a musical educator. Brenner enjoys nothing more than finding the musical talent inside each individual and bringing it to its full potential. He has inspired many individuals to use their voices correctly and confidently. The most memorable experience that Brenner has had while teaching at Lemon Bay was bringing “Seussical” to the International Thespian State Festival in 2005. “It was so much fun, and all the kids had a blast,” said Brenner, reminiscing about the experience.

Brenner grew up and attended college in Randolph, Massachusetts. There he found his passion for theatre and participated in many shows such as “Smokey Joe’s Café” and “The Music Man” before becoming a musical director. Today he has musically directed hundreds of shows. His favorite show is “The Phantom of the Opera,” because it was the first show in which he participated. After doing this show Brenner realized what he wanted to do with his life, and it was then he devoted his life to the performing arts.

When Brenner is not busy at school working with and teaching his students, he is most likely giving vocal lessons or working diligently on a show outside of the Lemon Bay Theatre Department. Along with being the musical director for Lemon Bay’s Theatre Department, he is also a musical director at Venice Little Theatre.

Brenner would like to remind all his students to “never give up on their dreams, and to always hold yourself accountable for you own and actions.” Brenner is certainly not giving up his dream of being a theatrical teaching extraordinaire.

By Kellie Hauer

According to the school's theatre page, they have productions of Cats and Thoroughly Modern Millie coming up soon that Brenner is directing.
http://www.ccps.k12.fl.us/schools/lbhs/index.htm

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 3/15/07 at 4:44pm

Glad I'm not involved in THAT school system. They sound worse than here in Randolph.

[fossemoves]

Posted: 3/15/07 at 4:56pm

I am thoroughly disgusted. It's disturbing and infuriating.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 3/15/07 at 5:25pm

Well, all I can say is...what issue was that, Calvin?

[Becky]

Posted: 3/15/07 at 8:30pm

Ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous. I hope he sues and I hope his union is behind him. This right winged, closed minded school should pay the price.

Well, if there was anything in the district's "teacher's code of conduct" that prohibits something like nudity, etc, than the union's hands will be tied.

I'm a teacher, and I'll have to go back through my code of conduct to make sure, but I believe I wouldn't be allowed to do something like that either.

Do I think he should be fired? I wish he wouldn't have been. Does the school district have the right to expect their teachers to uphold some kind of a moral code in the interest of the kids? You tell me. I don't think this is as cut/dry as it seems....unless there wasn't anything outlined in district policy prohibiting him from doing something like this. Then? He might have a case.

I've read where people don't think it's fair to choose between their job and acting roles, but they have to keep in mind that when you choose a profession that involves children (especially when you are in the position of a role model/mentor), choices like that will have to be made. Is it fair? It can be argued. But the bottom line is that there are boundaries you just don't push/cross when you are a teacher, and posing for a nude magazine (in my opinion) is crossing a line. If you want to be nude in a magazine, then choose another profession. If you want to be a teacher and go out for roles that will require nudity, just know that *someone* might have a problem with it. Or do like "evadiva" did above and choose a profession where you don't have to worry about acting choices. It's not always about being able to get/do what you want without having to compromise or make sacrifices...even when it doesn't seem fair.

If one of your teachers had posed nude when you were growing up, you don't think someone under 18 wouldn't have gotten a hold of it and passed it around? Of course they would have. You can't really depend on the fact that because you have to be 18 to buy it, those students under 18 won't have access. Believe me they'll find a way. Then what? Is it ok for the kids to see their teacher nude, even if it wasn't the intent of anyone for the kids to see it? Just throwing the questions out there...as a teacher.

**For the record, I think posing for a magazine and what the teacher did performing in Full Monty are two different things. The teacher is performing in something people will have to actually make an effort to go see (and kind of an "in the moment" thing) - but a magazine is in print and can be circulated. Is one form of nudity worse than the other?


Updated On: 3/15/07 at 08:30 PM

[Mercution1]

Posted: 3/17/07 at 12:15pm

Uhhhhhh......I'd need to see the PLAYGIRL spread to fully access the appropriatenes.....perhaps some information as to what issue????

[ThePrinceOfHumbug]

Posted: 3/17/07 at 2:21pm

just google 2007 playgirl man of the year and you can check it out.

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 6/25/08 at 1:34pm

I'm sorry to bump this after so long but I just realized that I know this guy. He was my substitute teacher back in high school and I did Miss Saigon with his brother and his other brother played drums for that show. I don't believe it.