BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. — – A South Florida middle school teacher has been suspended after assigning explicit song lyrics as homework to her students.
The Charter Schools of Boynton Beach confirmed an 8th grade English teacher printed out and distributed uncensored lyrics to rapper Lil Wayne’s song “Six Foot Seven Foot.”
The sheet of paper has parents like Vanessa Guzman outraged.
“This is crazy. They shouldn’t be giving this to kids in school,” said Vanessa Guzman.
According to Guzman, her son was told by the teacher to underline examples of figurative language.
“I’m uncomfortable reading any of this,” said Guzman.
From f-bombs and racial slurs to sexually charged innuendos and just plain violence. They lyrics in the Lil Wayne song are so foul, they cannot be printed.
“They shouldn’t be teaching this stuff in school for language arts. I mean, who in their right mind would give kids something like this?” questioned Guzman.
After being reached for comment, school headmaster Wayne Owens released the following statement:
“The lesson was for students to learn to identify literary devices. The teacher had already introduced Edgar Allen Poe and Shakespeare. Students were having difficulty grasping the concepts of literary devices such as: pun, simile, metaphor, so the teacher used colloquial material. This material did not meet the school’s standards and was not approved. The teacher recognizes that it was totally inappropriate for a school assignment,” wrote Owens.
“It’s telling the kids it’s okay to swear,” said Guzman
While she appreciates teachers thinking out of the box, Guzman said this assignment went too far.
“To get them to do their homework. But still, that is not appropriate at all,” said Guzman.
The school policy is to use G-Rated material and it must be approved.
Administrators said the teacher involved has an unblemished record and will now be suspended for three days.
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