A Florida teacher is facing an investigation after playing an animated movie featuring a gay biracial character to her 5th grade students. Jenna Barbee, who teaches at Hernando County’s Winding Waters K-8 school, thought her students would enjoy the Disney movie “Strange World.” However, she’s now being accused of “indoctrination” by the Florida Department of Education, and she hasn’t been shy about speaking out against the so-called controversy.
In a widely circulated TikTok video posted after news of the investigation broke, Jenna Barbee said showing the Disney film shouldn’t have been a problem.
She had permission slips from all the parents allowing the kids to watch a movie that’s rated PG, which “Strange World” is. She decided to show the movie as a way for the kids to relax after a day of standardized testing. However, one of the parents complained and reported Barbee to the Department of Education.
Per CNN, the parent, Shannon Rodriguez, is a member of the Hernando County School District Board and told the school’s principal that “Strange World” isn’t appropriate for kids, according to Karen Jordan, a spokesperson for Hernando County Schools.
@becomingabetterbarbee I am the teacher. Here is the truth. #indoctrination #disneymovie #disney #strangeworld #viraltweet
“Yesterday, the Disney movie ‘Strange World’ was shown in your child’s classroom,” the school district said in a note to parents. “While not the main plot of the movie, parts of the story involve a male character having and expressing feelings for another male character. In the future, this movie will not be shown. The school administration and the district’s Professional Standards Dept is currently reviewing the matter to see if further corrective action is required.”
This blatant homophobia is no surprise in Florida, which passed a “Don’t Say Gay” bill into law last year. That means sexual orientation and gender identity cannot be discussed in the classroom in any form. Any teachers found to be breaching th rule can either be suspended or have their teaching licenses revoked.
Jenna Barber says that showing the Disney movie was tied to a lesson plan about the environment. “A school board member, an elected official of power, who was supposed to be nonpartisan, is allowed to present to the public that she is Christian and that God appointed her to the board. And yet it is indoctrinated that I showed a Disney movie. I’m a first-year teacher,” Barbee told school board members at a meeting on May 9.
Rodriguez accused Barbee of “playing the victim” and says she should have gotten approval from school administration to show that specific movie.
“It is not a teacher’s job to impose their beliefs upon a child: religious, sexual orientation, gender identity, any of the above. But allowing movies such as this assist teachers in opening a door, and please hear me, they assist teachers in opening a door for conversations that have no place in our classrooms,” Rodriguez said. “As a leader in this community, I’m not going to stand by and allow this minority to infiltrate our schools… God did put me here.”
No comment. Here’s hoping Jenna Barbee is cleared of any wrongdoing and that she gets the hell out of Floria ASAP and to a school that doesn’t think Disney movies are trying to turn your kids gay (as if that was possible).
