Miami math teacher shows horror-style remake of ‘Winnie the Pooh’ to 4th graders
Florida parents were outraged when they discovered their children’s 4th-grade math teacher showed them the horror film Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey despite students’…
Florida parents were outraged when they discovered their children’s 4th-grade math teacher showed them the horror film Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey despite students’ objections.
“I feel completely abandoned by the school,” Michelle Diaz, a mother of twins, told local media. “He didn’t stop the movie, even though there were kids saying, ‘Hey, stop the movie.’”
The movie, shown to the young students at The Academy for Innovative Education in the Miami-Dade public school district, is a slasher film that includes gratuitous violence, profanity and even nudity, and reimagines Winnie the Pooh and Piglet as savage serial killers preying on young women.
“I don’t know how that’s mistakenly shown,” said Melissa Barreio, another parent. “Everything now is electric. It’s not like a VHS that could have been in the wrong cover.”
Diaz acknowledges some of the students wanted to watch the bloody movie but doesn’t think it should have been an option in the first place.
“It’s not for them to decide,” she said. “It’s up to the professor to look at the content.”
Head of School Vera Hirsh gave local media the following statement:
“The Academy for Innovative Education has become aware that a segment of a horror movie was shown to fourth graders, Monday, October 2, 2023, that was not suitable for the age group. Our administration promptly addressed this issue directly with the teacher and has taken appropriate action to ensure the safety and well-being of students.”
The statement continued, “We are actively monitoring the students and our mental health counselor and principal have already met with those students who have expressed concerns.”
However, parents are still worried about the lasting damage such incidents could have on 9- and 10-year-old children – who obviously can’t unsee what they saw.
“At that age, they are scared of everything,” said Barreio. “They don’t know that kind of fear. They’re not used to that.”
It is unknown if the teacher received any disciplinary action.
