The Teacher Faces Punishment for Showing a Disney Movie

By Desert Star Staff

A teacher shows fifth graders a Disney movie - now she’s facing harsh consequences!

Say what?

Jenna Barbee showed her students, ages ten to eleven, the Disney movie “Strange World.” It’s about a family of adventurers who embark on a dangerous science fiction mission to a new world where someone is out to get them at every turn.

The main character, Ethan Clade, faces a challenge due to the location of his school in Brooksville, Florida. The state’s Republican Governor, Ron DeSantis, has implemented the “Don’t say gay” law, which prevents teachers from discussing gender and sexual identity with their students.

And that’s why the local school board is investigating teacher Jenna Barbee!

Barbee said she wanted to show the film to give her students a break after a morning of exams. It was also crucial for geography lessons. She even got the consent of all the parents!

In a six-minute video statement on TikTok, the teacher defends herself:

“I have a lot of fifth graders who have come to me this year, long before I showed the film, and told me they are part of the LGBTQ community. To me, that’s not a big deal. So I said, “Okay, great, I’m not pushing anything; I’m just accepting. That’s what I do,” Barbee explains.

During a school board meeting, Shannon Rodriguez criticized the teacher. She is not only a mother but also a school board member and a member of a right-wing group called Moms for Liberty. Rodriguez shares the controversial views of Ron DeSantis and wants books she deems “filthy” and “pornographic” to be taken off school shelves.

But in doing so, she speaks for a minority, as there is an online petition to get her out of office. More than 2000 people have already signed.

It’s amazing to think that Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band have been thrilling audiences for 34 years. And at a point when many musical troupes might be slowing down, Starr and company — guitarist-singer Steve Lukather, keyboardistsinger Edgar Winter, drummer Gregg Bissonette, guitaristbassist Hamish Stuart, multiinstrumentalist Warren Ham and singer-guitarist Colin Hay — are busier than ever.

The musical giants took a break during a May 17, 2023 rehearsal in their Los Angeles studio to participate in a Zoom Q&A with members of the media. It was an informative and fun event where each of the seven artists got to discuss the magic of performing in

ROBERT KINSLER