FL teacher under fire for showing Winnie the Pooh horror film in class

A Florida woman claims her children were shown 20 to 30 minutes of a gory horror film during class - and says the school 'abandoned her' after hearing her complaints. Michelle Diaz (pictured left) said her fourth-grade twins were left scarred after being shown Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey by their math teacher at their charter school, The Academy of Innovative Education in Miami Springs.

The horror flick was released in February and is not rated, however, it contains several torture scenes and depictions of detailed injuries, as well as people unclothed and swear words. Diaz claims the kids asked the teacher to turn it off, but they were ignored. 'He didn't stop the movie, even though there were kids saying, "Hey, stop the movie, we don't want to want this,"' she told CBS News.

The children were shown the film on October 2 and came home distraught. Diaz promptly complained to administrators - but her concerns, she claims, were disregarded. 'I feel completely abandoned by the school,' she said after stepping out of a meeting with the principal at The Academy of Innovative Education in Miami Springs.

In the film, Winnie-The-Pooh and Piglet, angry after being abandoned by Christopher Robin, go on a murderous rampage. The killers - bloated, rubbery depictions of the characters they are meant to represent - hunt a group of female university students using machetes and guns. Victims are bludgeoned with sledgehammers, fed into woodchippers and strangled with chains.

Diaz claims the students selected the movie, but said: 'It's not for them to decide what they want to. 'It's up to the professor to look at the content.' The school issued a statement in which it admitted that a mental health counselor had already met with some students.

"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," it read. 'Our administration promptly addressed this issue directly with the teacher and has taken appropriate action to ensure the safety and well-being of students.' Head of School Vera Hirsh also spoke with the Miami New Times . She said that 'as soon as the teacher realized what was being shown, the movie was turned off.'

Hirsh also denied that the students were shown any violence, adding: 'Most of the film's grisly murder scenes take place later in the movie.' She said the issue had been 'thoroughly addressed with teachers, students, and parents,' and the affected students were 'in school and doing fine.' Charter schools are non-profit organizations that have a contract to provide the same educational services as district public schools. However, they operate independently of many of the regulations that apply to traditional public schools.

'At AIE, learning is focused on active exploration of major concepts, ideas and theories through hands-on learning and real-life problem solving,' the school vision statement reads. 'Students will be challenged to use scientific knowledge and critical thinking skills as they take ownership of their personal academic exploration and growth.' The Academy of Innovative Education first opened its doors in 2011, beginning as a K-3 school and adding grades each year.

In the last year, it became fully K-12 and graduated its first senior class. The curriculum has a tailored focus on science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics, or STEAM. AIE claims that both the Elementary and Middle/High School were awarded a School Grade of 'A' by the Florida Department of Education - however, as the DOE has yet to release data from last year, this statement cannot be confirmed. MailOnline reached out for comment. Read the full story: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12623699/Miami-teacher-horror-film-Winnie-Pooh-Blood-Honey.html?ito=msngallery

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