California teacher fired for filming a porn video

[Sigz]

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/19/stacie-halas-fired-porn-film_n_1437467.html?ref=los-angeles

OXNARD, Calif. -- A Southern California science teacher was fired Wednesday night for performing in a pornographic video, school district officials said.

Oxnard School District trustees voted in closed session to dismiss Stacie Halas, who taught seventh- and eighth-graders at Richard B. Haydock Intermediate School. Veronica Robles-Solis, the board president, said the trustees voted unanimously to dismiss Halas.

"We're dealing with the disruption that we believe it would cause our district, and the schools in our district, if she were to return back to the classroom," Superintendent Jeff Chancer said.

She had been on paid administrative leave since her appearance on the video surfaced last month. No students were in the video, which was apparently produced before she became an Oxnard teacher in 2009. Her age hasn't been disclosed.

Halas could not be reached, and the teacher union declined comment.

Student claims that the teacher was moonlighting as a porn star were initially dismissed after school officials said they couldn't find any images of her on the Internet. The investigation was quickly restarted, however, when other teachers showed administrators downloads from smartphones.

It turned out that the school computer system blocked access to sex sites.

"I saw parts of the video," Chancer said last month. "It's hardcore pornography."

The district sent a letter to parents of students at all three of its junior high schools, asking that their children not search Internet sex sites for the teacher's image.

"It has been alleged that one of our teachers is depicted in at least one pornographic video and possibly others on the Internet," Chancer said in the letter.

Thoughts?

[snapple]

was she hot?

[BlobVanDam]

Raise your hand if the first thing you did was Google to find vids. *raises hand*

Decent looking generic blonde. As for the issue, like it wasn't going to get out sooner or later.

[El Barto]

Thoughts:
A.  The district's correct.  Now that she's been outed, it'd be a major league distraction, and I support their right to avoid it.  To be clear, I have absolutely no moral objections to her performing or continuing to teach afterward.  I just get why the school would prefer not to put up with it. 

B.  "The district sent a letter to parents of students at all three of its junior high schools, asking that their children not search Internet sex sites for the teacher's image."  This is the stupidest attempt at damage control I've heard of in years.  I think the person who came up with that brilliant idea is probably more deserving of termination than the teacher.

C.  "No students were in the video, which was apparently produced before she became an Oxnard teacher in 2009."  Well, I should think not.  Why even mention that, other than to throw out a casual link between mainstream and child pornography? 

[Sigz]

B.  "The district sent a letter to parents of students at all three of its junior high schools, asking that their children not search Internet sex sites for the teacher's image."  This is the stupidest attempt at damage control I've heard of in years.  I think the person who came up with that brilliant idea is probably more deserving of termination than the teacher.

  That was my first thought.

[GuineaPig]

I think there are a lot of jobs more insidious and potentially corrupting to children than being a pornographic actress.

[El Barto]

As do I, but none that are going to be half as big a distraction to the school.  Especially if she's hot. 

Here's my concern, though.  What if it's strictly amateur stuff that she does for her own amusement?  That's where I have a hard time reconciling this.  I suppose that it just remains a function of whether or not she get's found out.

[BlobVanDam]

B.  "The district sent a letter to parents of students at all three of its junior high schools, asking that their children not search Internet sex sites for the teacher's image."  This is the stupidest attempt at damage control I've heard of in years.  I think the person who came up with that brilliant idea is probably more deserving of termination than the teacher.

I think it was a great idea.

"Ok guys, time for some damage control, but I think we can still contain this. Let's send out a letter to everybody letting them know about it, so they won't look up the video. Slam dunk."

Yeah, when little Billy finds out that the hot blonde teacher he's been tugging it to the whole year has porn on the internet, which will now be dead easy to search for now that it's national news and has been identified by everyone else, he'll be sure to avoid it.

With publicity this good, she'll probably get back into porn, since her teaching career is shot. Thanks, guys!

[Orbert]

C.  "No students were in the video, which was apparently produced before she became an Oxnard teacher in 2009."  Well, I should think not.  Why even mention that, other than to throw out a casual link between mainstream and child pornography? 

They mentioned it because the first thing that some people will think when they hear that a teacher was in a porno video is "Holy shit, with students?!"  Even if they state that the video was made before she became a teacher (which they did), people are still too stupid to put two and two together.

was she hot?

Yup, that was my first thought as well.

[senecadawg2]

Nice videos, for a school teacher. I'd imagine that there will be quite a few 7th and 8th grade boys watching this; makes me kind of jealous for not having a porn star at my school 

On a more serious note, I think the school made the right decision. Distracting doesn't even begin to describe this situation.

[King Postwhore]

As do I, but none that are going to be half as big a distraction to the school.  Especially if she's hot. 

Here's my concern, though.  What if it's strictly amateur stuff that she does for her own amusement?  That's where I have a hard time reconciling this.  I suppose that it just remains a function of whether or not she get's found out.

Even if you go on a private site it can still leak.  See Rex Ryan and his foot love.  Yet If your a football coach it's ok.

I do see why they did it.  I just hope she can get a job somewhere else where it won't follow her.

[Orbert]

It will follow her, and her career in education is now over.  It sucks, and as much as I would love to say that it shouldn't matter what she did before becoming a teacher, it just doesn't work that way.  Unless she changes her name and/or completely changes her identity, she will be forever known as the teacher who did porn, and she will not get hired anywhere, for the same reasons she was fired from this latest gig.

America, land of the free.

[William Wallace]

My first reaction to this story, as it is to all instances of moral zealotry, was annoyance. Then I looked up the images. Yeah, it's hard to teach adolescent boys about plate tectonics when all they're thinking about is you opening a pizza box with a penis inside. Wow. 

[7thHanyou]

America, land of the free.

Sure.  Adults have the freedom to star in porn movies.  Other adults have the freedom to not hire and/or to fire them based on that.  That's a good thing.

The story's complicated by the fact that this is the school district, not a private school, but if no one wants to hire her, tough.  She's certainly not entitled to any job, or even to a job.

[Odysseus]

"Got it bad, got it bad, got it baaaaad.... I'm hot for teacherrrrr...." 

The district sent a letter to parents of students at all three of its junior high schools, asking that their children not search Internet sex sites for the teacher's image.

Yeah... like THAT's gonna work.... 

Anyone own up to discovering it first? 

[Orbert]

America, land of the free.

Sure.  Adults have the freedom to star in porn movies.  Other adults have the freedom to not hire and/or to fire them based on that.  That's a good thing.

The story's complicated by the fact that this is the school district, not a private school, but if no one wants to hire her, tough.  She's certainly not entitled to any job, or even to a job.

Yeah, I know.  It just seems to me that somewhere else, some countries in Europe maybe, this wouldn't be nearly the big deal that it is here.  People would find out that she did some porn years ago when she needed the cash, but she's earned her degree and teaching certificate since then and is a good teacher, so no problem.

Here, they go pretty overboard with "protecting the children" from shit they see and hear every day anyway and use it as an excuse to fire people or force resignations out of them.

Maybe I'm a bit oversensitive to it because I was a teacher with a checkered past and I was stupid enough to share some stories with my students.  Fortunately, most of my students were pretty cool about it and just thought it was funny, maybe even cool, but no teacher has universal admiration, and I always wondered/worried about what would happen if some kid went to the administration with it, and they wanted to push it.

[Orbert]

Other adults have the freedom to not hire and/or to fire them based on that.  That's a good thing.

Actually, I don't agree with this part.  She has exactly the same credentials she had when they hired her, and nothing she has done in classroom, or outside of it for that matter, has changed.  They found out something about her past which was in no way illegal, and they fired her because they said it would be a distraction.  Yeah, it would.  But I'd be interested in seeing how her contract was written and if there's some clause saying they can actually fire her over something she did three years which, as I said, was perfectly legal.

[7thHanyou]

America, land of the free.

Sure.  Adults have the freedom to star in porn movies.  Other adults have the freedom to not hire and/or to fire them based on that.  That's a good thing.

The story's complicated by the fact that this is the school district, not a private school, but if no one wants to hire her, tough.  She's certainly not entitled to any job, or even to a job.

Yeah, I know.  It just seems to me that somewhere else, some countries in Europe maybe, this wouldn't be nearly the big deal that it is here.  People would find out that she did some porn years ago when she needed the cash, but she's earned her degree and teaching certificate since then and is a good teacher, so no problem.  I'm not sure how relevant that is, though.

Here, they go pretty overboard with "protecting the children" from shit they see and hear every day anyway and use it as an excuse to fire people or force resignations out of them.

Maybe I'm a bit oversensitive to it because I was a teacher with a checkered past and I was stupid enough to share some stories with my students.  Fortunately, most of my students were pretty cool about it and just thought it was funny, maybe even cool, but no teacher has universal admiration, and I always wondered/worried about what would happen if some kid went to the administration with it, and they wanted to push it.

Sorry to hear that

Kids don't see and hear porn every day.  I certainly didn't, and I'm only just 26 so it hasn't been long.  Maybe some kids do.  Maybe most kids do.  But I think that popular generalization is entirely unjustified--a great many manage to get through their childhood and teenage years without being exposed to explicit sex.

This story's odd in that if students hadn't found out about it, it would never have mattered.  If they had, it likely would have been the subject of gossip and made the experience miserable for her, but I don't think it would have changed the students much in any way.  As a parent, I probably would have used it as an opportunity to teach my children that people could change, even though I strongly believe that what she did was wrong.

The school made the right decision because it would have been distracting--but I agree with you, in a sense, because I don't think it should have been.  Unfortunately, that's just how it is.

Actually, I don't agree with this part.  She has exactly the same credentials she had when they hired her, and nothing she has done in classroom, or outside of it for that matter, has changed.  They found out something about her past which was in no way illegal, and they fired her because they said it would be a distraction.  Yeah, it would.  But I'd be interested in seeing how her contract was written and if there's some clause saying they can actually fire her over something she did three years which, as I said, was perfectly legal.

I'd be surprised if there wasn't some such provision, especially for a teacher, so I just assumed there was.  I guess I'll add the caveat that if her contract didn't allow for termination, they shouldn't have let her go.

[ehra]

I can understand the district's reasons for getting rid of her, but this whole thing wouldn't be an issue if it weren't for our fear of sex.

[Orbert]

Usually contracts are written so that if you do something which damages your credibility as a teacher, they can fire or suspend you or whatever.  Busted for drunk driving, for example.  Hey, it can happen.  If it happens once to a teacher with 20 years experience and an excellent track record, they'll probably be fine.  If it happens repeatedly, or to someone who hasn't earned their tenure yet, they might point out that it is illegal and use that.

Here, we've got something she did years ago, but not that long ago (2009), which was legal.  As I said, she still has the same credentials she had before, and even has a few years experience now and so is presumably a better teacher.  But it comes down to her contract, and I suppose how good of a lawyer she can get.  I agree that it would be a distraction in the classroom, but the school board blew the lid on it in the first place.  They heard a rumor, found out it was true, and canned her, claiming that they're acting proactively or something.

Her career is over.  Any school district she applies to now will look at her resumé and see that she was dismissed in the middle of a school year and ask why, and she'll have to tell them something.  Because of this experience, she'll probably figure it's best to come clean up front, and that will mean she won't be hired except maybe by the most desparate school districts.  Her current school district could at least have kept their mouths shut for another two months and let her finish out the year, infinitely increasing her chances of getting a job elsewhere.  But they didn't just fire her; they ended her career.  They didn't have to do that.

[El Barto]

Her career is over.  Any school district she applies to now will look at her resumé and see that she was dismissed in the middle of a school year and ask why, and she'll have to tell them something.  Because of this experience, she'll probably figure it's best to come clean up front, and that will mean she won't be hired except maybe by the most desparate school districts.  Her current school district could at least have kept their mouths shut for another two months and let her finish out the year, infinitely increasing her chances of getting a job elsewhere.  But they didn't just fire her; they ended her career.  They didn't have to do that.

This is a very good point.  There are ways that they could have handled this without blowing her out of the water.  I suppose that's probably what her appeal is trying to accomplish. 

[snapple]

My first reaction to this story, as it is to all instances of moral zealotry, was annoyance. Then I looked up the images. Yeah, it's hard to teach adolescent boys about plate tectonics when all they're thinking about is you opening a pizza box with a penis inside. Wow.

Pretty much. Also hearing that she's had one in every hole. That probably won't help middle school boys concentrate in her class.

[ReaPsTA]

Yeah, it's hard to teach adolescent boys about plate tectonics when all they're thinking about is you opening a pizza box with a penis inside.

This is really the issue.  I don't care about the moral side of it.  You can't be a teacher when your students can look up porn videos starring you.

If she was a stripper, and her students didn't know, then there'd be no reason to care.  Her past history as a stripper does not necessarily affect her ability to educate.

Being in porn does.

[antigoon]

Just looked up her work.

No way in hell she'd be able to conduct a class who'd seen that stuff.

[senecadawg2]

Just looked up her work.

No way in hell she'd be able to conduct a class who'd seen that stuff.

+1

[Scheavo]

Honestly, it's not going to be that much different from just having a hot teacher. The human mind is dirty, it doesn't need video of the teacher having sex for a teenager to imagine nailing her. That said, it might be best if she taught like k-5, as her male students wouldn't have a one track mind.

[senecadawg2]

True, but this leaves a little less up to the imagination. If I can physically hold the pictures of my hot teacher getting fucked in every hole in the body, I am much more likely to think those dirty thoughts. I agree with the elementary teacher thought though, I wonder if any elementary school would be willing to hire her after this situation.

[Orbert]

Nope.  They would be completely afraid of the outrage from parents disgusted by the thought of their little angels being taught by this heinous, sleezy woman.  Their might only be a few, or the fears might be completely unfounded anyway, but they still wouldn't hire her.  If and when it came out, the parents and the media would demand to know if the school knew about it when they hired her, the school would have to admit that they did but didn't think it would be a problem, and not only would the teacher be out of work again, but this time some school board member or principal would also have to resign.  Because that's how it works.  If parents get pissed enough, and they will, nothing will satisfy them short of a couple of resignations.

[XJDenton]

B.  "The district sent a letter to parents of students at all three of its junior high schools, asking that their children not search Internet sex sites for the teacher's image."  This is the stupidest attempt at damage control I've heard of in years.  I think the person who came up with that brilliant idea is probably more deserving of termination than the teacher.

  That was my first thought.

Clearly they haven't heard of the Barbara Streisand Effect.

As for the topic, its unfortunate she was fired but given the situation I don't see any other course of action that could have worked.

[Scheavo]

True, but this leaves a little less up to the imagination. If I can physically hold the pictures of my hot teacher getting fucked in every hole in the body, I am much more likely to think those dirty thoughts. I agree with the elementary teacher thought though, I wonder if any elementary school would be willing to hire her after this situation.

I guess I'm just not one who needs a video to imagine fucking someone. Your mind might think dirtier after seeing the video, but your attention is either on her, or what she's teaching - and if she's hot, it's most likely going to be on her anyways. I'm also sure the novelty of the whole situation would fade, especially when you're still not sleeping with the teacher.

Nope.  They would be completely afraid of the outrage from parents disgusted by the thought of their little angels being taught by this heinous, sleezy woman.  Their might only be a few, or the fears might be completely unfounded anyway, but they still wouldn't hire her.  If and when it came out, the parents and the media would demand to know if the school knew about it when they hired her, the school would have to admit that they did but didn't think it would be a problem, and not only would the teacher be out of work again, but this time some school board member or principal would also have to resign.  Because that's how it works.  If parents get pissed enough, and they will, nothing will satisfy them short of a couple of resignations.

Never said people would like it, but it's pretty crazy to think someone who got paid for sex isn't capable of teaching children. She got paid to do something everyone does, will do, or wants to do. It's not like she killed someone, or did something truly immoral.

[Super Dude]

I can understand the district's reasons for getting rid of her, but this whole thing wouldn't be an issue if it weren't for our fear of sex.

This.

[senecadawg2]

I can understand the district's reasons for getting rid of her, but this whole thing wouldn't be an issue if it weren't for our fear of sex.

This.

[ReaPsTA]

I can understand the district's reasons for getting rid of her, but this whole thing wouldn't be an issue if it weren't for our fear of sex.

This.

What?  Why is this a "fear of sex" issue?  You're saying we should be accepting of students being able to see their teacher being penetrated?

[ehra]

You're saying it like it's something that's happening in the classroom. It's a video that was made before she was ever a teacher, and it's a video that the kids need to go out of their way to look for to ever find which means they're already interested in the subject to begin with. They're borderline high school age kids, they know (or should know) what sex is. The parents are horrified to learn that little Jimmy is watching porn at all, that his teacher is in the video just gives them an easy target to potentially lash out at.

I said it's a fear of sex issue because this wouldn't be a huge deal if sex wasn't so taboo. For starters I'm not buying the "the video's existence will make it impossible for her to teach a class now" excuse, this was done because the school district doesn't want to deal with the outrage from parents. Even if their excuse was the real reason she was gotten rid of, it still goes back to what I said. The core of the issue is that apparently these 7th and 8th grade students are so sheltered from the idea of sex that apparently it's impossible for them to learn from this woman now because they're so traumatized by the images they've got associated with her now. And before anyone brings up how explicit the video was, I can guarantee that this exact same thing would have happened even if the video were the most vanilla, missionary position sex imaginable.

[senecadawg2]

Essentially, our society has been conditioned to frown upon sexuality. Nudity is widely unaccepted (even though a naked human body is completely natural), and sex is viewed as a very taboo subject (when in fact it is nothing more than pleasurable reproduction). As an example, nudity in a film will earn it an R rating, while violence often does not. This is a clear indicator of where our society is in dealing with sexuality, and for the most part (especially in America) it would prefer to ignore sex altogether. Comprehensive sex-ed classes hardly exist, and parents often try to avoid talking to their kids about sex.

With such an awful connotation pertaining to sex, porn is obviously going to be viewed in a very negative light. What I think ehra was trying to say, and what I agree with, is that if it wasn't for societies fear of sex, porn wouldn't be such a forbidden topic (and this whole thing would likely not be an issue). To be honest, I think porn is often unfairly accused of being pure evil. As long as it is legal and consensual sex, I think its perfectly fine entertainment.

Now whether or not students should be able to see their teacher being penetrated is another matter... Most likely, many of them probably already spend time watching other women being penetrated. Needless to say, this situation is a little different (and no doubt very distracting), and perhaps even without our fear of sex this teacher would still lose her job.

Bottom line: most middle school boys are gonna watch porn anyways, so the issue is really whether or not it will be distracting to watch their teacher in porn (which I think it certainly would be)




DAMN, why didn't this stuff happen to me when I was in middle school!