alexpgp | It could've be worse...

Recently, one Tresa Waggoner, a music teacher at Bennett Elementary School near Denver, showed a bunch of first-, second- and third-graders excerpts from a video of Charles Gounod's Faust, an opera in which Mephistopheles (a.k.a. the devil) plays a prominent role.

Big mistake.

The resulting controversy has led to an investigation of the incident by school officials and a demand by some parents that the teacher be - hold on to your seats, people - fired.

The objections range from those one might associate with Christian fundamentalists (i.e., the mother who described the video as "satanic," later adding "I think it glorifies Satan in some way") to those one might associate with liberal mollycoddlers (objections to sword violence and allusions to suicide).

Although the district superintendent said Waggoner is not in danger of losing her job, the teacher feels it will be difficult for her to remain in town.

It could've been worse, of course.

She could have dissed The Prophet, in which case losing her job would'be been the least of her worries, given what's happening in some jurisdictions in response to some silly cartoons depicting Mohammed.

Cheers...