December 19, 2006 | Sex & Society

Teachers canned for off campus behavior

Sex education is typically an awkward affair involving uncomfortable teachers, giggle-prone students and sterile drawings of human genitalia. It's been a little more exciting, however, in at least two schools this semester, where teachers have been reprimanded for unintentional lessons deemed a tad too explicit.

In Chesterfield County, Va., that teacher is art instructor Stephen Murmer, who has been punished for making art in his free time with his naughty parts. Murmer teaches high school and operates a website on which he sells paintings that he makes with his genitals. School administrators recently discovered the site -- which features a video of him painting with his ass -- according to the Chesterfield Times Dispatch, and placed him on paid administrative leave.

Murmer has been called out for his website before, according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), but resolved the issue privately with school officials.

"[Murmer is] a well-respected, responsible teacher who does his job," said Kent Willis, executive director of the ACLU of Virginia. "Separate from that, he is an artist, he uses a pseudonym, he even disguises himself when he appears on this video."

In short, Willis said, Murmur has done nothing wrong. The local school board will decide if it agrees when it hears his case next month.

A few states away, in Paducah, Ky., another teacher also is being slapped on the wrist for her private life. Tericka Dye was a science teacher at Reidland High School until school officials found out early this year that she had performed in an adult film.

According to YNOT's Darklady, underage students got copies of a pornographic movie in April 2006 that Dye had filmed more than a decade earlier. Instead of punishing the students -- who had illegally obtained and watched the film -- the school punished Dye.

"I didn't do anything criminal," said Dye, who was fired. "I did something stupid. But I didn't hurt anybody except myself. They treated me like a criminal."

The school told Dye that while it wasn't illegal, per se, her porn past would be "disruptive." She maintains that she is someone who has made mistakes and overcome obstacles and so is a role model that students can look up to.

While the bum artist may talk himself out of this one, Miss Dye can make no claims as to the  artistic merit of her work. Potential porn stars take note: if your career in porn sizzles out, you can't always teach.  

• Chesterfield suspends teacher who creates art with his buttocks [Chesterfield Times Dispatch]
• Dismissed ex-pornstar teacher wants her job back [YNOT Masters]