An English teacher in Florida has been given a 3 day suspension after assigning students a Lil' Wayne listening assignment for homework. The assignment was intended to give students a good understanding of language techniques such as puns, similes and metaphors, however it was deemed inappropriate due to the heavy profanity in the song lyrics.
The song used was '6 Foot 7 Foot', taken from Wayne's 9th studio album, Tha Carter IV, and on inspection, it could certainly have been a little too much for this poor gang of 8th graders, who generally fall into the 13-14 year old age group. Here's what they were dealing with:
'Two bitches at the same time, synchronized swimmers
Got the girl twisted cause she open when you twist her
Never met the bitch, but I f*ck her like I missed her
Life is the bitch, and death is her sister
Sleep is the cousin, what a f*ckin' family picture'
Ouch. When asked about the incident, school principal Wayne Owens had this to say: "The lesson was for students to learn to identify literary devices. The teacher had already introduced Edgar Allen Poe and Shakespeare," the school's headmaster Wayne Owens said in a statement. "Students were having difficulty grasping the concepts of literary devices such as: pun, simile, metaphor, so the teacher used colloquial material. This material did not meet the school's standards and was not approved. The teacher recognises that it was totally inappropriate for a school assignment."
The sentiment is certainly to be admired, but perhaps a better choice of artist next time round might be a better idea; surely this man should have been suspended for subjecting these children to Lil' Wayne's music in the first place.
Words: Andrew Lambert
Source: NME
