Vancouver Teacher Suspended for Playing the Lonely Island During Lesson on Satire

BY Josiah HughesPublished Jul 20, 2016

In a world dominated by snot-nosed tattletales, it doesn't always pay off to be a cool teacher. That's a lesson Vancouver substitute teacher Cory Ray Steeves learned the hard way after he was suspended for showing his students a music video by the Lonely Island.

While teaching a class on satire, Steeves wisely opted to relate to his students by using the music of the mega-viral comedy rap group the Lonely Island, as well as the video for Duck Sauce's "Big Bad Wolf."

Steeves warned the Grade 10 students that the videos contained explicit material, offering them the chance to leave the class if they couldn't handle it. Unfortunately, someone in his class decided to snitch.

A report obtained by the CBC points out that the Lonely Island's "I'm on a Boat" "consists primarily of profanity." Further, the sexual nature of the "Big Bad Wolf" video also raised some concerns:

The 'Big Bad Wolf' video depicts different people with human heads as their genitalia. These heads simulate a variety of activities, including urination and sexual acts. This video contains no lyrics beyond repetition of the phrase 'big bad wolf.'

Steeves has been suspended without pay and forced to complete a course called "Reinforcing Respectful Professional Boundaries."



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