All's well that ends well at GBHS

When the streets clear and schools reopen, Charlie Conover will be back where he belongs, in the classroom at Great Bridge High School. The longtime English teacher, in his 24th year at the Chesapeake school, will once again be able to engage his students in literature, challenge their premises and broaden their minds.

That's what the best teachers do.

Conover, 55, admits he didn't follow school procedure when he showed his senior class parts of the 1971 film version of "Macbeth," directed by Roman Polanski and based on the play by Shakespeare.

The movie included scenes of nudity and violence. Because the material was not from the educational resource center, it was supposed to be vetted by school administrators before being shown.

Conover received a five-day suspension and a reprimand. "The action was deserved," he said. "I don't feel I was singled out for unfair treatment." The punishment was reasonable.

So, all's well that ends well.

The incident gained so much attention because a student and her father - apparently the only ones - complained about the movie, according to a spokesman for the school division. The father, Bill Thompson, demanded that GBHS punish Conover or he would take out a criminal warrant. That promise took on a troubling tone because Thompson is also a local police officer.

There is a reason no one else in the senior class complained about the film. Much of what appears in today's music videos, on prime time and in advertisements is more risque than anything that appears in Polanski's "Macbeth," which, after all, remains a Shakespeare tragedy of the greatest importance to our shared literary history.

Here's something else to remember: Conover has taught more than two decades at the same place. He's performed in high school and Shakespeare in the Grove productions. He was comparing and contrasting different adaptations of Shakespeare's works, going beyond rote literature.

That should count for something. It should certainly count far more on his record than a minor lapse. Conover has taken full responsibility for what happened - and taken his punishment as deserved. If that isn't the example we expect teachers to set, it should be.