A Philadelphia high school teacher may lose his job for reportedly buying a copy of the book "Fifty Shades of Grey" for one of his ninth-graders.
Maya Ladson, whose son attends Eastern University Academy Charter School in the East Falls section of Philadelphia, Pa., was shocked when she saw the book, known for its racy, on-the-verge-of-pornographic content, in her son's backpack in March.
"The minute I found out about it, it raised concern," Ladson told NBC10.com Thursday. "This is not OK to me. This is major."
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Ladson's son reportedly asked for and was given the book by his teacher and advisor, Philip Aidoo.
The school claims the whole situation is a misunderstanding. Aidoo asked his students for a list of suggestions of books he should order for an independent reading assignment. He said he wasn’t aware of the "Fifty Shades" book's mature themes.
"Unfortunately, Mr. Aidoo did not have an awareness of this popular book and ordered it with his own money," the school's Chief Operating Officer Yvonne Turner told NBC10.com.
But Ladson isn’t buying it.
"It clearly states on the cover, that the book is for mature audiences and has high sexual content," she said. "This was a 100-percent act of negligence. There should never be pornographic material purchased and distributed to a student by a school teacher."
School officials launched an investigation in which they held a meeting with all of Aidoo's student's parents after Ladson complained, but have not fired the teacher.
"We heard nothing but high praises and support for Mr. Aidoo," Turner said. "We have to deal with these things in a fair and impartial way which the school has attempted to do."
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Ladson plans to have her son moved to a different class for the remainder of the school year, and is also staging a protest for Aidoo's firing.
"I find it highly unlikely that a teacher who teaches reading and has a classroom for sustained silent reading period is unaware of contents of material that he’s giving to the students, let alone the material being pornographic material," Ladson told NBC10.com.
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