Teacher Resigns After Showing Film With Nudity

A seventh-grade Pasadena science teacher resigned under pressure this week for showing his class a Monty Python movie that contained a brief scene of partial nudity.

The incident came to light Monday after a parent complained to the principal of Washington Middle School in Northwest Pasadena.

Teacher Peter Connolly, who says he tries to relate to kids on their own level and teach them “an appreciation of the absurd,” said he was asked to resign by officials of the Pasadena Unified School District for showing portions of “The Meaning of Life,” an R-rated movie by the British satirical group Monty Python.

The objectionable scene featured about two seconds of partial nudity while actor John Cleese explains sex education at a boy’s boarding school. District officials called the film “inappropriate.”