Movies in the classroom Options

[FORSAKENR320]

ok let's say for the sake of argument we take the manlove movie out of the equation and replace it with another R movie.

how about the original "Carrie" by steven king. in an attempt to better understand school violence by young students.

is that an acceptable course to take for 8th graders? would you object?

well, i still take my stance that any subject can be acceptable in school as long as it is approached in a mature way and properly. if the teacher could show this movie, and relate a discussion to it, then yes. but like you said, Bareback Fountain isn't really a movie that you get too much ability to discuss topics... but if you COULD find a topic in that movie worth talking about, and the teacher could handle it properly so the kids actually thought about the subject and learned something.... isn't that what school is for? part of public school education is NOT focused on the 3 R's.... part actually deals with these subjects, the ones that deal with everyday life. another point i want to make is.... parents want their kids to be taught the way THEY want..... but when it's not done right, they bitch. parents need to stop backseat driving and take responsibility for their own kids, or quit bitching because the teacher may actually be trying.

[Mommy]

I oppose Brokeback Mountain being shown in school not because of it's explicit content or R-rating, but because I simply don't see the educational value in it. Let's look at another movie... Jim Henson's Labyrinth, for instance... love the flick and it's a kid's movie, but I'd object to it being shown in school because, again, I don't see the educational value in it.

Some movies have a place in school. I was homeschooled, so these examples are all from college, but... we saw The Matrix in one of my philosophy classes to compare it to Plato's allegory of the cave (seeing the *whole* movie -- three classes worth -- was a bit of a waste of time, but the comparison was a good one), saw movie productions of Tartuffe and The Great Gatsby in a couple of English classes to get a better feel for the works, etc.

That having been said, even with obvious educational value, parental consent should be obtained for showing PG-13 movies for pre-teens and R movies for high-schoolers.

I always hated that philosophy classes would focus so much on The Matrix. *snore* Completely useless in my opinion...then again, all of philosophy is.... nevermind. there was no point to this post.

[Spectatrix]

off topic...but the matrix as an allegory of the cave?

while I would have been stoked, "a passage to india" is a much more died in the wool "cave" example. I think chosing the matrix is a stretch in order to "reach out to the kids! get em onboard!"

Yeah, I'm sure there are better examples out there. In any case, despite my thoughts that showing the entire movie was a waste of time, it was definitely better than the half of the semester the instructor spent covering feminist theory. In an intro philosophy class.... wtf? Stupid UNT.

[kcroxyoursox]

you think it is acceptable to show an R rated movie to 8th graders? and a fairly controversial one at that.

I did say PARTS of the movie. And yes, it's controverisal. What would there be to talk about if it was a movie about mainstream values? "Yay, we're all the same and different is bad?"

and what exactly would the kids be discussing? we're talking about 8th graders, 12-13 year old kids. what's the teacher going to say or what questions will they ask?

Differences in lifestyle. Hate crime. Beating up on someone because they're different. Those things are definitely not above 12 year olds. It's in their faces all the time. Or did you never see the "cool" kids harass some loser nerd?

Sorry I think teachers have a responsibility to respond to and educate about what's happening in society.

and this is all besides the fact that the teacher came in and said "what happens in ms blah's class, stays in ms blah's class" before showing the movie.

That part I don't agree with. I don't agree that a substitute should have shown a movie, unless it was already known that their regular teacher had it in the lesson plans and the sub was just carrying out the teacher's plans. In which case, we need to find out why only the sub is being held responsible - or did she blatantly ignore the regular teacher's wishes as a chance to promote her own agenda?

I knew someone would bring up that I said "community"... I hate being PC. Its pointless. I dont have to say "we" when Im talking about a characteristic that I dont possess.... that being gayness.

I didn't mean you specifically. I just hate that it's an "us" (me being part of the us that is straight) against "them" because as long as there's that disparity, we can't see ourselves as the same.

I'm sorry, but school should be a place where kids can be kids. Just because SOME kids have to deal with adult situations at home, does not mean that they have to deal with that shit at school.

But shouldn't school be a place where they can get the help that they need? Where their friends, who aren't dealing with that stuff, can learn how to help them? School is about a lot more that rote memorization. If it were, there would be a LOT more homeschooling or independent studying.

I can resent the fact that you are saying my brother has a "hindrance" because you dont know anything about him or his disorder.

That's why I tried to choose my words carefully. I guess I didn't do such a good job. I have nothing against you, or your brother, or his diagnosis. I commend you for what you do for him. Anyone on these boards that knows you knows how deep your allegiance to him is. But that's not the point. I'm just saying, for as much as you talk about how special/different your brother is, you can't use that to form opinions on all 8th graders. I'm not saying I'd let my 8th grader watch BM, but I wouldn't shield him from reality just so he could "just be a kid" because in the end that does a disservice to him.

[Mommy]

yeah i didnt have a problem with what you saying "hindrance"... I was just making a comparison because of the whole politically correct "us, them, we, him, her" stuff. Its all good.

[cupcake]

I did say PARTS of the movie. And yes, it's controverisal. What would there be to talk about if it was a movie about mainstream values? "Yay, we're all the same and different is bad?"

ok...why is it up to a teacher to discuss ANY values in public schools?

if I wanted values taught to my kid by a teacher, I'd send my kid to private church school.

[impala454]

my sentiments exactly... values come from the parents. teachers are there to educate kids in specific subjects.

[cupcake]

my buddy started having kids right out of highschool. one of his daughters is a 1st grader at a school in amarillo...and she had an assignment to watch 'an inconvenient truth' with her parents and write a paper on it.

what the fuck???

[impala454]

I don't even recall writing papers in 1st grade... at least not much more than the 1 page worth of big chief tablet about how to make a paper airplane or something.

this is getting ridiculous... guess Al's supporters are really digging deep to find people with the intelligence to listen to him

[cupcake]

I was lucky to not shit my pants in the 1st grade...

much less know wtf greenhouse gases and shit were.

what's scary is kids that age (and most adults) are going to take that stupid flick as face value instead of investigating the BS-laden drivel on their own.

[Mommy]

you know, there has to be boundaries at school. This is totally off topic, but I just remembered it. When I subbed for LISD, there was this hyperactive little girl in kindergarden who really got under the skin of the teacher's aid. I thought the little girl was so cute and actually pretty well behaved. I have a lot more patience then some I guess because of my brother. I would have all the kids sitting around me and I would tell them a story and the little girl would sit there and fidget with stuff and move around the floor. When I asked her questions about the story, though, she knew the answers. No big deal, right? The TA walks in, grabs her by the arm, pulls her up by her arm and carries across the room and sternly plops her down in a chair. She was VERY rough with the girl and the little girl started crying. I then saw the TA slap the little girl across the mouth. I told the TA that I have everything under control and that she needed to go help out another class. That was just one time out of the 3 days I taught that class. She got physical with the girl at least 3-4 times a day. It got the point where I had that little girl by me at all times. The TA had worked for that school for 40 years so I felt bad turning her in because she was great with all the other kids. I seriously regret not turning her into the school board.

I guess I can relate that to this thread: So, those of you that think that its not the worst thing in the world to show rated R movies, but what if the teachers were allowed to enforce rules with physical punishments such as spanking? Would this still be ok? I mean, should teachers just be allowed to enforace their own values like that? In your instance the teacher is allowed to make choices as to what movies to show. In my example, should the teachers be able to make these choices too?

[impala454]

spanking needs to be back in schools. obviously that old lady you talk about was a mean bitch, but if you got 5th graders cussing out the teacher, then need an ass whoopin. have a parental permission slip if need be.

[cupcake]

as a weekly recipient of school administered swats...I think it is fine so long as it's a regulated deal.

what I mean is, the kid fucks up royally (fighting or totally disrupting class, as jr high shithead boys are want to do).

he is sent to the principal's office. principal contacts guardian. if granted, administers the corporal punishment to the hind quarters.

reason being is that in a chaotic classroom, the fed up teacher might do something stupid like slap the kid across the mouth (as you witnessed), or the teacher just might get their ass beat by smacking a 14yr old guy in the heat of the moment.

so to answer your Q...NO teachers shouldn't enforce their own rules or values.

[Mommy]

spanking needs to be back in schools. obviously that old lady you talk about was a mean bitch, but if you got 5th graders cussing out the teacher, then need an ass whoopin. have a parental permission slip if need be.

I somewhat agree with you. I just dont trust some people in deciding how hard to execute physical punishment. Because of this, I dont think its ok. Some would get carried away and would cross the abuse line.

[FORSAKENR320]

well, while i was in high school, we were doing subjects and material that my parents would have been doing in college.... is it hard to think that our children would be any different?