Censorship in education

[Swordpoker]

I'm interested in your views on this story.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070202/ap_on_re_us/teacher_disciplined_film


Was it right for the teacher to be disciplined?
If yes, then to what extent?

Should we censor film clips that a school teacher deems to be education and appropriate for his/her pupils?



Because there was a specific policy on this, I think the head master should have a quiet word with the teacher asking her to get approval in future. However I don't think that any other disciplinary action would be a good idea. In my opinion, teachers should be given a healthy amount of leeway in how they choose to teach, so that they can teach to their full potential. In this case, showing an 'unpleasant' piece of film with some of the realities of the slave trade is a great way of teaching history of the slave trade and of how racism had developed. Much better than the teacher writing some stuff on the blackboard , sorry, chalkboard.

Should we also censor images of the holocaust until the kids are 18?

[KingPoker]

I thnink its absolutely ridiculous. She has been teaching for 27 years so I think she has more than enough experience to know whether the pupils should see it or not rather than some head teacher who has very contact with pupils. I not saying if she had showed them porn bt she showed them a film which has received huge critical aclaim for realism so why not use it to show a major chapter in american history. I bet the children have even more repsect for the teacher now as she shwed that they are mature enough to understand the film. WD her and i personally think all choice of lesson content should be solely put at the discretion of the teachers and not headmasters and board of goveners who have no real idea of the skills needed to teach.
(saying all this as a son of a teacher of 30 years!!!)

[Canuck]

As a teacher I know how difficult it is to show outside shows, movies, clips whatever to a class

A prime example is the book 'To Kill A Mockingbird'

I studied that throughout high school back home, and in recent years it has been deemed racist. Quite sad really. People are so quick to yell politically correct that they look past the fact it is a fantastic book.

[Claw75]

tough one this.  As a parent, I'd not be too pleased if I thought my daughter was being shown films at school (without my permission) that had been rated as unsuitable for children of a certain age.  What age are fifth graders and how old do you need to be to see an 'R rated' film?  I know as a young child I'd have been upset to see someone on a TV screen being stabbed.   

[Swordpoker]

tough one this.  As a parent, I'd not be too pleased if I thought my daughter was being shown films at school (without my permission) that had been rated as unsuitable for children of a certain age.  What age are fifth graders and how old do you need to be to see an 'R rated' film?  I know as a young child I'd have been upset to see someone on a TV screen being stabbed.   

So would you trust the rating system more than the judgment of your daughter's teacher?

Is being upset by a scene, showing what the slaves had to do to fight oppression, such a bad thing? At any age, or is there a limit?

[Claw75]

tough one this.  As a parent, I'd not be too pleased if I thought my daughter was being shown films at school (without my permission) that had been rated as unsuitable for children of a certain age.  What age are fifth graders and how old do you need to be to see an 'R rated' film?  I know as a young child I'd have been upset to see someone on a TV screen being stabbed.   

So would you trust the rating system more than the judgment of your daughter's teacher?

Is being upset by a scene, showing what the slaves had to do to fight oppression, such a bad thing? At any age, or is there a limit?

yes there is a limit I think.  Young children just don't need that amount of information at that time - and they are all so different in their level of sensitivity.  If my daughter came home from school upset about something she had seen on TV there and started having nightmares etc, yes I think that is a bad thing.  Children deserve to have a certain period of innocence - plenty of time to learn the harsh realities of the world as they are older.  As I said, I've no idea how old 5th graders are, but any younger than 13 or so and I'd say it was inappropriate.

he rating system is there as a guideline for parents, and, as such, if a teacher was contemplating showing children something that was not in line with the rating system, I would expect him/her to clear it with the parents first.

[Swordpoker]

tough one this.  As a parent, I'd not be too pleased if I thought my daughter was being shown films at school (without my permission) that had been rated as unsuitable for children of a certain age.  What age are fifth graders and how old do you need to be to see an 'R rated' film?  I know as a young child I'd have been upset to see someone on a TV screen being stabbed.   

So would you trust the rating system more than the judgment of your daughter's teacher?

Is being upset by a scene, showing what the slaves had to do to fight oppression, such a bad thing? At any age, or is there a limit?

yes there is a limit I think.  Young children just don't need that amount of information at that time - and they are all so different in their level of sensitivity.  If my daughter came home from school upset about something she had seen on TV there and started having nightmares etc, yes I think that is a bad thing.  Children deserve to have a certain period of innocence - plenty of time to learn the harsh realities of the world as they are older.  As I said, I've no idea how old 5th graders are, but any younger than 13 or so and I'd say it was inappropriate.

he rating system is there as a guideline for parents, and, as such, if a teacher was contemplating showing children something that was not in line with the rating system, I would expect him/her to clear it with the parents first.

Good answer. I've been thinking about this.

In practical terms, is it feasible to get parental permission? Send each parent a letter and give them a chance to object?
What happens when one parent objects? Does that mean no one in the class can see the clip? What about the parents that think it is a good idea?

I remember an incident when I was in primary 7. Our parents were asked for consent for us to receive sex education. One parent objected and so their son was the only one who didn't join the classes. As a result he was ridiculed by others in our class for weeks afterwards.

[thetank]

 Children deserve to have a certain period of innocence

darn fair point that

[thetank]

I must be missing something.

Teacher breaks rules, teacher recieves discipline (probably a reprimand)

Why is this news??

[mex]

Yes the rating system is more reliable than teachers, The rating system is very complex and ratings are formed by a long process using psychologists and experts. Teachers are not experts in child psychology despite the fact many claim to be, they do not know how the films will infulence a young mind. Being told people get stabbed or discussing it is very different to actually showing it.

[tantrum]

How old is 5 grade?

[tantrum]

P.S.

kids don';t have to watch films to see violence. they can watch any news programme to see dead bodies everywhere.