Censorship in the classroom.....

[shooter1201]

Bear with me while I rant....

I teach junior high Social Studies. Currently, we are studying the Plains Indians. I occasionally use videos to supplement our textbook.

My classes WERE going to watch 'Dances With Wolves'...minus 'Kevin Costner's naked butt scene', today. IMO, no current movie portrays the devastation the white man exacted on the Plains Indians any better. Like it or not, TODAY's children are mostly VISUAL learners.

Notice...I said 'WERE'.

Seems ONE parent called my principal this morning voicing HIS objection to HIS child watching the movie. Result? I can't show it.

Parents WANT their children to learn in school. However, it is becoming increasingly difficult to TEACH children because of parents such as this one.

IMO, parents need to realize WHY their children are SUPPOSED to be in school...WHAT the jobs of we teachers are...and leave the teaching to US.

Rant off.....

[Blonde Heat]

Why can't you just move that particular child out of your class for the session and continue on with your excellent teaching skills. So, the rest of the kids should not be deprived for one parents choice.

Want me to call that principle? Or better yet i'll have my sister call, she is ruthless and never takes no for a answer. Guarateed your class will be watching that movie by Monday.

[RCSO-7S05]

MY MOTHER IN LAW HAS BEEN A TEACHER GOING ON 40 YEARS, SHE CURRENTLY ACTS AS A SUBSTITUTE TEACHER IN FLORIDA DURING THE WINTER HOURS. SHE HAD AN INCIDENT IN THE CLASS ROOM WHERE ONE CHILD PULLED A KNIFE ON ANOTHER CHILD IN HER CLASS. MIND YOU THESE KIDS WERE IN THE THIRD GRADE. SHE REACTS SO QUICKLY AND TOOK THE KNIFE AWAY FROM THE CHILD AND HE ATTACKS HER PHYSICALLY AND SHE DEFENDS HERSELF AND GETS FIRED FROM HER JOB BECAUSE THE PARENT OF THE KNIFE WIELDER FILED A COMPLAINT..UNFORTUNATELY TIMES HAVE CHANGED TO THE EXTREME. I FEEL SOORY FOR YOU NOT BEING ABLE TO TEACH THE WAY YOU SEE FIT. YOU HAVE AN HONORABLE PROFESSION AS WELL. ftrphxcop HAD A GREAT IDEA, I WILL CALL TOO.......

[Niteshift]

What was the basis of the parents objection?

[Sparky]

RCSO: WHY ARE YOU YELLING? OR SHOULD I DIRECT YOUR ATTENTION TO A RECTANGULAR KEY CALLED THE "CAPS LOCK". TRY HITTING IT AGAIN TO TURN IT OFF. TYPING IN ALL CAPS IS NOT ONLY HARD FOR PEOPLE TO READ, BUT IT IS ALSO CONSIDERED YELLING ON THE FORUMS AND IN CHAT ROOMS. WHAT YOU MAY DO IS USE THE "SHIFT" KEY TO TURN THE CAPS ON AND OF AND TYPE IN BOTH THE LITTLE LETTERS AND THE BIG LETTERS. THIS WILL MAKE YOUR POSTS MUCH, MUCH EASIER TO READ. I WOULD ALSO HOPE THAT YOU DO NOT TYPE REPORTS LIKE THAT AS THOSE OF US WHO HAVE TO READ THEM AND MAKE SENSE OF THEM SPEND ENOUGH MONEY ON EXEDRIN AS IT IS.

See, isn't this better? So much easier to read. It is also much less stressful.

Sorry to rant. It is a big pet peeve. It is Friday, and I have been trying to make sense of case files all day. I am so tired of these officers who are too lazy to properly use the shift key when typing their reports.

Instead, they type pages and pages of case reports in "all caps" with no paragraph breaks, or punctation.

On to the topic at hand:

It is EXACTLY this kind of stuff that has led to our decision that our kids won't step foot in a public school!

[Mike Tx]

I am on a forum run by the paper in the town I grew up in. There are a couple of teachers on this forum who teach in the local schools and I have became friends with them. One of the teachers expressed his outrage that they couldn't show the events that recently happened in New York because the principal thought it inappropriate. He was very upset. Also one of the other teachers say that certain kids won't say the pledge, and that bothers her. IT's really pretty sick when the educators are brain washing the kids. I hate schools. Thank God my kid is out of it.

[ 10-05-2001: Message edited by: Mike Sullivan ]

[retired]

Shooter1201,

If the only reason you were going to show the movie was to depict the white settlers as butchers, I have to agree with the parent. Dances with Wolves is no more accurate or authentic than any other Hollywood movie. Certainly as an educator you have ample sources of material to teach with other than a Hollywood piece of fiction.

Just my humble opinion.

Retired

[Sparky]

I wonder did you have proper permission to display coyrighted material to a group of people?

And no, showing the ENTIRE movie would NOT fall under "fair use".

[ 10-05-2001: Message edited by: Sparky ]

[Sparky]

and retired makes a good point.....

"kids are visual learners" - we are ALL visual learners to some extent.

I don't think we're paying teachers with advanced degrees in education to have them show video tapes.

I'm a LE trainer, and in the circles I travel in, showing a tape is considered unprofessional and a poor substitute for actual instruction.

Sure, a clip to illustrate a point, but not as a replacement to actual teaching.

However, if a teacher DID decide to show a video, they should be allowed to do so.

But like I said, my kids won't darken the doorway of a public school.

Nothing personal shooter...I think your decision should be respected if you are the teacher...

but if my kids came home from school and told me all they did in class was watch a Hollywood movie, I'd be a little irked.

All due respect, just my two cents.

I guess that brings us to Nite's question, what was the basis for the onjection?

[ 10-05-2001: Message edited by: Sparky ]

[koenig]

"The old masters . . . By which I mean John Ford, John Ford and John Ford."-Orson Welles, answering who influenced him the most as a director.

Show them, The Searchers.........Since it was made in 1956, will be hard to find a parent to object to its content!!!!!

Films can make a valid point, when they are good and not homage's stuffed with cliches, might as well show the film that was the obvious influence.....

Koenig

[Jim Burnes]

Time to show clips from the movie: SMOKE SIGNALS, then you can point out why the character Thomas is seen as a geek by non-indians, but as a figure for a story teller by indians.

Watch how the two main guys discuss sterotypes on the bus, and create a good "49" song titled: John Waynes Teeth.

Observe how the indians and non-indians speak to each other, without either understanding the meaning of the words, although both speak English!

If your going to instruct indian history, kindly drop kick ol John Ford, Glenn Ford, John Wayne, Randolph Scott and their kind right the hell off the field

Jim Burnes
My Heros Have Always Fought Cowboys.

[Mike Tx]

Jim, the lady I saw with that slogan on her shirt read, "My heroes have always killed cowboys."

[Jim Burnes]

Yes, but I'm a PC kinda guy

[Mike Tx]

I knew it.

[DesertRat]

I have to g owith the parent on this one. Not that I find the movie objectionable but, that a s a parent, a trainer, and a school board memeber, I find the use of Hollywood movies totaly objectionable aside from the use of an occasional clip as comic relief or to demonstrate a point. The argument that any Hollywood movie presents any historical event more effectively than any other resource will never get very far with me.

Totally unrelated tidbits:

I worked security for Kevin Costnar and crew when they were filming the movie. He rented a house in Rapid City to stay in while they were there.

I too am a visual learner, all my children have been primarily visual learners, but, this LAST one, who is now 5 years old, is auditory. He repeats everything anybody says, everything he reads, he reads outloud, etc. etc. He is going to be another genius like the 11 year old (two out of the six are brainiacs, three normal folks, and one, Oh my God I hope she marries rich) but it is sure trying one one's patience to teach this one.