Local public middle school showing Rated R films w/out parental consent!

[Sue G in PA]

My dd12 just finished reading That Was Then This Is Now with her 8th grade English class. Some of you might remember my dilemna in whether or not to let her read it. Well, I did. She enjoyed it. She came home yesterday and announced her excitement that they would get to see the movie. I immediately looked it up online and it was rated R! :001_huh: Does anyone else find this appalling? No letter home, no announcement or request for parental consent to watch. These are 12-14yo kids and rated R, I thought, meant no one under 17 w/out a PARENT or guardian. This film was approved by the PRINCIPAL of the school! I spoke to dd's English teacher and will have her removed from the classroom to work in the library during the movie. Her excuse for showing the movie? That it was a 1985 movie and what was rated R then would be PG today. :001_huh: I said, of course...our world today is MUCH more liberal and TV and movies are MUCH worse as opposed to their 70s and 80s counterparts! I found this "excuse" ridiculous. We really do lose control of our kids when we send them to ps. :glare:

[MarthaT]

It is a sad reality of today's educational system. I would be outraged and would most likely be found picketing outside the school.

[Carol in Cal.]

She doesn't even watch too many PG13 movies.

 

She has seen all of the LOTR and Harry Potter movies, so she has ranged into the 'guided' area, but those are the only examples. This year she gets to see the Luther movie for the first time--it's PG13. We are Lutheran, what can I say.

 

If I were in the position that you are, I would make my decisions slowly and convey them warmly. I would start by renting and watching the movie myself, by myself. Then I would decide whether or not I was willing to have my DD see it. If I were unwilling to let her watch it, I would send a warm, polite note to the teacher and copy the principal. It would say that although I'm sure their educational intentions are absolutely top drawer and valid, we have a family policy of non-exposure to R-rated media of any kind, and we request an alternate assignment be made available for DD. I would deliver this in person, and be very cordial, and tell the teacher about it myself, and then leave the letter with her. Put on the bottom that you cc'ed the principal. That way you have maintained the relationship and also established a paper trail.

 

If I were willing to have her watch it, but felt that there were parts that I thought were quite borderline, I would probably discuss them with her first and then we would watch the movie together.

 

After that, we would talk about it. How does she feel about watching it with a group? Is she going to be highly embarrassed and/or unable to discuss it? Is the class participation a big part of the grade? Does she need to practice with me? Does she need me to opt her out of it?

 

That's how I would proceed and decide. I would be making haste slowly!

[LauraGB]

That it was a 1985 movie and what was rated R then would be PG today. :001_huh:

 

HUH?:confused:

 

They didn't have PG13 then, and I can think of numerous movies that were rated PG at that time that should have been rated PG 13 (at least!).

 

I would call the superintendant. The movie is clearly rated R - no way should it be allowed to be shown in a classroom full of 12-14 year olds! Who the heck is that principal, making an executive decision like that?!

Edited October 8, 2009 by LauraGB

[JoyfulMama]

... This film was approved by the PRINCIPAL of the school! I spoke to dd's English teacher and will have her removed from the classroom to work in the library during the movie. Her excuse for showing the movie? That it was a 1985 movie and what was rated R then would be PG today. :001_huh: I said, of course...our world today is MUCH more liberal and TV and movies are MUCH worse as opposed to their 70s and 80s counterparts! I found this "excuse" ridiculous. We really do lose control of our kids when we send them to ps. :glare:

 

So sorry. Just think of those parents who aren't as attentive to this as you are, and who may have no idea what their children may be exposed to.

I'm thinking there must be a policy (district, maybe not school) on what media can be approved for educational viewing. I know that what we were allowed to watch (back in the day) was limited by policy (district) and approval (by whom I'm not sure, maybe the Principal).

[happygrrl]

In my freshman year of high school (1985) I took American Lit. For the big finale of the great writers of America we watched.... drum roll please... CHILDREN OF THE CORN!!! Oh yeah, I was 14. Granted, everyone else in the class was a sophomore (15 or 16) but still! It was not only rated R, it was cheesy. I really pushed to watch Scarlett Letter or ANYTHING else. No luck, I was merely branded a "problem student" :confused:.

[Jenny in Atl]

I remember this was a rather weak R (drugs and language). Why not watch it with her before she sees it with the class?

[Sue G in PA]

Dh and I watched the trailer for it online. There were adult situations (teen couple in bed together) and reviews said that there was extreme profanity. Even a "little" profanity is a no-no in our house for our children. I spoke to the teacher, explained my position and she was eager to accomodate and understood my position. I've yet to speak to the principal although I copied him on the original email to the teacher. Suppose I'll call him tomorrow. I just can't believe this is policy. My dh was a public hs teacher and was apalled that this was happening. All the teachers at the school he visited today were open-mouth, jaw on the floor shocked (and this was a Baltimore City public school). Crazy. It just makes me wonder what else goes on without my knowledge. :glare:

[HRAAB]

I don't know the movie so can't comment on that. However, I would want to be advised ahead of time if my child were going to be viewing a movie. Ratings alone are not enough of a guide for me. There are PG13 movies that I find more inappropriate than some R movies. I would be very upset to not have been notified.

 

Janet

[Caribbean Queen]

My neice watched R rated movies in 6th grade that had nothing to do with the curriculum. :thumbdown:

[hsmom3tn]

I can't remember seeing any R-rated movies at school, but we sure watched a lot of MTV at school. Oh, and some teachers didn't want to miss their favorite soaps, so we watched those quite a bit, too.

 

As for the OP, I would be really upset about this, too. Parents should have to give their consent for something like this.

[fivetails]

I think it's completely a parental decision as to what movies kids view - but I just thought I''d mention that it wasn't an R-rated movie in Canada, according to the info I just looked up. It was a 14A - at the theater, this would mean that under 14s would need an adult with them. {I believe that in our theaters, a 14A is pretty much the same as the US PG13}

 

Even with a 14A rating though, it surprises me that they'd not consider parental permission with that grade - given that there are 12s in the class.