Are schools allowed to show kids PG rated films without permission?

mjt said:
One of our art teachers showed FMJ to Year 8 last year. She claimed it was only the beginning so it wasn't that bad. (Spoiler: it's pretty bad!) Needless to say, I was unimpressed.

The Head subbed a history class last lesson before the winter/Christmas break and showed them Twelve Years a Slave. Again, not something I would've chosen for Year 8/9..
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Yeah...you really need to spend some time with kids that age. We had 2 girls at our school knocked up in year 9. Year 8 and 9 kids frequently talk about who they ****** etc at the weekend.
12 years a slave is a great film for highlighting the plight and suffering of slaves. Its a really good source for the topic.
 
Dis86 said:
That's just it. Its his problem but he's forcing it upon his daughter and seemingly the school as he talks about kids of thst entire age group.
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And you? - gobsmacked.
He made it clear his 7 year old gets triggered by stuff like The Lion King.
He's forced nothing on her.
 
SexyGreyFox said:
And you? - gobsmacked.
He made it clear his 7 year old gets triggered by stuff like The Lion King.
He's forced nothing on her.
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He made nothing of that sort clear in the opening post. In fact in the opening post he said he doesn't want her to watch it as he doesn't feel it's appropriate for a number of reasons.

He also says he expects teachers would consult parents before showing a film of that type to any children of that age group.

He is the one with the problems regarding the film yet is expecting others to jump through hoops for his sensitivities.

Also as a note it's not clear if he's actually seen the film.
 
Dis86 said:
He made nothing of that sort clear in the opening post. In fact in the opening post he said he doesn't want her to watch it as he doesn't feel it's appropriate for a number of reasons.
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So because he didn't make it clear about his daughters problem in the OP everything else is now void :)
You couldn't make this up.
Go GD.
 
Dis86 said:
He also says he expects teachers would consult parents before showing a film of that type to any children of that age group.

He is the one with the problems regarding the film yet is expecting others to jump through hoops for his sensitivities.

Also as a note it's not clear if he's actually seen the film.
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n30_mkii said:
We are pretty strict on what our kids are allowed to watch, and normally vet stuff before they see it, or we will watch it together as my daughter is quite impressionable.
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That's not how I interpreted the OP at all. And although he didn't say it in the OP he did post this...

n30_mkii said:
I'm not too fussed if they do, it would be nice to have had the courtesy. I watched all kinds of films from ten upward, she is just seven and gets offended/shocked etc at quite minor things (Lion King) that's the only reason I'm saying. I certainly don't want them to be too sheltered but I think it can be to easy to just let kids watch anything and dealing with nightmares is not great fun....
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"alright class, today's showing of Harry Potter.."
>yaaaay!<
"has been cancelled because little Jane's parent complained. get out your text books."
>booo, your dad sucks!! let's get her at playtime!!! etc <
 
n30_mkii said:
My little girl aged seven
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Year 2 or year 3? It does matter as expectations change between Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2
I'm not a teacher but have been a governor at a primary school for years (including chair of governors) so I'd be the person you complain to, and I've dealt with plenty of complaints over my time as my kids go to a different school so I can be impartial in the complaints process.

For a PG it doesn't seem unreasonable to not tell parents, but its pretty dependent on the film I guess. On the balance of probabilities I wouldn't expect Harry Potter to be something that teachers would generally ask parents about. That would depend on it being one of the PG films and not one of the 12 rated ones.

If you're concerned though, definitely speak to the teacher. They should be pretty good at arranging things so that your daughter doesn't watch it but doesn't feel like she's being excluded (probably by splitting the class into groups and giving others some fun activity.

I wouldn't complain to the governors unless you feel the teacher and the head teacher have fobbed you off. It usually take a week or two to sort out a proper complaints panel to consider these things.
 
SexyGreyFox said:
Probably the worst of the bunch that refuses to read the OPs problem.
Shame on you.
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The problem being that his daughter got upset at the Lion King?! Who didn't!? What next, pretending their pet hamster went to live on a farm, so she doesn't have to be upset that their pet died? It is these sorts of things which allow a child experience completely normal deep, complex emotions such as sorrow, grief and anger, and when they get over it experience resilience that they were upset by something, they dealt with it and they came out of the other side of it stronger. Children don't need their overbearing parents shielding themselves from everything and these are often the same parents who in their own childhoods watched properly violent films, went off playing all day into the woods climbing trees, starting campfires and walked 2 miles to school on their own in the snow and ice. When it comes to the day when an individual has to deal with these emotions - they simply won't know how to control it, and can experience things like extreme anger, depression and anxiety as a result.

I think back to my childhood - which was only in the early 90s and despair at the over protective nature of some modern day parents and the affect this has on the child and society as a whole. I believe it is important to let children explore their emotions and feelings, even negative ones, to ultimately create a well rounded individual who is capable of knowing, understanding and dealing with everyday situations that trigger said emotions.

And you can cram you "shame on you" right up your...
 
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When I was younger my father allowed me to watch pretty much anything going. Aliens, Robocop, Terminator , Commando, Predator etc. He even had an arrangement with the local video store that I could come in and hire anything without my father being there. Massively against the law but this was the 80s....and stuff like this was allowed to slide. I starting watching these when I was nine or ten.

At the time my father was the coolest guy around. Purely subjectively there has been zero negative impact on me. I was not traumatized, I didn't emulate and go on a killing spree and my use of foul language is no better or worse than the next persons. However this does not mean that my dad was right about this. On today's standard he was downright negligent, and I look at what I allow my children to watch.

Do I pre-watch and screen films before they see them? Absolutely no. Do I take note of the subject matter of the movie and try to make an informed decision before I allow them to watch it? Absolutely.

However this is a very personal choice and I don't judge any parent that does like to pre-screen because as the OP mentioned, some children are more sensitive than others. I just seem to be lucky and to be honest if my children don't like the subject matter they tell me if its too much. An example being that we walked out of last year's reboot of the Mummy at a cinema in New York because my son was scared over a chase scene near a graveyard.

Would I be upset if my son watched a Harry Potter movie at school without our consent? No, however I do understand that some parents might be and to stay on the safe side of caution they should cover their bases by asking for parental consent first.
 
Rifte said:
When I was younger my father allowed me to watch pretty much anything going. Aliens, Robocop, Terminator , Commando, Predator etc. He even had an arrangement with the local video store that I could come in and hire anything without my father being there. Massively against the law but this was the 80s....and stuff like this was allowed to slide. I starting watching these when I was nine or ten.

At the time my father was the coolest guy around. Purely subjectively there has been zero negative impact on me. I was not traumatized, I didn't emulate and go on a killing spree and my use of foul language is no better or worse than the next persons. However this does not mean that my dad was right about this. On today's standard he was downright negligent, and I look at what I allow my children to watch.
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Agreed.

Purely from the direction of discussion (because I actually agree with what you have said) - if you say you had no adverse affects from your father allowing you to watch these films, why would you think he negligent and why do you parent any differently? Ie. why do you stop your own children having the experiences you had?

I wouldn't allow a child of 9 or 10 to watch these films either, but I'm not entirely sure why. I think the best reason I can think of is that children are very good at copying what they see, and I wouldn't want a child of mine copying any of the violent things they have seen because they could cause themselves/others injury because they haven't got a fully developed understanding of films and fiction.
 
terley said:
Can't criticise somebody for the way they parent, especially when its something like this...

Unless you are a child behavioural psychologist with decades of experience, you hardly have a summative objective view based on clear evidence and tangible data.

Cudos to OP for sticking by his guns, if you don't want your kid watching that stuff, its your prerogative.. Harry potter has scenes of death, loss and actual pretty nasty violence, it borders at times in to horror... especially in the final two films.

Also, teachers probably want to play a movie to keep the kids quiet for a bit because they are too lazy to create actual lesson plans.
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You can't criticise someone for the way they parent, but you make wild accusations about the motives of a teacher... you'll also find it's KUDOS.
 
n30_mkii said:
I'm not too fussed if they do, it would be nice to have had the courtesy. I watched all kinds of films from ten upward, she is just seven and gets offended/shocked etc at quite minor things (Lion King) that's the only reason I'm saying. I certainly don't want them to be too sheltered but I think it can be to easy to just let kids watch anything and dealing with nightmares is not great fun....
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I think the trick is talking about it after watching it.

My daughter was 3 when we sat and watched the Great Escape, she got very upset when the man lost his mind, tried climbing the barbed wire and was shot dead. We spoke about it, explained it was just a film, a story. She did talk about death a lot in her early years anyway but she's 6 now, watches most things, she'll cry when it's sad, laugh when it's funny but she understands it's a story and has no impact on daily life. We always talk about them afterwards still.

We all watched the entire Harry Potter series over Christmas, yes it's a little scary in places but kids need to learn to understand and process things that are a little outside of their comfort zones in order to grow. Like I say to my wife, I love the age my 2 are now, but everything I do or teach is to make them great adults. Only you can judge what your daughter can deal with, but do keep pushing her boundaries :)
 
We probably find that in hindsight, the biggest effect that watching stuff that is violent/scary or whatever is that our personal movie tastes change. It probably has a negligible effect on our personality and daily actions but when looking at a child rather than looking back at your own childhood, you see how they pick things up quickly and you experience having to deal with a scared child from a different perspective, which likely exaggerates the possible effect of these films/games on your child in your head.

Also for comments about the schools not doing their jobs... surely you all can remember what it was like on the last day of term/half day or when you have a substitute teacher. Half the kids are excited and distracted to the point where a lesson is a bit of a waste of time for some of them and you would have to cover it again or leave the kids that didn't take it in behind. Last day of school was pretty much a doss/mess about day.
 
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