They were citing films like "Saving Private Ryan," and "The Patriot" as being too violent to be used as teaching material. Most of the worlds history IS "R" rated, and i'd go so far as to say that the majority of the classics in Literature are at least "PG-13" While i agree that parental permission should be required (as was the case when i was in school for watching movies, and performing frog dissections, field trips, etc.) I think that films, well crafted films at least, are invaluable learning tools. This goes WAY beyond the war epics. I can remember numerous times when a film presentation greatly enhanced the "book learning": "Chinatown" while studying the roots of Californian Suburbanization, The Marx Brothers while studing the evolution of Comedy, "Amistad" and the black slave trade, the list goes on and on. (although the day we watched Monty Pythons Holy Grail in Latin class because the priests had one line in latin was a bit much! ) Film adaptions of classic texts also can be utilized to drive home concepts and themes. Think of the lively contrasts between Baz's (leo dicaprio's) Romeo and Juliet and (Gwyneth Paltrow's) Shakespeare in Love.

Finally, I don't understand the logic in allowing G rated films in the classroom. How much can be learned from The Princess Diaries, anyway?!

Anyway, i'm opening this thread to find out not only you're reactions to this, but also to find out what films you remember watching in school (or while in school) that helped you understand "the bigger picture" in the world. Needless to say, when i have kids, i'm not moving to Federal Way.

When you're watching stuff in classrooms, the teacher is selecting which clips or complete films the kids are going to see, and (if they're any good as teachers) doing other work with the children to put them in context. Using films as teaching aids is very different from showing them as entertainment. So I really can't see that a rating system should apply, because the teacher is effectively doing the job of the censorship board. I remember as a 14 year-old child at school being shown footage of the liberation of Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in a history lesson: you can't get much more horrific than that. The history teacher explained why he was showing it and sugegsted some ways of relating the film to other things we'd seen and read about Nazi Germany. I suppose you could say that a bad teacher who hadn't given any thought to the content of his or her lessons could end up frightening kids with such footage, but in that case the teacher training system needs overhauling, because he or she should not have got into a classroom. By simply placing a blanket ban on the use of films in classrooms you're denying good teachers the chance to use them as a positive teaching aid.

http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/110.html

http://www.mpaa.org/Press/
http://www.mpaa.org/anti-piracy/index.htm

"PUBLIC PERFORMANCE"

"Unauthorized public performances refer to situations where an institution or commercial establishment shows a tape or film to its members or customers without receiving permission from the copyright owner. This includes "public performances" where an admission fee is charged as well as those that are simply offered as an additional service of the establishment."

http://www.ctconfucc.org/news/CONNtact1201/VideoandtheLetteroft.html

------------------
John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7525A
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: +1 585 477 5325 Cell: +1 585 781 4036 Fax: +1 585 722 7243
E-Mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion

When I was in school, the school board made arrangements with a theater in town for a special showing to all the students taking a certain class. Ours was McBeth. (I thought it was a neat way to skip a class or two but it didn't work. ) History and I had trouble co-existing in high school.

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SpaceCamp
Return of the Jedi
The Phantom Tollbooth

I recall watching La Bamba in Spanish class. I also recall watching To Kill a Mockingbird and The Outsiders in English classes.

I remember watching the cartoon version of Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit in fourth grade, but that was because our teacher read us the entire series of books throughout the course of the year.

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But there are other examples:

Film Cinema Video

Ranson 15 18
Con Air 15 18

And the other way around

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