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Posted on 06/15/2002 8:00:43 PM PDT by Bowana
‘Dumb and Dumber’ movie in classroom no laughing matter Class time isn’t supposed to be showtime.
As painfully obvious as that ought to seem, eighth-graders in one Somersworth Middle School class have logged quite a few hours watching possibly as many as 40 movies this year while school was in session.
This wasn’t a class in filmmaking. And we’re not talking about documentaries or films that had anything remotely to do with the lesson plan du jour.
Rather, we’re talking about entertainment fare such as "Dumb and Dumber," "Jurassic Park" and "Dante’s Peak." The only thing missing — besides educational purpose — was the popcorn.
This misdirected energy, it appears, had nothing to do with the teacher who’s usually in charge. The teacher, having left lesson plans for a substitute teacher to follow, had been on medical leave. His lesson plans did not call for a classroom screening of "Dumb and Dumber" or any other movie for that matter.
The decision to do so was that of the substitute teacher. No doubt, that person had drifted afar and, in so doing, created at least the perception that students had been exposed to themes some parents might find objectionable.
That is why parent Candice Marshall, who says she has sought — but failed — to receive a full list of movie titles seen during class time, has taken the administration to task over the issue. She said she has only received a partial listing, and, understandably, wants to know what her son has been watching in school.
Of course, she and every other parent of children in the class are entitled to a full listing. Parents who closely monitor the viewing habits of their children at home shouldn’t have to worry about teachers or substitutes who undermine their work by presenting material reflecting their own values that doesn’t belong in school.
The circumstances would certainly indicate that Somersworth Middle School administrators are having a difficult time monitoring what goes on in classrooms when substitute teachers are in charge.
Substitute teachers are not baby sitters, nor are they paid like baby sitters. They should be expected to follow a lesson plan and they ought to possess enough skill to present educational materials to children with reasonable effectiveness.
Children in New Hampshire are in school only 180 days per year.
When it comes to fulfilling the mission of education and filling young minds with knowledge, there should never be enough time for "Dumb and Dumber."
Will more money solve this problem or just pay for the next first run movie to be shown?
Of course, she and every other parent of children in the class are entitled to a full listing. Parents who closely monitor the viewing habits of their children at home shouldn’t have to worry about teachers or substitutes who undermine their work by presenting material reflecting their own values that doesn’t belong in school.
Am I the only one who finds it strange that the parents are more concerned with what their children were watching rather than the lack of an education they should be receiving
I'm probably insane for thinking so.
Hadn't noticed that side of the story but it is a GOOD POINT!
I didn't either, but my wife did and like you said after watching it, it grows on you!
It was very funny, but I see no use for it in a classroom!
The education crisis here in NH is Prime Time "Dumb & Dumber" and it just keeps getting deeper and deeper!
Are you kidding? Your younger child watched that horror movie in school?
Ferocious lions, flying monkeys, and houses falling on people!
What kind of parent are you?
/sarcasm off
I've also seen lesson plans in which one teacher of a social psychology class directed the sub to allow the students to practice their social skills by letting them play cards or have small group coversations.
Parents should be a lot more concerned with what it is that the teacher puts forth than what the sub 'allows'. I've been asked to show "The Color Purple", to a bunch of ninth graders--and that deals with, among other things, incest, adultery, lesbianism, prostitution--just what the average ninth grader needs to see, complete with foul language. Sorry, but that seemed a bit much to me. I did show it, however. I'd never seen it before and was shocked that anybody would show it to the kids. Suffice it to say, if asked to show it again, it would be under protest. I'd ask the department head to assign something else.
If the parents had any idea what the average sub has to put up with, and for the pitiful pay (though the hours are good), they'd wonder why anybody would do it. I actually look forward to the days when the teacher shows a video because often, those are the only days when the students behave themselves. Unfortunately, that involves in sitting through the same movie multiple times. I sat through "Look Who's Talking" this spring a total of six times in two days. That was for a class in child development and a related class.
I'm currently looking for a different job.....
It's disturbing to think of why the teachers and administration would not want to talk about the curriculum as it is being taught.
Am I the only one that thinks they (teachers and administration) have doubts about what they are teaching and thus chose to avoid discussing it. Especially to concerned parents.
If there is a problem with what they are teaching -- which there certainly seems to be -- then if they are honest adults they will discuss the curriculum problem or teaching method with concerned parents so as to fully acknowledge the problem with the aim of correcting it.
Whether it's the teachers' and administration's incompetence or ignorance, or both, they have demonstrated that they are unqualified for the job. Plus, by not fully addressing the curriculum problem they created a problem with the parents that need not exist in the first place. Which is probably also true of how the curriculum came to include watching movies -- a problem created by incompetents that need not have existed in the first place.
I can see those kids now as new parents . . . . . . . .
"Why aren't you talking? Come on you are supposed to talk? What did I have a stupid baby or what?
What? Ga GA Goo Goo? You are supposed to sound like Bruce Willis!"
LOL Ha HA hA
Oh my God such horror!!!! Poor children... Do you know if they are ok now? Any of them turned bad... /sarcasm off
Actually, the movie is rated PG13 and is flagged for the following "Profanity, Adult Language, Sexual Violence, Adult Situations, Nudity, Violence, Questionable for Children" http://www.allmovie.com/cg/x.dll is the source for that. This class was filled with kids who weren't mature enough to be dealing with such subject matter.
As to how they turned out--it was just a few months ago, so I don't have long term answers, but many of them don't need encouragement to misbehave at present.
I thought back to those almost forgotten screenings when I visited the Great Smokey Mountains State Park during Christmas vacation last year. As we drove past those stony outcroppings of rock I could almost see Gary Cooper sitting there with his old hound dog looking out on the sunset.
A great movie about a great man - and a tradition that, in it's contrast with the use of movies in the modern classroom to "burn time", reflects shamefully on today's lousy American society.
Maybe "Dumb and Dumber" was this slyly satirical substitute teacher's comment on the state of his charges and their AWOL parents.
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