Montgomery County Public Schools revisits policy that bans showing R-rated movies in class
Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) in Maryland is revisiting a policy adopted last fall that effectively bans teacher from showing R-rated movies such as "Saving Private Ryan" and "Schindler's List" in class. The policy also prevents middle school teachers from showing movies rated PG-13 to help illustrate pieces of literature or historical events. A backlash of complaints from teachers, students, and parents over the policy has led the school system to form a 33-member group to revisit whether the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) ratings should be used as a guide for what is appropriate to show students. According to MCPS director of curriculum and instruction Betsy Brown, the group is examining ways the policy might be revised, including by allowing teachers to show the movies as long as parents have signed consent forms or by allowing clips of R-rated movies to be shown.
Some might question why teenagers should view films in school that they would be unable to see on their own in the theatre, but educators say such movies, viewed in the classroom with proper supervision, can be important teaching tools. The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), which endorses the use of film in English classrooms, believes individual movies should be evaluated based on their educational value. NCTE spokeswoman Millie Davis contends MPAA ratings are not ratings of education value. "They don't claim they are, and so for a school district to use them as if they are, is using them in a way that they're not intended to be used," she says. The ban took many teachers by surprise. It was approved by senior staff members at the school system's central office in the fall, but because the change was a regulation and not a policy, it did not require action by the board of education. Ms. Brown says the change was not prompted by parent complaints but was an attempt to provide teachers with more uniform guidelines for how they use movies in the classroom. Teachers, students, and parents that oppose the policy complain that its black and white application strips them of the ability to make judgments regarding what is appropriate for students in the classroom.
Washington PostBy Lori Aratani
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