This and That
The Times is reporting that Hamilton's 6th grade field trip to see The Hunger Games has been canceled. I'm not really surprised - I think an adult should see the film before a decision is made to show it to students. (And if you want a version of it, check out the Japanese film, Battle Royale, with the same theme of kids being forced to kill each other to stay alive.)
I am getting a press pass to go and hear Diane Ravitch tomorrow morning at the National Association of Elementary School Principals convention being held this week at the Convention Center. I have never heard her speak and I am looking forward to it. I also hope to speak to some principals from other states about their challenges and successes. The Association includes elementary and middle school principals. They are also sponsoring a day of service today for Hawthorne Elementary School in support of their new playground. (I attended an event at Hawthorne this week and there are a couple of threads to come out of that.)
The Snow Days waiver to OSPI has been added to tonight's School Board agenda as an Intro item. This had been brought up at the Audit & Finance Committee meeting and was only passed onto the full Board as the Board members had some different thoughts on this than staff. At issue is money and use of time.
The Board members at the committee meeting were not happy at trimming back yet more days from the SPS school year. The item notes that high school/middle school students would have 175 days and the elementary/K-8 students would have 172 days. The state law on this subject requires 180 days.
The district would have to spend about $500k to have those two days of school plus there is the issue of end of the school year days not being as productive. Most of that money would be transportation and utilities. But you could argue the money has already been allotted for those days in the budget so school should be held.
Coming threads:
I am getting a press pass to go and hear Diane Ravitch tomorrow morning at the National Association of Elementary School Principals convention being held this week at the Convention Center. I have never heard her speak and I am looking forward to it. I also hope to speak to some principals from other states about their challenges and successes. The Association includes elementary and middle school principals. They are also sponsoring a day of service today for Hawthorne Elementary School in support of their new playground. (I attended an event at Hawthorne this week and there are a couple of threads to come out of that.)
The Snow Days waiver to OSPI has been added to tonight's School Board agenda as an Intro item. This had been brought up at the Audit & Finance Committee meeting and was only passed onto the full Board as the Board members had some different thoughts on this than staff. At issue is money and use of time.
The Board members at the committee meeting were not happy at trimming back yet more days from the SPS school year. The item notes that high school/middle school students would have 175 days and the elementary/K-8 students would have 172 days. The state law on this subject requires 180 days.
The district would have to spend about $500k to have those two days of school plus there is the issue of end of the school year days not being as productive. Most of that money would be transportation and utilities. But you could argue the money has already been allotted for those days in the budget so school should be held.
Coming threads:
- PTA - what does it mean to SPS and to you? Do parents need to look beyond PTA for empowerment? Is the fundraising burden getting to be too much?
- Communication issues - what if you were trying to save a program and no one gave you clear information or answered your questions?
- Capacity management and BEX IV (and Advanced Learning)
Comments
- Concerned parent
See the movie before taking students to see it? How about read the book which all of these kids have? This is a faithful adaptation and the kids won't be unprepared when they see the movie (unlike some of their parents, apparently). What a slippery slope! Does this mean we shouldn't take students to see Midsummer's Night Dream (Titania wakes up with a man/donkey hybrid after a presumed night of lovin'!) because they might be "disturbed" by what they see? More well-meaning liberal Seattle parents who wish to impose their values on the everyone, but insist they're not for censorship and are dismayed to find themselves in allegiance with the cuckoos who want to ban Harry Potter because it promotes witchcraft. If you don't want your kids to see the movie, excuse them from the field trip. Kids are on fire to see this movie BECAUSE THEY HAVE READ AND LOVE THE BOOK!
- SPS Mom and Teacher Against Censorship
Good call on the parents behalf speaking up on this issue!
It is a far more appropriate movie for older teens, but not for younger ones. We are talking 11 and 12 year olds here. Since this field trip was to be a bonding experience for the entire grade, why choose a divisive movie that is rated PG-13? Why not choose a movie that is indisputably age appropriate, or why not bring an older grade where nearly every kid is developmentally ready for the intense subject matter?
-not feeling the love
And you know this how? Have you seen the movie? Read the book? I have not seen the movie, but have read the book and there are certainly a number of incidents that could be disturbing to anyone depending upon how graphic the film portrayal is.
I'm 57 and don't like watching gory violence at all—missed a lot of good movies because of the graphic violence—so no, I don't think a film that has this potential should be used for a field trip for 6th graders. This is especially since the kids in question are below the recommended age range for the film (PG 13) as noted by a few other posters.
The violence in the book was handled in a very sensitive way, but it was such that at least a few 11-yr-olds—especially girls who might not be playing violent video games—could get quite upset.
I think the call to cancel was a good one.
Solvay
It is saddening to see such divisiveness and such disregard for differences among fellow students.
Had they followed district guidelines, the trip probably wouldn't have been approved in the first place. If the trip was considered educational, then Board Policy 2023, Classroom Use of Electronically Accessible Material, should apply:
When using films, video and
television for classroom instruction, care shall be taken that the content is appropriate for the intended audience.
This incident has been more illuminating for what is has brought out in people than for whatever the film contains.
name unimportant
I will point out that no one knows how many students read Hunger Games so to say they are going because they loved the book is something no one knows.
Anonymous, making judgments much? No one has said anything about Harry Potter or witches. But parents have the right to know what the subject matter of any film shown at school is.
I don't think parents mishandled this; I think the school did.
1. Do you teach at Hamilton?
2. What is the intended purpose of the field trip?
3. Is viewing a movie the most effective way to achieve the purpose of the field trip?
4. Have "all of these kids" actually read the book?
5. What is your evidence that the movie is a "faithful adaptation" of the book? Have you been to a pre-release screening?
6. What do you mean by "slippery slope"?
7. Um, it's "Midsummer Night's Dream" not "Midsummer's Night Dream". You would probably know that if you had taught it to your class, seen the play or read it.
8. "...well-meaning liberal Seattle parents who wish to impose their values on the everyone" - speak in broad abstract accusatory rhetoric often? Are you sure it's not the well-meaning conservative parents? the well-meaning middle of the road parents? Did you consider that maybe it's parents advocating for an activity which is a better match for their child?
After that, for me, you go a bit off the rails. I'm not quite sure how you get to the allegiance with those who wish to ban Harry Potter - I haven't heard anyone advocate the banning of the movie. Questions about whether a movie is an appropriate choice for the field trip, and if so whether this particular movie is the right choice for the kids, that's what I've heard.
Take it down a notch. And by the way, I thought Kelsey Creek was in Bellevue.
Oompah
These are not second graders. This seems like the kind of decision that could have safely been left to the kids to work out, with some help from the school's teachers and administration.
This is not the only time that potentially or explicitly inappropriate material has been assigned to HIMS kids this year, and without parental notification or approval.
So some parents are justifiably questioning some of the judgment calls at HIMS and have likely lost some trust in this area.
I am clueless parent and had no idea what "the Hunger Game" was about until recently. What can I say? Recently, I pulled out my old copy of "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" and thought wow, I love, love this book and thought my daughter would too. UNTIL I re-read the book. Oops, forgot all about the grim and pretty scary near rape scene by a serial child rapist/murderer. Will put this one ON HOLD for a while longer. You can call it censorship, but I figure it's more good common sense.
There is a time and a place for things.
-in no rush
But again, my point is that I'm kind of tired of adults talking to adults about this. What do the kids think? Is there any reason to believe the kids could not have worked this out better than we adults seem to be doing? I suspect so, and given the rather low stakes (a social field trip), I would like to have seen them given the shot.
Also: @oompa: It's actually : "A midsummer night's dream"
My child also is pretty good at deciding what is and isn't appropriate, and can mostly make those choices independently.
But what do you do when a teacher or school puts something in front of you that you would not choose to read or watch? Do you assume that's part of middle school, or do you speak up? What happens when you speak up and the teacher dismisses your concerns? What happens when you can't look to the teachers for help?
I would like to trust the teachers to make sound choices. Unfortunately, our experience this year has us talking with our children about how to handle situations when the adults make bad choices.
Hamilton parent
Running time is an issue. Young kids start to get restless after an hour to an hour and a half, no matter how good the material is.
Ingraham Parent
-Curious
Why is Hunger Games rated PG-13?, even though it involves children fighting to the death, while Bully, a documentary looking at the increase of bullying across the country is rated R- for some language.(because the F word appeared 6 times in the film)
There are a couple of good sites out there such as commonsensemedia.org that provide more details of various factors in a movie - sexual situations, bathroom humor, drug use, nudity, swear words, violence, etc etc. i have found them to be far more useful for edge case movies like this than the simple PG/PG-13 ratings.
You can make learning very relevant without resorting to well marketed, best selling, billion dollar fictional series and movie. Real life stories make a better teaching tool and just as gripping and compelling. Why are some folks more at risk for this sort of death? Why do some families have to talk with their youngsters about how to handle themselves in public when they are in certain places, especially when dealing with potentially armed strangers, law enforcement, and security guards?
-how about it?
This was assigned to 6th graders in an SS class this year. When students spoke up and voiced their discomfort with the inappropriate material, they were ignored.
(from the Discuss APP Blog):
Start with page 121 and keep going: http://books.google.com/books?id=up4_q8ooKO0C&printsec=frontcover&dq=Nisa&hl=en&ei=efyqTrfGA8mKiALn6ZGdCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDUQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=marriage%20hut&f=false
It continues on to the content that's on page 124, which Google excludes.
October 28, 2011 12:09 PM
Another comment about it:
Anonymous said...
The "wildly inappropriate" article was a chapter from a college level reader. Part of it described sexual relations of an African tribe. Students read it aloud to partners during a 6th grade class. It was explained as a copy mistake.
Jane
October 26, 2011 1:52 PM
Right on.
American popular culture is great at concocting and reveling in fictitious violence, while ignoring or avoiding honest discussion of the real thing and its real consequences.
Both the examples you cite would be incredibly compelling and relevant discussion topics for a middle school classroom.
--amsiegel
NE Seattle Mom
(and HIMS 8th grade parent)
How about you google it: Hunger games book or movie. You will find plenty of reading for both subjects.
Plus a summary of the recent happenings:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2017800832_hungergames21m.html
If the violence is handled the way it was in the book—simply and without dwelling on it—except perhaps for one of the last scenes which was pretty grizzly—then the film may be fine. However, if the violence is amped up and/or very graphically displayed then probably not for all kids.
I believe that prior screening by at least one adult—preferably a seasoned teacher—should be required for any "all-grade" or "all school" showing. This isn't censorship, it's common sense.
Solvay
If the violence is handled the way it was in the book—simply and without dwelling on it—except perhaps for one of the last scenes which was pretty grizzly—then the film may be fine. However, if the violence is amped up and/or very graphically displayed then probably not for all kids.
I believe that prior screening by at least one adult—preferably a seasoned teacher—should be required for any "all-grade" or "all school" showing. This isn't censorship, it's common sense.
Solvay
I understand the sentiment, but what does this mean? If 75% of the kids say "yeah, let's go see this movie!" and 25% say "no thanks", does a majority rule (mob rule) win the day? I think a lot of the kids did talk about it, and there were quite a few that were uncomfortable with it. At some point the adults really do have to step in and be adults. These are 11 and 12 year olds, not 15 year olds.
Hamilton Parent said: Having read the books, my child wanted to see the movie, but thought it was an unusual choice of field trips. Having read the books, my child also understood why some classmates would not want to read the books or go to the movie. My child was willing to opt out of the trip so friends wouldn't feel pressured to go.
Now there is a mature, thoughtful kid. Kudos.
The odd thing to me, as others have mentioned, is why seeing any movie (let alone a potentially controversial one) would be considered a great grade-level event. Other than the bus rides back and forth to the theater, an event like this consists of a bunch of kids sitting in a dark room expected to (mostly) be paying attention to something on the screen in front of them. What's the matter with a skating party, ice cream social or something where the kids can actually interact? If some kids don't like to skate, at least there's an area where they can hang out and talk or watch their friends, etc. With a movie, the alternative would be to have a gang of kids hanging out in the theater lobby for 2 hours, which would almost certainly be discouraged, or alienate them from their peers by staying back at school. Ouch.
This was not well thought out at all, and sadly (as mentioned already), this building seems prone to stuff like this.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/movies/2017805761_mr23hunger.html
commonsensemedia .org has it reviewed already!
And yes a movie is just as wasteful and/or beneficial as an ice cream social or skate king trip. There's no consensus any more than on the subject of video games.
@patrick. Ok. Well everyone's experience is different I suppose . I've done R&J, AMND, Tempest, Caesar, MWW and the Scottish play all under 90 mins, most under 70. MacB and Caesar don't really need too many cuts to do it either.
Yes judicious cuts are required (but good god no "modern" translations!)
Any director who doesn't make cuts to Bill Shakespeare is either a member of the RSC showing off, or an idiot.
And I've taught with the policy that a study of Elizabethean poetry is no more necessary a pre-requisite than Latin is to reading Harry Potter.
Shakes wrote plays not lit, so they must be played. Besides: once rhythm and cadence are observed...
To teach the iambic pentameter
Is no more hard than "Dr" Theodore.
;)
-A Waldorf parent
Battle Royale is similar but at least the movie, is way more violent. Haven't read the book yet.
-a Waldorf parent
I had already googled it, but I was trying to ask what people specifically are objecting to. There has been a lot of talk but I haven't seen specific objections regarding subject matter. I'm sorry I wasn't clear in my question.
NE Seattle Mom
a) field trips MUST be tied to curriculum and/or have clear educational objectives (end-of-school year "fun" trips nonwithstanding)
b) instructional materials MUST be age appropriate. PG-13 movies for kids who are not yet 13? Um, no...
The principal and teachers were not aiming high here, just being lazy. Kind of like how a HIMS teacher played 7th graders the "Kony 2012" video last week in homeroom (without parents' permission) because the teacher heard some kids talking about how upsetting it was and thought it would be a good idea. The principal's response to parents' concerns on that decision? Tepid and unapologetic.
--What will it take to change things at Hamilton?
Sadly, I think it will take a new principal.
See the most recent HIMS climate survey.
Note in the staff section how much worse the Leadership marks are - across the board. And the Professional Culture marks are nearly all down significantly as well. My guess is this year it will only get worse.
As parents we need to be mindful of these surveys and seek them out when they're available. This is actionable data if it's consistent.
Curious
She seems to have his back, or is lazy and ineffectual as well. She tells parents that she's "known Chris Carter for years and trusts him."
--What will it take to change things at Hamilton?
Isn't this what it comes down to? It's more than being a nice guy or gal.
This translates to..."I have an ongoing working relationship with this individual and I am not equipped with the skills to ask questions that I feel might make me uncomfortable in the asking, or Chris uncomfortable in the receiving. You are just a parent and probably don't have the full picture."
How can you trust someone if you don't ask them questions?
Oompah
Concerned also
There are always many sides to a story, of course, and Carter seems a nice enough and compassionate fellow. And, to be fair, there are many great things about Hamilton - it is safe, friendly, has a great music program and has some great teachers.
However, in his job as principal he must lead and respond to issues at hand. He has been given ample evidence over the past three years that there are some REALLY horrendous teachers that parents and kids are very upset about. He has not dealt with the problem, or even hinted that he would do so. He has put out fires here and there, shuffled around. As someone else posted here, he has dismal and ever-plummeting ratings by his staff.
Parents AND teachers are giving him poor marks for his performance. No one's saying he's evil, just that he's not doing his job at a satisfactory level.
-HIMS parent
"So how do you propose exactly that he remove ineffective teachers? Or define them to begin with, when 99% are rated adequate/effective by current evaluation practices?"
First, John, it is the principal who awarded the teachers that rating. If he didn't think they deserved it, he should not have granted it to them.
Second, what makes you think that 99% of teachers are not adequate/effective? Do you have an objective basis for that presumption? Do you think you can evaluate them better than their principal? This reminds me of the fan in the stands who thinks they have a better vantage point for calling balls and strikes than the plate umpire.
Third, the school board doesn't have anything to with the teachers' contract so your effort to blame the school board is grossly misplaced.