Showing a 15 film to 11 year olds in school

I think the trouble is with it having a 15 certificate and the teacher deciding the clip is ok - it might NOT be ok for SOME parents and you can't take back what has already been seen.

(and I thought Where the Wild Things Are was the biggest load of crap ever made - it is the only film I ever walked out of at the cinema - after reading the rave reviews I did wonder if I'd seen the same film..)

I think YABU. Yo can get age appropriate clips and the clip you talk about falls within your category.

If you are still worried, it IS possible for you to look up the Classification Board's reason for deciding to make it a 15. I'm sure you will find it is for reasons that are not included/displayed within that clip (eg swearing, nudity)

YABU if the clip itself is innocuous. A film may be given a 15 certificate because of the swearing/violence in it. However, if the 5 min clip that is shown contains neither of these then it is perfectly suitable for any age group and the clip itself would be rated a 'U' most probably. Obviously showing an entire 15 film to a group of 11 year olds is unsuitable - but not picking a perfectly acceptable part of it.

I would have not given permission for my children to see "Where the Wild things are" for my children, and may well have complained about the book. My children found it very scarey.

As to not doing the homework, I would have cheered (but I hate primary homework). The same message could be taught with many other films, although its quite hard to find one that is a U.

Some people will always cry "lazy teaching" as soon as the use of a film clip is mentioned. It's not lazy- using something like a film clip to hook students and encourage their interest is well-established. As for suitability, it always amuses me that Baz Luhrman's Romeo & Juliet is a 12, yet the Zefirelli R&J (full view of Juliet's boobs) and Macbeth (about as gory as it gets) are both PG.

At my last school they used to show this clip in school, having first gained permission from the parents. They never showed the whole film.

My son's school used that scene from LOB, but they wrote out the script instead of the Youtube version. Dh was very enthusiastic and we all watched it in the holidays, and I'm ashamed to say we decided it was a bit unsuitable Our ds 12 and dts 10 did not get the jokes!!

However, what we did think was somewhat was the same history teacher using a scene from Gladiator on screen, which consisted of Marcus Aurelius being killed by his son...

Final straw was Kick Ass at the end of the summer term, but that was a supply teacher putting on a fun DVD...

I think Yabu and over reacting a bit.

The clip is, by your own admission, innocuous, so your child was not 'exposed to unsuitable material by the teacher'.

The clip is funny and would appeal to Year 7s and it opens up a debate. I can't see how your child would be at risk by watching it at home.

We had to sign a permission slip when our daughter started Y7 in Sept - said they would be showing carefully chosen clips from PG and 12 certificate films.

We could sign that it was ok, or that we could , if we wanted to, discuss specific issues with the teacher,could NOT just say no altogether (which I did think was odd..) . Most people just signed yes. I know some people discussed the LOBrian use in history and RE with the teacher as it does mock the followers of Jesus and they were religious.

One parent (Dad of my dds best friend) complained about the use of A Knights Tale due to it being completely lacking in depth and with a poor plot (it was being used to illustrate honour winning out in the end..)The teacher had a laugh about that!

I had to sign to say i approved, but the thing is .... i didnt... i had tried to watch it with her previously and found it too far removed from the orginal story. I was told, that she doesnt have to watch it, but then she wont be able to do the comparison for her homework!

What would you have expected the school to do in that situation? The purpose was presumably to compare the book and film versions of the story. The fact that there were differences was probably one of the reasons why that particular text and film were chosen. The fact that you didn't think the filmmakers had made a faithful adaptation of the book was certainly NOT a good reason to refuse permission to watch it.

YABU about the clip. I'm unsure what the unsuitable material is that the teacher exposed them to. The film as a whole is rated 15, that particular clip wouldn't be.

Personally if my DS who is 11 wants to go on youtube then I make sure I am sitting with him at all times, the school can't be responsible for internet supervision at home.

Why do you want to take this further?

in year 2 my dd was asked to watch 'where the wild things are' which is a PG as part of the CURRICULUM.

I had to sign to say i approved, but the thing is .... i didnt... i had tried to watch it with her previously and found it too far removed from the orginal story.

I was told, that she doesnt have to watch it, but then she wont be able to do the comparison for her homework!

some choice!

I would be happy with the clip used. I would not be happy with them being told to access it via Youtube for homework. But I probably wouldn't make a huge fuss.
I don't like Youtube being used for homework, but sometimes it is helpful eg. a German teacher set homework involving finding named German bands on youtube and listening to one song, then writing about it.

oops, Xpost, serve me right for taking so long to post. YABU about clip itself, but I got the pink bikini bottom suggested afterwards which was distasteful at best. That would be my only issue about encouraging access on YouTube.

YouTube allows a safesearch option, I think?

It depends on the extract shown. Ask to see it.

I don't remember that, frankie, but it was a looong time ago that I saw it. I recall it being in parts hysterical, in parts just dark and gloomy.

The can want to see the film, but it's up to parents whether to let them or not. It's like letting teenagers read extracts of books in school - parents can decide whether or not to buy the whole book.

There is loads of swearing in the life of Brian. I let my DC aged 11 watch the film at home as I think it is a brilliant film, and although I felt uncomfortable with the swearing I am really pleased he watched and enjoyed it with us. I am very strict about films and would not let him normally watch a 15 film, particularly if it is violent or disturbing. I did not let him watch the Hunger Games , for example.

But this was my decision, and the school should not make the decision for the parents. If the children are allowed to watch a clip from the film, then it is common sense that they would then want to look up other clips from the film and see the rest of the film.

I wouldn't have a problem with it.

The clip itself is innocuous and historically accurate, telling the story of the immense impact of the Romans well.

yr 7 DS doesn't have much unsupervised access to the 'net, and tbh if he did the Life of brian is the least of my worries!

I can't see that there would be a legal issue -on planes they show higher age-rated films with the adult material bleeped / pixialated or cut out to make the same film suitable. If a suitable clip is shown, i think that's fine.

"There are many better sources of information about the Romans than the Life of Brian FGS. Sounds like the teacher is lazy IMO."

Really? I think it sounds like a fantastic teacher! So much to talk about from that clip!

Though I'm a bit baffled as to why when it finishes YouTube flicks back to a woman's bum in a pink bikini bottom.

I hope they didn't leave that bit in

Edith, the trouble with the school asking before is that a lot of parents won't even look at the clip, but will just immediately say "oh, 15's, the teachers must be irresponsible, I won't consent" which is such a shame.

This is Secondary Ed not AIBU but yes, you are BU and over-reacting.
In the great scheme of things having 11 year olds watch Life of Brian is pretty harmless I'd say.
In cinemas they show age appropriate clips from 18 rated films at viewings of under 18 films so I doubt it's illegal.

I don't remember that BeerTricks, it must have gone over my head .

I think that is a very good clip, btw.

If it was just a clip of "What the Romans Did for us" then IIRC it is innocuous, and I can see why a teacher might want to use it.

But I agree that films with a BBFC classification 4 years ahead of the age of the children does require care, and should be with parental consent. I think the school could have handled this better by informing parents beforehand that they were planning to use the innocuous clip, sending YouTube link then so parents could check the content, and giving a contact point for any who object. That would take the same effort as responding to complaints afterwards, but achieves vastly more positive communication.