Elk Grove, CA Schools offer Pres. Obama Speech Opt-Out (check out what their spokeswoman says!)

[Kadie]

Elk Grove Schools Offer Obama Speech Opt-Out
Will Frampton 5 hrs ago

ELK GROVE, CA - School district officials in Elk Grove have had so many calls of concern from parents in recent days about President Obama's speech to kids next Tuesday, they're giving families a chance to keep their children out of class while the President makes his address about education.

snip...
Elk Grove spokeswoman Elizabeth Graswich said the opt-out form being sent to parents is no different than other forms sent in the past, when potentially violent or controversial films have been offered as part of course study.

more...
http://www.news10.net/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=66335



:grr:

[Rosa Luxemburg]

1. what the.....!

[muntrv]

2. Translation: "We cannot accept a black man as President of the USA!"

[Kadie]

5. Exactly. n/t

[NYC_SKP]

3. Gutless wonders. CYA, Elk Grove. So much for integrity and reason. nt

[LeftyMom]

4. Bullshit: I went to Elk Grove schools K-12, and they hardly ever use those forms for films.

And never because they're "controversial," otherwise there would be no movies on history, science or most any human behavior.

The rule, at least as late as 1998 when I graduated, was that each grade had a maximum rating and only if the movie exceeded or if some scenes were explicit or violent would a permission slip be needed. The latter never happened because teachers would just fast forward past such scenes, for example there's a sex/postcoital scene in the 60's Romeo and Juliet, our teacher fast forwarded past it.

Also, the rule was rarely followed. Our eighth grade history teacher let us watch It the last week of class after we finished exams. No forms. We couldn't have done them anyway, even with forms R movies weren't technically okay until 9th grade. He did it every year and nobody complained or cared. I also saw the Waco fire live on a school TV in the library on lunch around that same time. And sophomore year the teachers put the OJ verdict on the TV or radio because the kids would talk of nothing else that day. That was live as well.

Prior to that, I recall that we watched some NASA stuff, shuttle launches and such, live in class in elementary school. Our ancient building was specially wired around that time (late 80's) precisely so we could tune in to stuff like that, and every classroom had a TV and VCR installed. If the intent was only to watch pre-authorized pre-recorded material, they could have spared themselves the wiring job, so I know that it was not. I remember we even watched some election stuff because in 1988 my class did debates and a mock election focused around that year's presidential race. We certainly didn't get permission slips to do so, and the only content-censoring was that one student who wrote a very graphic position paper on abortion was exempted from reading it to the class.

edit: The only movies I do remember those forms being used for were used in sex ed class. And Ghandi, which we watched in history class sophomore year- why that one needed a form I don't know, I think it was because the teacher was new and being really cautious.