School District Defends Movie Policy
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - While a parents' group continues to press the Council Rock School District in Bucks County to can 'R' rated movies it's showing students, the superintendent said they're useful.
A group called Parents Active in Responsible Education, or PARE, is against the policy, even with teacher supervision, because they contain scenes of gratuitous violence, sex, nudity, as well as adult themes and language.
School superintendent Mark Klein has a different perspective:
"Young people are raised in a media heavy society. Students are assaulted with a number of media images while watching both computers and television."
He says teachers broaden their lessons by showing movies and clips to high school teens:
"Everytime we put one of these movies in play in the curriculum, the parents get to sign off on a permission slip."
Dan Romer, the director of the Adolescent Health Communication Institute at the Annenberg Public Policy Center, says a teacher, like a parent, could put the movie in context:
"If teachers have a good reason for showing the film, for educational reasons, I think it's worthwhile, no matter what the rating.'
Reported by KYW Newsradio's Steve Tawa
