Hollywood in the classroom

 I love to watch a good movie. And if I can get out of the house with my wife and watch it at an actual movie theatre even better. If not, watching a flick at home is also an enjoyable experience. 

My children are no different than me when it comes to movies. Their cinematic tastes clash with my own most times but the other weekend we watched a teenage show that wreaked of the 1980s -- The Perks of Being a Wallflower. It was 90 minutes well spent and it provided another opportunity for me to reflect upon my youth.

It's nice to sit down and enjoy a movie. But there's a time and a place for enjoying these things and those times shouldn't be between 9 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday during the school year. You may be asking yourselves, "Movies at school? Who watches movies at school?" To that I only have one answer -- your kids if indeed you have kids. Hollywood has taken over the classrooms in Durham Region.

I recall viewing ancient documentary films in grade school during history classes. No big name actors in those films, no special effects. Just dull, historical material that complemented the course curriculum we were studying.

These days DVDs are played in the classrooms for pure entertainment in my kids' classes. Last spring the students in the primary and junior grades actually went to the movie theatre to watch Dr. Seuss' The Lorax. The senior students saw The Hunger Games. I asked my kids if they were studying anything remotely associated with either of those movies. They weren't.

Apparently many schools got special deals to view these highly anticipated movies. So learning was out, entertainment was in. Hollywood 1, Education 0.

I thought once my eldest daughter Rebekah got to high school the movies would end. Not so. Two weeks ago she got to view the movie Top Gun in french class. No, it wasn't the french version!

Since September she has viewed in class the movies Babe, 1408, The Day After Tomorrow, Emperor's New Groove (a movie my 6 year old would enjoy), Babar, Mean Girls. Only one movie had any educational value and that was a documentary on water played in geography class. It's also the only movie Rebekah couldn't remember the title of, great!

Rebekah is in the academic stream, what in my day was called 'advanced'. If the course curriculum allows students the time to view this many movies in a semester and a half there's a problem.

My wife Heather called Rebekah's school to ask the principal what's going on? So far he hasn't returned her call. It will be interesting to hear his response.

The goal of all educators should be to educate our students and prepare them for their futures. Teach them, talk to them, question them, engage them. Don't pop in a DVD and ignore them. Viewing this many Hollywood movies during class times tells me the system is failing our kids, at least the system here in Durham Region.

There should be a ban on viewing movies in the classroom unless it has something, anything to do with what students are studying. If not, keep Hollywood out of our classrooms.