[Man Afraid of his Shoes]

Bull. Fucking. Shit.

A few minutes of ‘300’ too much for some middle school’s parents

By Victor Alvis
Dalton Daily Citizen

A screening Wednesday of the first few minutes of the R-rated movie “300” in a Westside Middle School classroom has left more than one parent and some students upset.

Richard Schoen, executive director of assessment and accountability for Whitfield County Schools, said about five minutes of the movie was shown.

According to two parents, history teacher Brad Barrett showed the first 7-9 minutes of the movie as part of his class. Barrett could not be reached for comment.

“My daughter came home from school yesterday distraught, saying her teacher showed her an R-rated movie. I was shocked,” said parent Tina McCurley. “I found out it was the ‘300.’ It was the first time I’d heard of the movie, so I went online (to www.ChristianAnswers.net) to read the reviews. They described it as a pornographic slaughter movie with prolonged scenes of female nudity, sex acts, lesbian and homosexual content.”

The Internet Movie Database, www.IMDb.com, says “300” is based on Frank Miller’s graphic novel concerning the 480 B.C. Battle of Thermopylae, in which the King of Sparta led his army of 300 against the advancing Persians; the battle is said to have inspired all of Greece to band together against the much larger Persian army and helped to usher in the world’s first democracy.

Schoen said on Thursday that administrators have investigated the incident and confirmed only about a five-minute clip of the movie was shown.

“I watched it with the principal (Stan Stewart). The clip had no profanity, no nudity, no violence,” he said. “It depicts a Spartan boy and the process he went through in attempting to attain manhood. We didn’t find it disturbing and thought it was appropriate to the lesson. There were no battle scenes. The clip starts with a boy as a baby and ends as he enters the army.”

Schoen confirmed one scene depicts the boy using a spear to protect himself from a wolf. The violence is shown off screen via a shadow on a wall, he said.

“Most sixth-graders are 12 years old,” Schoen said. “This is not something that age group is not reasonably exposed to on today’s television.”

Schoen said movies shown at the middle school level should be on an approved list, available from the school media center or pre-approved by the principal.

“This one wasn’t,” he said. “That is something we will deal with. We will handle that as a personnel issue in an appropriate manner.”

Schoen did not say how long Barrett has been a teacher, but he said Barrett is not new to the profession.

“From what I’m hearing, the teacher showed it to them to get them ready to study ... that time period, so they could understand what it was like then,” McCurley said. “From everything I’ve read, the previews and the trailer, I don’t feel the movie is appropriate for these students. If movie theaters can’t show rated-R movies without a parent present, how can they do this in the schools?”

McCurley said she wants her daughter removed from the class.

“My daughter could not sleep last night, and I’ve heard many others couldn’t either,” she said, allowing she sees nothing wrong with the movie’s first five minutes. “We don’t know how much he showed to them. The students were not sitting there looking at their watches. I don’t care if it was one minute. ‘R’ movies have no place in our schools.”

A mother of another child in the class said she finds it upsetting that the movie was shown to new middle-schoolers during the second full week of school.

“We don’t allow R-rated movies in our home. It’s humiliating for Westside, but I can see where the teacher had a history lesson he was trying to get across,” she said. “I hate it for the school and the teacher. I know he was trying to hook them into being interested in that war and that age.”

The parent said her daughter is part of a gender-based classroom of all girls, and she understands mixed-gender classes saw it, too.

“We’re having mass killings in schools, then they show this movie. My daughter was very confused and took it at a different level,” she said. “Parents should be notified beforehand. My child would not have gone to school that day if I had been told. I told her, ‘If they put it back in (Thursday), call me.’”

What a lying heiffer.

If the first five minutes of 300 had that much of a negative affect on her kid, then the kid needed therepy way before she saw it.

[Sunshine]

Originally Posted by Man Afraid of his Shoes

Didn't read past this part.

[marathon]

If you're going to trust the public schools to educate your children, then their curriculum is the one they're going to get.

If you no like, educate them at home.

I wonder how many parents are offended enough to do just that. I expect most would instead balk at the suggestion

[Man Afraid of his Shoes]

Originally Posted by Sunshine

Didn't read past this part.

The best part is where she goes on and on about how her poor little girl was traumatized by a part of the movie that had about 500% less violence than The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.

[Uncle Albert]

Dumb, histrionic bitch looking for a "crusade".

[Nova]

Just another example of why it's hard to keep teachers in the profession.

Context, bitch, it's all about context.

The last church i went to the preacher used a clip from Cool Hand Luke to set up one of his sermons - the HORROR!

[Lt. Mewa]

Originally Posted by The Shadow

Just another example of why it's hard to keep teachers in the profession.

Context, bitch, it's all about context.

The last church i went to the preacher used a clip from Cool Hand Luke to set up one of his sermons - the HORROR!

Cool Hand Luke!? What could you set up from that old ass movie?

[Sunshine]

Originally Posted by Man Afraid of his Shoes

The best part is where she goes on and on about how her poor little girl was traumatized by a part of the movie that had about 500% less violence than The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.

Maybe I should've read a bit further.

[evenflow]

Originally Posted by Lt. Mewa

Cool Hand Luke!? What could you set up from that old ass movie?

You don't remember the part in the Bible where Satan bets Jesus he can't eat fifty eggs?

[Lt. Mewa]

Originally Posted by evenflow

You don't remember the part in the Bible where Satan bets Jesus he can't eat fifty eggs?

Whatever it is, the movie is like 40 yrs old.

[evenflow]

Originally Posted by Lt. Mewa

Whatever it is, the movie is like 40 yrs old.

So you know when it was made.

What else ya got?

[Sunshine]

Originally Posted by Lt. Mewa

Whatever it is, the movie is like 40 yrs old.

Bloody hell, time flies.

[Lt. Mewa]

Originally Posted by evenflow

So you know when it was made.

What else ya got?

[Midnight Funeral]

Someone should show the kids the first few minutes of SPR, as part of their WWII history class.

Now that, would really raise a stink.

[marathon]

Originally Posted by Midnight Funeral

Someone should show the kids the first few minutes of SPR, as part of their WWII history class.

Now that, would really raise a stink.

If it were middle or high school, I wouldn't really mind. By that age, they might as well see the worst of man.

[phantomofthenet]

* phantomofthenet imagines the chick washing the car from Cool Hand Luke....

that part?

[mburtonk]

So, is her daughter going to go shoot up the school now? That's what she's implying, yes?

[The Flashlight]

Originally Posted by The Shadow

Just another example of why it's hard to keep teachers in the profession.

Context, bitch, it's all about context.

The last church i went to the preacher used a clip from Cool Hand Luke to set up one of his sermons - the HORROR!

Give me a fucking break. You probably sent in your monthly donation to that idiotic fundie website earlier this afternoon. It's the exact same type of dumbshit evangel wank that's made you all wet and horny in the past.

[JUSTLEE]

I haven't seen the movie, but no way in hell coulod i trust a site like the on that bitch went to to get the reviews.

You know, it's just out and out stupid to comment on a movie that someone hasn't seen. I almost always wait to see a movie before I form an opinion on it, but sometime over advertising will really put me off of a movie and I won't see it.

[The Flashlight]

Originally Posted by marathon

If you're going to trust the public schools to educate your children, then their curriculum is the one they're going to get.

If you no like, educate them at home.

I wonder how many parents are offended enough to do just that. I expect most would instead balk at the suggestion

Parents like Mrs. Jesus Freak in the article are why schools have zero tolerance policies and suspend kids who draw pictures of hand phasers. Cause she's the type who will be thumbing through the phone book looking for Mr. Plaintiff's Attorney Man to file the intentional infliction of emotional distress suit.

[Chris]

Give the bitch a spear and throw her into the middle of Yellowstone.

What?

[BearTM]

Originally Posted by Chris

Give the bitch a spear and throw her into the middle of Yellowstone.

What?

You're only half right in your thinking.

[Lethesoda]

Originally Posted by BearTM

You're only half right in your thinking.

The words "with grievous bleeding wounds" could be added somewhere.

[shootER]

Originally Posted by Lt. Mewa

Whatever it is, the movie is like 40 yrs old.

And?

It's a great fuckin' movie!

[Muad Dib]

I'm not seeing a problem here.


Especially if it has lesbians in it.

[oldfella1962]

so I went online (to www.ChristianAnswers.net) to read the reviews. They described it as a pornographic slaughter movie with prolonged scenes of female nudity, sex acts, lesbian and homosexual content.”

What cut is this? Not the one in my local theater.
But I've encountered a few parents like these.

[LizK]

Originally Posted by Midnight Funeral

Someone should show the kids the first few minutes of SPR, as part of their WWII history class.

Now that, would really raise a stink.

Just watch the last 15 minutes of Tora Tora Tora which, IIRC, is actual footage of what happened at Pearl - or any good WWII movie set in Europe that uses actual footage of what happened there.
Some folks just think that history was a dry bland point of time.

[Starchaser]

“Most sixth-graders are 12 years old,” Schoen said. “This is not something that age group is not reasonably exposed to on today’s television.”

They're probably exposed to worse shit from the mouths of other kids on the ride home on the school bus.

[oldfella1962]

Yeah, I'd like to play these parents a video of what their kids are exposed to sometime.

[Axiom]

Five bucks says this woman let her kids see "The Passion of the Christ".


-J.