So, the freshmen are watching Remember the Titans in conjunction with their just having read To Kill a Mockingbird and writing short character sketches.
I sent a permission slip home a couple of weeks ago but, despite my constant nagging, some of them showed up on the first day of screening without the signed form. A couple of those kids asked if they could call their parents and ask them to send me an email giving them permission to see the film this morning, and I said yes.
One of their moms sent me an email giving her daughter permission to watch – get this – Teenaged Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Wha…?
Apparently, Baby Girl went from “Remember the Titans” to “Teenaged Mutant Ninja Turtles” and never thought to question herself (or me) about it. Apparently, neither did her mother, who was perfectly willing to let her kid see the film (for the record, she was okay with Titans, too, but still…). I can only imagine what on earth they were thinking of me when they were under the impression that this was a part of our English class.
It was the best laugh I had all week.
Done, showing TMNT tomorrow in class.
Right? I’ve never seen the film, myself, but I am considering finding it just for the hoot it would be for this kid…
While I realize that it’s not the point of your post, do you have to get permission for all movies? I would totally understand if you do, it just seems to me that Remember the Titans is quite tame. It’s also fabulous, but the adult themes present in it are not violent, generally, or sexual. They’re a lot less overt.
I don’t HAVE to get permission for every film, no. I do it, though, for a couple of reasons. One, I want to get in the habit of it; I’d rather get permission for an innocuous film than have a parent come back to me about a film that I thought was innocuous but that the parent has a problem with. Two, I like having the families see WHY I’m showing a film; all of my permission slips have course objectives and rationales for showing the movie in the class. I’m invested in having the kids – and their parents – see the REASONS. I don’t just show the movies to kill time, and that matters to me.