Why Are High Schools Showing Our Kids the Movie, 300?

When school started this year my son brought home a package of papers from his teachers for me to look through and sign. His world history teacher provided parents with a list of movies he and the other world history teachers plan on showing in the classroom this year. One of the movies included on the list is 300.

I had not seen the movie but I figured if it was being shown in the classroom then it must not have too much inappropriate content in it so I went ahead and signed my consent.

Ironically, that same weekend one of my husband's co-workers loaned him the movie. I really wasn't anticipating a good film and wasn't too enthused about watching it. I have to say I was wrong, 300 is an excellent movie.

What I wasn't prepared for was the degree of sex that was depicted in the movie. It is clearly not a movie that should be shown in the classroom and that made me wonder why the school board approved such a movie for classroom viewing. So I decided to make a few calls to get to the bottom of this.

I spoke with the principle of my son's high school on the phone and while she was eager to assist me and very friendly she was not much help. She was not even aware that 300 was on the list of movies and had not seen the movie. She did however; inform me of the method the school uses to determine which movies are put on the list.

According to Merced High School's principle, it is the California State Board of Education that approves the list of movies to be shown in the classroom. From there the list is handed down to individual school districts where someone on the local board hands it down to teachers. In this case Sylvia Smith sits on the board and has concluded that in spite of the explicit content in this movie (i.e. Clearly showing nipples in a sex scene intended for adult's eyes) it is alright to show even though the state regulations are that any rated "r" movie containing nudity and sex is off limits and any movie found to be "borderline questionable" has to be authorized by the parent through written consent first.

When I spoke to the principle, she told me that the teachers are given a list of "approved" movies that coincide with the state mandated curriculum. The teachers then select movies from that list whether they've actually seen them or not. She was sure that my son's World History teacher had not seen the movie while I questioned how she knew that.

As a parent of course we have the option to opt out our kids from watching movies we find inappropriate but that is only if we know they are showing them. High schools do not mail home letters explaining that they are about to show the class a questionable film, rather they rely on the kids to inform us. If we as parents do not return the letter the teacher is allowed to automatically assume we've seen the letter and don't mind. They do not bother to follow up with parents to make sure the kid actually took home the letter and gave it to their parents; hear no evil, see no evil.

I would love to hear from just one teacher that has teenage children explain to me why it is ok to show this film in the classroom? Do not bother placating me by telling me because it is a film on a historical event because that just won't do it for me. There are plenty of other films and other ways to accomplish this. If a parent wants to show their child "R" rated films with nudity and sex then that's their business but where does the school get the right to decide that for us? I will definitely be sending a letter to the editor of my local newspaper because I'm sure there are tons of parents that never saw that movie list and have no idea what the teachers are showing their kids. I'd like to know what the rest of my community thinks about this. What do YOU think about it?