I was sitting in my secondary practicum class today and before Britt, Ryan and I went up to teach, the students played youTube videos for the class. It is something that they have been doing since the beginning of the semester and the whole point is to play a video of the student’s choosing, have it play with the original music, and then play a different musical recording along with that same video. The musical recording usually contrasts the original music and changes the whole feel of the video.
The student who played his video today showed a scene from the Matrix. It was a pretty violent shooting scene. While I was watching it, I was sort of surprised that our co-op would allow such a violent clip to be played. No one seemed phased by it and I actually felt silly to have such uptight thoughts. On one hand, I thought that allowing such a clip to be played was sort of inappropriate due to its graphic nature and could almost be seen as the glorification of guns and violence. On the other hand I thought to myself, “C’mon Korey, it’s just a video and the kids don’t see it as anything more than just a cool scene with heavy metal music playing in the background. They’ve all probably already seen it anyway and this is just a way to connect their world to the classroom.” I had such conflicting ideas about the whole video because I do believe that it was a way to pull the students in to the class (music appreciation), but I also felt like maybe there should have been more limitations on the types of videos that could be chosen. In our discussion about being politically correct and the creation of an ultra sensitive society, I wondered if my thoughts were valid or just an example of me being an ultra sensitive educator. Thoughts? By the way, the video on youTube is called “Matrix (new sound shooting scene). Check it out and tell me what you think.
3 comments:
Korey, first what age were the students? I can totally see where you're coming from, but depending on the age I think that it might be okay. I watched the video and I def. don't think that it is appropriate of students from k- maybe 9? but I think that maybe 10-12 can handle it. On the other hand, I really think that it would be a great idea for the teacher to make some rules about what they can and cannot show. I know that when students are in high school, they are most likely watching rated R movies outside of the classroom, but I think that in the classroom it should be a different story. I think a consent form should be signed. I'm not sure what the Matrix movie is rated but I do think that the teacher should state a few rules about what kinds of movies the students are allowed to show in the classroom during their presentation.
Korey,
It's different everywhere you go. I think by honoring the world of this student, you may be violating someone else. This is why I think it's necessary we have a warm and comfortable environment where students can speak up and say "hey this bothers me." But it makes me wonder, doesn't your word mean anything? Shouldn't you have a right to say, "I don't care if no one is bothered by this, because I am." Because we're teachers, must we let go of our terrors and insecurities or should we voice them?
And imagine movies that concern violence that really happens--like scenes that involve battered wives and domestic violence. Or what if it was the year of 9/11 and someone showed a video of people jumping out windows. The matrix is completely fictional which in a way, makes me a little more comfortable. But what if someone wants that scene to be a reality. It's something we may learn with time and wisdom
Korey...I agree with David...
If we are to honor their worlds, there should also be some kind of reciprocal rules involved that cp doesn't cover. The problem with honoring their worlds all the time is that the students may bring on ideas a little far fetched from "teachable moments". After watching the video for myself, I couldn't help but ask the same question as Katie...while high schoolers could handle this emotionally, graphically it's still tough to watch. If you don't speak up for that one child who may be violated, who will? I think this comes back to a point Brittany made in class on Tuesday. There's always going to be a majority in the class who isn't going to mind seeing a video like this, and appreciating it for its given value. But there will be others who are in the minority who truly don't want to see it, but don't want to ruin the other student's idea of fun or interesting education. Either way, I feel at this point in the lesson you are no longer a teacher but a judge. In your case, I think you would have made the right call if you were in charge. There are some kids who will ALWAYS push the limits. Don't let those limits intimidate the rules or bonds of trust that you've established in your classroom.
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