MCPS video ban sparks controversy

MCPS has prohibited viewing R-rated films in high schools and PG-13 rated films in middle schools, according to a Nov. 29 memo to the Board of Education. Due to complaints from teachers, MCPS is working to make some changes to the policy.

The ban has sparked heated controversy at Blair, where teachers have been forced to modify curriculum to comply with the new guidelines. According to Brian Edwards, director of public information at MCPS, the change was prompted by MCPS officials and curriculum experts who believe that R-rated videos are not essential elements to classroom instruction.

According to Gail Bailey, director of school library media programs, Superintendent Jerry Weast and his staff members instituted the change on Sept. 20. The regulation outlined two new provisions to the existing regulation: First, individual schools must arrange for potential instructional materials to be evaluated by at least two professional staff members. Second, materials must take age and grade appropriateness into account, based on ratings set by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA).

Disagreements divide school system

Bailey said that the regulation is in its early stages, and because of complaints from teachers, several changes are being considered, including permitting R-rated films in classes where students submit parental consent forms, identifying a process to show clips from R-rated films and providing alternate videos in place of R-rated ones.

Currently, MCPS plans to convene a stakeholder group — comprised of teachers and media specialists who are members of the MCPS Council on Teaching and Learning, as well as administrators, parents, students and central services staff — to develop guidelines to help schools implement the regulation. The group will conduct a series of meetings beginning Jan. 31.

Under the new regulation, the county stresses a strict adherence to the rating guidelines set by the MPAA. On its web site, the MPAA defines R-rated movies as those that include "hard language or tough violence, or nudity within sensual scenes or drug abuse." The MPAA advises parents "to take this advisory rating very seriously… before they allow their teenagers to view it." Although the regulation was implemented in late November, teachers were not informed of the change by the county. Instead, they found out through community newspapers and the radio, according to English teacher Judith Smith.

According to Edwards, teachers were not informed of the change because information was in the process of dissemination. He explained that during a meeting on Nov. 16, community superintendents and schools were notified of the change and expected to relay the information to teachers; however, the media were able to circulate the news to most of the teachers beforehand.

Importance in curriculum

As a result of the new change, Smith e-mailed the Council on Teaching and Learning to voice her concerns about the new system but had yet to receive a response as of Jan. 5. She and many of her colleagues feel that the new regulation hinders their teaching, since videos were previously an important part of the curriculum. "There are truly some valuable movies, such as Othello. It's beautiful to watch and very appealing to students, even for those who don't really appreciate Shakespeare," Smith said. "It seems extremely short-sighted to cut [R-rated videos] out of the curriculum because of some violence and language."

English resource teacher Vickie Adamson agreed with Smith, stating that viewing R-rated movies is an essential lesson in itself for many students. "Whether we like it or not, students are bombarded with images in the media," she said. "When we deal with these things in classrooms, we're teaching students the skill of critically viewing, to be able to judge and question what they see."

Still, Bailey believes that the new regulation is beneficial for teaching and learning purposes. Since the MPAA ratings are national standards used to judge the selection of movies, it is very reasonable to adopt those guidelines as criteria in schools, she said.

Senior Miguel Noel-Nosbaum feels that the county's new regulations are condescending to students, who are allowed to read books with harsh language, violence and sex, yet are prohibited from viewing similar material. "The ban is depriving students from their learning experience. I don't see how [the administration] can call us young adults, yet we're not old enough to sit maturely, like adults, through a rated-R film," he said.

The county believes that movies underage students cannot see in theatres should not be shown in classrooms and questions the relevance of videos to classroom instruction, according to Edwards. "If you can't walk down to the corner of a street to see a movie, you shouldn't be able to see it in class." he said.