I was taken to visit the local Holocaust Museum in elementary school. I was in high school on September 11th, and we all watched the fall of the two towers. Why not show the Nick Berg video to high schoolers?

Kacie - It should be the parents of the children making the decision. Growing up I was exposed to a plethora of material concerning the holocaust, and nothing, no images, books, accounts, museums, etc. were censored by my parents. But it was our decision, not my teachers'. As an adult who has seen more than my fair share of gruesome images, I made a conscious decision to not watch the videos of Berg or Pearlman,olov-hasholem respectively, as I do not feel it is necessary to do so in order to understand the nature of terrorism and the reasons we must oppose it with the strongest means available and practical. Something as repugnant as the Berg video should be discussed with a child by a parent before and after the viewing, if both parties decide it is appropriate. My question is, "How many of the students were effectively an unwilling, but captive audience as they were not in a position to defy an authority figure such as their teacher?"

If the teacher offered a pro-war comment when he showed the video, would Smash and the Moderate Voice still want him fired?

Mark: Are you saying schools shouldn't have let their students watch the 9/11 footage at school? Or take them to the Holocaust museum?

I can answer that myself: YES. If the teacher had offered a pro-war comment he should have been fired. The comment is not the issue. The issue is showing a "snuff film" to high schoolers without parental permission. It represents yet one more step in America being desensitized. I can just see some kind of copycat crime occurring at a later date.

This is basically the ultimate sadism porn film. And although most people are horrorified by it, there are some mentalities that consider seeing gore "cool." Look at the success of the old Faces of Death videos.

So...absolutely YES. If the teacher took out a flag, lectured for 30 minutes on patriotism, American history, the importance of saying no to drugs, the importance of abstinence and then showed the film without parental permission this teacher needed to be fired. If a parent decides to let their kid watch it, that's another issue and up to the parent. A teacher does not have the right to show a person being beheaded to a kid of any age.

We watched Braveheart in my Grade 11 English Media class once...

In all seriousness though, I agree the teachers who did this should be reprimanded in some way; maybe fired, but who knows. It is an incredibly disturbing video indeed, but also realize that this is high school. These students aren't being forced to watch a video that will traumatize them and screw up the rest of their lives.

I was in high school on 9/11. They set up the big theater screen in the gym and had the news broadcasting on it. The whole school was taken to the gym to watch. Some classes still went on, periodically. For instance, my Law class continued, but instead of learning about Law, we were taught about the history of the Middle East and the Muslim faith. I didn't go to the gym to watch the tragedy on the theater screens. I decided to go home instead. I might have got a "Truant" mark on my sheet for a few periods that day, but in light of the circumstances, I don't think it really mattered all that much, eh?

Teachers will do some crazy stuff, but honestly, I saw that video and it's gruesome enough that I wouldn't want to show that to anyone's kid without permission.

Adding political commentary on top of it is just wrong.

Dean is right. It doesn't matter what the teacher's politics are - parents should have the first call on whether on not they want their children to view this.

And if they do allow the kids to see it, the parents should be there also.

16 year old kids cannot go to R rated movies with an adult, they certainly should not see this gruesome video without an adult - and in this case, I don't think the teacher counts as an adult.

Dowingba - WITHOUT parental poermission, that is exactly what I am saying. The part about taking them to a holocaust museum is a moot point as all field trips need parental permission. 9/11 footage may also be a moot point as that footage was on the evening news for days, with the exception of the very graphic footage of people jumping to their deaths. Again, parental permission (or lack thereof) is the issue, not morality. Further, it is not a teacher's job, IMHO, to editorialize.

Another teacher in Orange County is also in the hot seat over this, although all he did was (apparently) provide the web address an let the kids look it up on their own, in class. I have less of a problem with this than having all students watch. If they want to watch it, they'll find it with or without his help

Considering I found this in the San Francisco Chronicle, I'm thinking they're all over him because of his editorializing.

But I could be wrong- they could be neutral on the war. It could happen.

Here's a thought: How many high-school age kids saw the Berg video and shrugged it off as comparable to all the crap they have been raised with via bloodthirsty, graphic video games? Thoughts, anyone, from about this same age group? Dowingba?

Well Mark, I'm not sure I'm from the right age group to answer that, as every video game I've ever played has looked more like a cartoon than real life. Not sure what they look like nowadays, though.

Also, when I went to highschool, we didn't need parental permission to go on field trips.

I haven't seen the Berg video yet, but I remember that on Sept. 11th everyone was very solemn and somber. A bunch of girls, myself included, were crying. True, the whole event seemed surreal, but I think more because we were in shock than because we've been desensitized to violence.

Which is why I would support the teacher's decision to show the Berg video in class. Seeing the towers fall on Sept. 11th really woke me up. For the first time in my life, I understood I was mortal. For the first time, I understood my responsibility to vote and to pay attention to politics, and the danger this country was in. Teenagers are, as a rule, punks. Something needs to break them out of their complacency.

By the way, Dean, my computer's being an idiot and won't let me send e-mail. But count me in on the War Wiki thing, if you would please! Just let me know what I need to do.

Well, Kacie,"something" may need to break teenagers out of their complaceny, but it sure as hell ain't the school district.

I generally don't jump on the "sue the bastards" bandwagon, but if my child were shown this video in school, I sure as hell would sue it.

As an adult, you have the choice of whether or not you want to view this video. From this post, it appears that the school students did not. Even if they were given the option to opt out, there is no way that teenagers in an educational environment are not subject to authority and peer pressure that is not an issue for most adults.

And, as indicated in the post, viewing it in a school environment exposes the kids to all sorts of political pressures.

I can't imagine what the justification FOR doing this is. It is certainly nothing within the realm of the public education system, unless you view your child as a subject for indoctrination (regardless of persuasion).

Dowingba - I gathered from your previous post that you are about 21 years old, so I assumed you were close enough to that age group. I also am intrigued that you did not need parental permission to go on field trips. I thought it was pretty much standard practice in the last 10-20 years as a liability/insurance issue. Anyway, I asked the question in all seriousness as I believe it is a valid concern. We also have already seen two disc jockeys with the utter bad taste to use audio from Berg's slaying as part of a joke. This also leads me to believe that many are so inured that the Berg video means nothing.

I filed the complaint against the teacher in San Diego out of respect for the wishes of my daughter who filed a written complaint with her vice principal after he teacher allowed the Berg video to be shown to the class on the computer next to her own. My daughter was trying to complete school assignments. This video ws not part of the classwork. It was not part of a lesson plan. The anti-war comments, as infuriating as they are, were not at issue with her. She did not appreciate being subjected to this violence. She does not listsen to violent music of her own choice. She does not play violent video games, of her own choice. She is quiet, artistic and has many friends who enjoy life as she does. She chooses not to view R rated film as well. Beleive it or not, though, she is always actively involved with school projects, church activities, practicing or performing on the piano and much more.

She turned down interviews on two major national news shows because she is trusting the system in our school district to properly handle the situation.

I am very proud of her actions.

east county mom
Carol