Tuesday is their last day and Rebecca is very excited about the 5th and 6th grade Fun Day the PTA has planned! They are going to a movie at the theater, and then a catered lunch at a local park thanks to the PTA. She is so excited to do this with her friends. They have been planning out snacks for days, even calling the theater to find out how much the candy costs so she knows how much money to take with her. She had a great time with her friends. And the rain that was in the forecast held off until the very end of the picnic.
{now starts the parental rant ... feel free to skip}
The movie started out as a major issue, but was thankfully resolved - not as perfectly as I would have liked, but resolved.
Earlier in the month we got a letter outlining the last day of school activities for 5th graders who had exhibited appropriate behavior (staying out of the principals office, no missing assignments) - a movie at the local theater in the morning and then lunch at a park.
The movie they picked for the 5th and 6th graders (and interestingly enough, the 9th graders at the Jr High too) is the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie ... PG-13. When Becca's teacher asked if anyone in the classroom thought their parents would have a problem with the PG-13 rating, Rebecca and possibly one other child raised their hand. I was livid to say the least that the teachers even considered this. Parents of 6th graders during the last couple of years have raised eyebrows and in some cases voiced serious concerns about their child seeing a PG-13 movie in 6th grade.
The district doesn't organize this activity, one of the teachers sets it up with the local theater, but I've got to tell you I'm still stunned that for years a PG-13 movie has been acceptable. In every other instance I can think of, the school has taken a ultra conservative approach to what the offer their students. We have fall, winter and spring parties now because of religious differences, we can't take cupcakes or cookies for birthdays because kids get too much sugar [at home] and need to have healthy snacks, and I can't take a salad from Wendy's into the school lunch room, because fast food isn't allowed there ... but we can show 10-12 year olds a PG-13 movie.
I called a friend whose daughter is good friends with Rebecca and has similar values and asked if she was planning to say anything or just keep her daughter home. Then I emailed the 5th grade teachers asking to discuss the movie selection. When I got there, the principal had already put a call into the movie theater to see if they could offer a PG movie alternative. In the end, Becca and a very small number of other kids watched Rio and had a grand time. I was pleasantry surprised that kids were torn between seeing Rio and Pirates; in the end most saw Pirates. I really wish the outcome had been different. For it to have been a true win for me, I would have had to intercept it earlier, before the announcement, and pushed for the entire group to see Rio. Thankfully, Rebecca was happy and excited to see a cool movie with friends and was a really good sport about the whole situation.
As I left the principals office (never really giving my full concern or argument) I said, "And this won't be an issue next year will it? 'Cause I have more 5th graders come up the ranks and you'll have more families taking this position next year and the year after that too." Apparently he'd really rather not do the movie activity at all and would rather do an educational camp type activity instead. We'll see.
But I'm adding Fun Day to my now-that-I-get-to-do-it-again-with-my-2nd-child list, cause I'd really rather not ride that roller coaster again.
I'm also going to offer to help organize Emily's 5th grade recognition. I really expected more out of this recognition. They did all the usual stuff ... had the kids who'd been at the school since kindergarten stand, those with perfect attendance (2), those who'd done the reading program, participated in StuCo and other groups and clubs, but after awhile it got old seeing the same handful of kids getting awards. Shallow I know, but they are asking parents and kids to spend an hour on a busy Sunday afternoon, make it worth their time.
Every child should be recognized for some kind of achievement. 85-90% of the kids and their parents were there to simply get recognized for being in 5th grade. It was frustrating to see such a small percentage of the 5th grade getting recognized when there were so many great kids who have accomplished and achieved great things this year. I hope that next year we can have teachers and students handout awards of character, achievement and overcoming obstacles to the majority of the 5th graders. There's got to be a way to recognize each 5th grader for more than being a warm body in a chair.
Yet another item to add to my now-that-I-get-to-do-it-again-with-my-##-child list.
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