"I am furious at my son's school."

Of all weeks in the school year,  I can’t believe my son’s school chose this week to do this.

I have a love/hate relationship with my son’s school. Overall, I love the school, they do great things and, so far, I have loved his teachers but some things they do seriously irk me.

This week is one of the weeks I hate the school.

It’s Book Week and we got the following letter sent home:

“As part of our Book Week celebrations the students will have the opportunity to watch the The Lego Movie.”

I’m sorry, wait. Go back a step there. Watch The Lego Movie? As part of Book Week celebrations?

I’m sorry school but no, everything is NOT awesome.

The note itself was sent home as The Lego Movie is PG and we needed to give permission but that’s not the reason I have a problem. The reason I have a problem is why they are watching the movie. What I have written above is verbatim from the note they sent home. My son’s school is watching a movie “as part of Book Week celebrations.”

I’m sorry, what?

Book Week.

Did I miss something there?

It’s BOOK week.

Books. Reading. Words.

Not films, movies and cinematic experiences.

To make matters worse this is the second year in a row they have done this. I thought last year it was a mistake or slipped by someone but clearly this is a thing they choose to do.

I’m not sure what the Principal, or whoever decides this, is thinking but last time I checked Book Week is about encouraging kids to read. With recent fury over NAPLAN literacy results why does a school think it is okay to be promoting the latest Hollywood blockbuster movie in Book Week? It’s not even a movie based on a book. At the very least they could have shown Charlotte’s Web or Matilda.

What are we teaching our children if, on the one week of the school year that is used to celebrate books, we instead offer a movie viewing to them? A new release movie, that no doubt, they are all super excited to see. When I was at school a ‘movie’ day meant re-runs of two year old Round-the-Twist.

Surely they could have found an author to come and talk to the kids, or do a work shop. Maybe I need to offer myself next year to hold writing workshops.

To their, partial, credit they are getting an illustrator/cartoonist in to do workshops later in the week. I guess an illustrator is the next best thing after an author.

There are 40 (give or take) weeks in a school year. 40 weeks, and they chose the one week used to celebrate books to show a movie. They could have shown it last Friday, or next Monday even, but no, smack bang in the middle of Book Week is the day they chose. And as the note said they are doing it FOR Book Week.

It just makes no sense. None.

I wonder what my children’s futures looks like if they continue to be given multimedia alternatives instead of old-fashioned books and writing material.

We need to encourage reading at grass roots and Book Week is the one week of the year the education system does this on a grander scale.

It’s not called Movie Week.

The school got it wrong.

Am I making too big of a deal about this?  What would you do if your child’s school played a movie to celebrate Book Week?

And if you’re in a panic about the Book Week parade, here is some inspiration:

Want more? Try these:

Ten awesome books for kids under 10.

This is why I homeschool my kids