extreme content in teaching material

[summertime]

My son had recently been transferred to a small private school. Today I was watching a video that was sent by the teacher with my 8 year old. And in the video we came across very extreme content. It was a documentary so everything was stated as a matter of fact. It was talking about how African soldiers make kids shoot their parents and if the kids refuse then the soldiers make the kids eat their parents raw.

Also in the video the character said deaf babies in Africa got flushed down the toilet or fed to dogs.

I find it was very extreme and disturbing. I reported to the principal immediately and they apologised and promised it won’t happen again.

But this just leave me wondering if the teachers are qualified and responsible. Did they even watch the teaching material they give to us? I find the video is not even that relevant to the assignment. Should this be a deal breaker and should I change school for my son? My son is a very sensitive kid and I am worried it might have traumatised him. Please give me some advice. Thanks everyone!

[Portia_RO]

Hi @summertime and thank you for reaching out.

I'm very sorry to hear about what has happened with your son and his teacher. The content of the video that she shared with him sounds quite traumatising and incredibly inappropriate, so I'm glad to hear that you reached out to the school principal and made a complaint. If you're interested, it may also be worth investigating your options with the eSafety Commissioner, as this sounds like a really unusual and disturbing piece of content for a teacher to share with students, particularly ones who are as young as your son.

You mentioned that your son is quite sensitive and that you fear he may have found the video quite distressing. Have you spoken to him about the video and what he might have seen? 

You also mentioned that you're unsure as to whether this experience is a deal-breaker and whether you should move your son to a different school. I can completely understand your hesitation and uncertainty after this incident. This sounds like a really tough decision to make, particularly if you've only just transferred him to this school recently. What options do you feel like you have moving forward?