Choosing the Right

We are so very proud of Camren. Last Friday, a student brought in a movie that the teacher thought was rated PG for the class to watch. When Camren asked what the movie was rated, it was discovered that the movie was actually PG-13. Camren told his teacher that he was not allowed to watch PG-13 movies. The teacher and Camren tried to get a hold of us to see if it was okay, but was unable to. Even if they would have been able to get a hold of us, the answer would have still been no. The teacher asked the principal and he thought because there was no nudity that it would be alright. The entire class had their hearts set on being able to watch a movie in class as a reward for some class accomplishment. The teacher told Camren that they were going to watch the movie in class and if Camren didn't want to he could go into the library and do his homework or read. He chose to go to the library. He sat there for 21/2 hours by himself busying himself with different things. He told me later, tearing up, that it was hard to be in there, but that he just kept telling himself, " I know, I am doing the right thing. I know, I am doing the right thing." A couple of his classmates came up to him and told him that they couldn't believe that he couldn't watch PG-13 movies and that they could watch rated R movies. Camren also over heard a few of his classmates say that it was a funny movie, but that there was a lot of swearing. The movie was called "Get Smart". Chad and I have never seen or heard of this movie. Camren was glad that he didn't participate in that movie after he had heard about how much profanity there was in it. I felt bad for him that he had to go through that, especially at school.
Chad was really upset! He was ready to go down to that school and give the teacher a piece of his mind. I told him that I would handle it, because I would be more tactful and wouldn't say things that I would regret later. I wrote her an email expressing our disappointment that this movie was shown to a bunch of 11year olds and made her aware of Camren's feelings about it. She called me that day and profusely apologized. She said it was the wrong choice to make and that it would never happen again. She told me that she just loved Camren and admired that he would always do what was right. I accepted the apology and assured her that we didn't bear any hard feelings towards her. She later spoke to Camren and apologized to him as well. She really is a great teacher and I hope that Tori gets her when she gets into 5th grade.
Chad and I took Camren to Chilies for dessert and let him have his own white chocolate molten lava cake for a reward. We told him that we were proud of him for standing up for what is right even when you are the only one. We teach and talk to our children a lot about this concept and emphasize how important choosing the right is. We also point out that sometimes making the bad choice will make us happy for that very moment, but will feel us with regret and bad consequences later. It would have been fun for Camren to watch that movie with his class, but when hearing all the profanity, it would have hurt his spirit. Camren was very glad that he was able to be strong and make the right choice. Love You Camren!