[WillowTheWhisp]

Originally Posted by garinda

Even in the historical plays there are rude jokes that the live audiences of the time would have wet their breeches at.

You obviously understand a great deal more than I do. Although we studied Shakespeare at school no rude jokes were explained to us and I have never been aware of them.

I think parents should have an input into what their children are taught at school, and I applaud both Willow and her daughter's stand. I do however fear that it might result in the censoring of anything that might be deemed unsuitable not being taught at all.

Well, at one time it wouldn't have been taught. It would have been censored. I sort of naively think that when a film is censored as unsuitable for viewing in a cinema by children under a certain age then that should also apply to viewing in a classroom.

Educating Rita is the story of a working class Liverpudlian mother who found a new life through the studying of literature at university. Her language reflected her background, and could be talked about in context with a good teacher.

Things have obviously changed a lot in schools because such words would not have been discussed by teachers and pupils when I were a lass.

Talking of swearing, it's another bug bear of mine that when bad language is reported in the press as a quote, it is always asterixed. We all know the words alluded to, and it just seems stupid because our brains read it as a swear word anyway. F***ing daft.

WE may all know the words but I like to think that by using asterisks the idea is that those who know the words know what is being quoted and those who don't know the words are not being taught them by reading a newspaper.