'Big Brother' finalists
'Big Brother' craze gets school trip canceled
Teachers allow students to vote on whether or not to go on field trip scheduled for same day final episode of popular reality show is planned to be aired. Unsurprisingly, kids opt for TV
A school in central Israel decided to postpone an educational trip scheduled for Tuesday evening because the date clashes with the final episode of the hugely popular reality show "Big Brother."
The show provides viewers with 24/7 access to the lives of a group of participants locked up in a house monitored by multiple TV cameras and completely isolated from the outside world.
In the three months it has been broadcast, "Big Brother" has swept large audiences in Israel, with a substantial proportion being glued to the screen most hours of the day. The show has also been the focus of much controversy lately, due to its blatant content and its allegedly negative influence on teenagers and TV culture in Israel.
Parents outraged
According to reports, upon learning of the planned trip many students complained to their teachers about its "problematic timing," and the teachers eventually agreed to hold a vote on the matter in classes. As expected, a sweeping majority of students voted to have the trip canceled and watch the episode instead.Parents, teachers and also some of the students were infuriated by the decision, and a few even claimed that it was the teachers themselves who wanted to call off the trip so that they wouldn't have to miss the last episode of their favorite show.
"It's outrageous that this subject was even brought up for discussion or for a vote," one of the mothers at the school said. "In my view, a school trip is an integral part of the curriculum. People are afterwards shocked that education in Israel has sunk to such depths," she added.
