Ray McGovern, the new chairman of the Boarding Schools Association, said foul language has become so common on screen that children repeat it at school without realising the words are offensive.
This could blight their futures as they are more likely to let expletives slip out at work or in job interviews.
Comedians such as Lee Evans (left) and Alan
Davies (right) are among those to blame for children's bad language said
Ray McGovern
‘Celebrities have a responsibility to control what they say and how they say it, particularly if children might be listening – and now programmes can be watched on catch-up TV and YouTube that means any time,’ said Mr McGovern, headmaster at St George’s School in Harpenden, Hertfordshire.
Comedians such as Alan Davies and Lee Evans were to particularly to blame, he added, describing how Evans rarely swore when he began his career.
‘Then he got really successful and now can’t say a sentence without a swearword in it. I thought he was funny before. I don’t watch him now,’ he said.
Family shows such as the BBC’s QI, where Davies is a panellist, are also ruined by being filled with expletives.
‘If bad language is openly used on family programmes, children think it’s okay. We must draw boundaries and tell them what is and what is not acceptable.
‘Swearing erodes the social fabric and makes us feel uncomfortable.’ The problem is worsened by the poor example set by many parents, who swear at home, he said.
Last month East Sussex primary school teacher Davina Wakelin wrote to parents complaining children were using swear words they had picked up at home.
St George’s operates a zero-tolerance attitude to swearing. Mr McGovern said: ‘I don’t think any child in this school thinks it is okay to swear in front of staff. It would lead to an exclusion.’
Sir David Jason, who created some of TV’s most loved comedy characters, has previously criticised the amount of swearing by comedians.
He accused them of forgetting the art of ‘innuendo’ and admitted trying to protect his young daughter, Sophie, when she watched TV.
‘Today they push down barriers. Take the f-word. It’s become commonplace,’ he said.
Ronnie Corbett has also attacked modern comedians, saying: ‘Comedy today is grosser.’
Television’s 9pm watershed is regularly breached.
In March, Rowan Atkinson’s parody of the Archbishop of Canterbury in a Comic Relief sketch, in which he swore, led to thousands of complaints – including one from his brother Rodney Atkinson, an economic commentator.
No comments:
Post a Comment