Our class didn’t successfully complete a savior/teacher film so I watched the other class’s film but I genuinely liked ours better. So I’m choosing to do my homework on our unfinished film.
My personal contribution to the film really wasn’t much. I was ‘cast’ as Alex – the bad ass girl who’s stupid and never really tries (although in the end she proves to herself that if she actually tries, she is more than capable). The first day of filming was a really productive filming day. The second day – not so much. The third day I was absent and the fourth day I voted to just move on.
One reason I really liked our film was because of the message. I think for the most part it was original and I can’t exactly name a movie off the top of my head that ends like our movie/ anything like that. In our film, Alex starts off never willing to do anything about her teachers ‘unfairness’. She doesn’t study but instead complains about her teacher not treating her very nice and having his favorites (the teachers pet – Casey and her friends). In my opinion, I kind of believe that’s her fault. I don’t think he should have said certain things about her in front of the class to the other students but I think he has a right to not be nice to her. I feel like all a teacher wants from the student is to try. Although we may not want to be there, they do. They chose to teach. And if all they want is for us to try, then why not try. At the very least, a little. The next scene in the film was supposed to be Alex having flashbacks of all the things the teacher said (ending up in Burger King, etc) and even what Casey said to her (about trying harder). She takes this into consideration and studies with her friends. From what I understand, Alex and her friends do it for themselves. To prove to themselves that they can do it if they tried. That they’re really not stupid. When it comes time to take the test, because they got everything right on the test, the teacher thinks they cheated and demands they re-take the test. At first they are reluctant to taking the test but they re-take it because they know they haven’t cheated. Even as the teachers watching them take the test they ace it. The teacher has nothing to say to them. He’s shocked. Then Fanning comes in and congratulates the teacher for really turning the kids around. The teacher proudly accepts his praise but Alex and her friends know better. Although they don’t say anything to the teacher, they know it was nothing the teacher did, it was in themselves the whole time.
I think our film is quite different from the other films because the teacher in the films genuinely cared about their classes. They always wanted better for them and couldn’t understand why they were so unwilling to take part in class and do the work, etc. Our teacher in this film didn’t really care but instead just made it an example. He presented an attitude of “…you don’t want to end up like Alex now, do you?” He didn’t really try to connect with her or make her step outside of her box. He didn’t suggest trying harder, Casey did. The teacher just kept pushing Alex down. He never tried to pick her up. And in this film, the teacher gets glorified by the principal for his efforts making him a clear asshole because he knows he had nothing/very little to do with the change in Alex and her friends.
I think in order to be a good teacher (connecting with the students and helping them to want to learn), you have to have (even if it’s a little bit) the salvation element. Not always in the sense of relating school to the immanence-style of teaching, but just in the sense that having an education, whether we like it or not, matters a lot. We really cant get anywhere in life without it (unless you have a special talent or some really redeeming qualities etc, but not everyone has one so…). Your education is what people will judge you on for the rest of your life. Even when you apply to your job – they have a whole section on Education. Even when people ask you the name of your college – they’re looking to judge you. If they didn’t care, they simply wouldn’t ask.
In general though, here at SOF I feel like part of the reason why this school has a lot of good teachers is because they actually care. It’s not like they’re just asking us to read this and do this ... they want us to think. When a teacher here asks a question, they’ll wait for you to answer it. They’ll make you look back in your notes for it. Show you example problems; encourage you to come after school. There’s really no reason why you should be failing here. They give you many opportunities and they’re very understanding about everything. As many times as we may have already heard it – we really do have it easy here at SOF. Sadly I realized that, and still haven’t taken advantage of that, but that’s my own fault.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
HW 48
* Film will focus on one specific teacher-student relationship
Class including teacher are watching Freedom Writers. Movie is finishing and the credits role. Teacher and students are touched by the heart warming film in which they have not analyzed. All stand up while one student turns the light back on. Teacher says "goodbye, hope you all enjoyed the film" to students and "see you all tomorrow".
At home, main student wishes their school experience to be similar to that in the movie: hero teacher saves hopeless children. Student then creates home problems for them self.
Next day student goes in to see teacher about home problems before class starts. Teacher knows he cannot help but still accepts the open invitation to become closer to the student (secretly wanting to be the hero but never really willing to admit it). Teacher offers suggestions on how to solve problems. Student is satisfied with teacher's attempt and leaves.
Later in the day passing in hallway, teacher tells student to check email. Email read something along the lines of "I want you to be open with me. Talk about your problems... etc etc". Student writes back, making up more problems but feeling saved by "concerned" teacher.
Emails go on until students friend snoops through the emails and realizes not only that student is lying but that the relationship growing between the two is unfair. Students friend noticed that ever since emails began, student has been doing super well in teachers class. Students friend shows emails to principal. Principal finds it inappropriate and calls in parents. Student is exposed of the lies and teacher feels selfishly ripped off. Student doesn't return to school and after about a month, teacher begins writing emails. This time, there's a real problem...
Class including teacher are watching Freedom Writers. Movie is finishing and the credits role. Teacher and students are touched by the heart warming film in which they have not analyzed. All stand up while one student turns the light back on. Teacher says "goodbye, hope you all enjoyed the film" to students and "see you all tomorrow".
At home, main student wishes their school experience to be similar to that in the movie: hero teacher saves hopeless children. Student then creates home problems for them self.
Next day student goes in to see teacher about home problems before class starts. Teacher knows he cannot help but still accepts the open invitation to become closer to the student (secretly wanting to be the hero but never really willing to admit it). Teacher offers suggestions on how to solve problems. Student is satisfied with teacher's attempt and leaves.
Later in the day passing in hallway, teacher tells student to check email. Email read something along the lines of "I want you to be open with me. Talk about your problems... etc etc". Student writes back, making up more problems but feeling saved by "concerned" teacher.
Emails go on until students friend snoops through the emails and realizes not only that student is lying but that the relationship growing between the two is unfair. Students friend noticed that ever since emails began, student has been doing super well in teachers class. Students friend shows emails to principal. Principal finds it inappropriate and calls in parents. Student is exposed of the lies and teacher feels selfishly ripped off. Student doesn't return to school and after about a month, teacher begins writing emails. This time, there's a real problem...
Extra Credit - "The Class"
At School of The Future, classrooms range from being very different to the class in the movie and being one in the same. It depends on who the teacher is and how they demand their respect (if at all), what class it is (if the class is going to give students actual credit or if it’s just a nonsense class), and most importantly – which students you have in your class. Students tend to push teachers to their limits to see how much they can get away with, etc. The response of the teacher paves the student’s work ethics in class for the rest of the year. For example, if the teacher is overwhelmed or looks nervous being there – then students know they can take advantage.
Contrary to the movie, a typical day at SOF doesn’t quite begin the same way. Yes, students walk in talking, making jokes, not paying attention, etc but usually it doesn’t take very long for us to settle down and begin to pay attention. However, students at SOF do have the same characteristics as those in the movie; smartasses who question what the teacher is teaching. The vibe in the movie was mainly that the students were smartasses for entertainment. Just as in SOF, we’re smartasses to waste time. We think if we can keep the teacher talking, off subject of course, then we have succeeded. Most times – teachers fall for it. We all get the feeling teachers know what we’re doing but in my opinion, teachers find their time better spent if they talk (specifically about themselves).
Just as the teacher called the two class representatives skanks or whatever, kids at SOF are also insulted by teachers. Teachers at SOF are smarter than the teacher in the movie though because they manipulate their words so that if they do insult students, they can get away with it. Here, they like to make witty comments. In the movie, he let his anger/frustration get the best of him and bluntly said it. But also, students don’t run and tell people about what teacher said “this”. I think here, it’s more common for students to be embarrassed and keep it to themselves or just share it with friends. If they do tell, they were probably out to get “revenge” on the teacher (and it has happened).
At the end of the movie, Souleymane got expelled for constantly being disruptive and taking violent action (when his book bag hit the girl in the face). Although the teacher knew his consequence of potentially being sent off back to his home island, the teacher pursued his choice guiltily and of course, Souleymane gets sent back. There are certain students at SOF that are constantly disruptive but don’t take violent action. SOF students are all about the verbal punches instead of physical ones. I think the violence Souleymane took is what set the teachers off and allowed them to expel him. If a student here were to just constantly be disruptive, SOF really doesn’t do anything about it (besides sometimes throwing them out of class). I guess in a way its equal to the punishment a teacher gets if they insult a student here (pretty much nothing).
It was childish for the teacher to come out to the girls the way he did but I still don’t think that it justifies them telling Souleymane lies. You could tell the teacher felt sympathy for him during the meeting and tried to make the report sound as well as it could, so for the girls to make it seem as if the teacher called him a retard was uncalled for. If it wasn’t for them, none of it would have happened in the first place. Even though the teacher lashed out, it seemed okay for the most part by all the other faculty who told him “it happens”. They weren’t saying anything about how bags accidentally hit people just “happens”. If that were to happen here, I think the same kinds of action that took place would have occurred. Teacher wouldn’t have gotten I trouble, student would’ve. Point blank. And that has mostly to do with the fact that teachers do indeed have more power than students. That’s why we’re the ones with the consequences to pay and the teachers aren’t. When’s the last time a teacher actually got in trouble ... like official trouble? ... I’ve never heard.
I honestly don’t think SOF’s that bad of an “institution”. It’s very welcoming and open-minded to students and their opinions. Of course there are right and wrong answers but for the most part teachers don’t really care about that here. It’s more about having a try your best type of attitude and you’ll be fine. Just don’t try to battle the teacher. It rarely ends up in your favor.
Contrary to the movie, a typical day at SOF doesn’t quite begin the same way. Yes, students walk in talking, making jokes, not paying attention, etc but usually it doesn’t take very long for us to settle down and begin to pay attention. However, students at SOF do have the same characteristics as those in the movie; smartasses who question what the teacher is teaching. The vibe in the movie was mainly that the students were smartasses for entertainment. Just as in SOF, we’re smartasses to waste time. We think if we can keep the teacher talking, off subject of course, then we have succeeded. Most times – teachers fall for it. We all get the feeling teachers know what we’re doing but in my opinion, teachers find their time better spent if they talk (specifically about themselves).
Just as the teacher called the two class representatives skanks or whatever, kids at SOF are also insulted by teachers. Teachers at SOF are smarter than the teacher in the movie though because they manipulate their words so that if they do insult students, they can get away with it. Here, they like to make witty comments. In the movie, he let his anger/frustration get the best of him and bluntly said it. But also, students don’t run and tell people about what teacher said “this”. I think here, it’s more common for students to be embarrassed and keep it to themselves or just share it with friends. If they do tell, they were probably out to get “revenge” on the teacher (and it has happened).
At the end of the movie, Souleymane got expelled for constantly being disruptive and taking violent action (when his book bag hit the girl in the face). Although the teacher knew his consequence of potentially being sent off back to his home island, the teacher pursued his choice guiltily and of course, Souleymane gets sent back. There are certain students at SOF that are constantly disruptive but don’t take violent action. SOF students are all about the verbal punches instead of physical ones. I think the violence Souleymane took is what set the teachers off and allowed them to expel him. If a student here were to just constantly be disruptive, SOF really doesn’t do anything about it (besides sometimes throwing them out of class). I guess in a way its equal to the punishment a teacher gets if they insult a student here (pretty much nothing).
It was childish for the teacher to come out to the girls the way he did but I still don’t think that it justifies them telling Souleymane lies. You could tell the teacher felt sympathy for him during the meeting and tried to make the report sound as well as it could, so for the girls to make it seem as if the teacher called him a retard was uncalled for. If it wasn’t for them, none of it would have happened in the first place. Even though the teacher lashed out, it seemed okay for the most part by all the other faculty who told him “it happens”. They weren’t saying anything about how bags accidentally hit people just “happens”. If that were to happen here, I think the same kinds of action that took place would have occurred. Teacher wouldn’t have gotten I trouble, student would’ve. Point blank. And that has mostly to do with the fact that teachers do indeed have more power than students. That’s why we’re the ones with the consequences to pay and the teachers aren’t. When’s the last time a teacher actually got in trouble ... like official trouble? ... I’ve never heard.
I honestly don’t think SOF’s that bad of an “institution”. It’s very welcoming and open-minded to students and their opinions. Of course there are right and wrong answers but for the most part teachers don’t really care about that here. It’s more about having a try your best type of attitude and you’ll be fine. Just don’t try to battle the teacher. It rarely ends up in your favor.
Monday, April 12, 2010
47 - Class Film Preparation 1
- Students giving teacher homework, and only when he completes those assignments - they do his work
- Teacher always making things seem better (always on trips or something.. showing them stuff that relates to them and applying it to their importance) ... making things better but clearly not the solution.
- SILENT FILMS ( always fun plus very exaggerated facial expressions make everyone's overall interpretation near the same ) **
- I want it to be a small class that way it's open for connection and closeness
- Teacher could get insight to students life by literally following them home instead of trying to get them to "open" up. Although that might be creepy, realize its just a movie.
- Students could follow teacher home and use his life against him. Work on his weaknesses etc. Again .. just an idea. In real life I understand that would be creepy/weird. **
- Public school - students will realize they're merely a number not a brain. High school isn't for learning, its about memorizing and applying.
- Teacher always making things seem better (always on trips or something.. showing them stuff that relates to them and applying it to their importance) ... making things better but clearly not the solution.
- SILENT FILMS ( always fun plus very exaggerated facial expressions make everyone's overall interpretation near the same ) **
- I want it to be a small class that way it's open for connection and closeness
- Teacher could get insight to students life by literally following them home instead of trying to get them to "open" up. Although that might be creepy, realize its just a movie.
- Students could follow teacher home and use his life against him. Work on his weaknesses etc. Again .. just an idea. In real life I understand that would be creepy/weird. **
- Public school - students will realize they're merely a number not a brain. High school isn't for learning, its about memorizing and applying.
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