Through this unit and my extensive research, I have looked at the difference between public high schools and private Catholic high schools in New York City, and how religion plays a role in the curriculum taught at private schools. I interviewed several of my friends who attend private Catholic schools, and read a novel about a boy who attends a private all boys’ Catholic school. Throughout all of this, I have come to the conclusion that both public and private schools teach the same values and subjects, but in a different curriculum. While private schools incorporate religious values into their curriculum, public schools tend to stay away from anything religious because of the diversity found in public schools. Public high schools gives students the ability to develop their own thoughts and create their own insights while private Catholic high schools teach students what they should know and limit their ability to develop their minds through the use of religion.
In my neighborhood of Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, I am faced with private schools all around me. Xaverian High School (an all boys school), Bishop Kearny High School (an all girls school), Fontbonne Hall Academy (also an all girls school), Bay Ridge Preparatory School (a coed school), and Poly Prep (also a coed school) to name a few. Several of my friends attend these schools, and people from around my neighborhood are always surprised when I tell them I attend a public school in Manhattan. It’s unheard of, unless the school is some popular, big name school, such as LaGuardia or Stuyvesant. Why would you bother to attend a public school when you can attend a private school that’s in your area, they would ask me. It never bothered me that I didn’t attend a private school, after all I am not Catholic, and these schools are Catholic schools. However, I did start to wonder what was so special about private schools. What can they possibly teach that is so wonderful, that they can stick a ridiculous ticket price on to the tuition? Sure they explore religion, and students are required to take a religion class, while public school students are not required to because religion does not play a role in a public school curriculum. But what else is so special about it?
I asked one of my friends, Moose, who went to and graduated from Xaverian high school, on his opinion on attending Xaverian. He told me that when he was younger, he attended a public school and did not care about grades or doing well in school. But he begged his parents to let him attend Xaverian for high school, and going to Xaverian changed his life. He explained to me that he gained an immense amount of school spirit, and that Xaverian pushed him to work harder in school. Through the strict rules of the teachers at Xaverian, Moose was motivated to work hard in school and succeed. Upon graduation, Moose now attends John Jay with a full scholarship.
A lot of my friends attend Xaverian high school, so I asked another friend of mine his opinion of Xaverian. His name is Aidan, and he is a second time senior at Xaverian. He told me that he loves his school and reps his school as much as possible. He stated that he has immense love for his school, and everyone that attends it. Maybe that’s why he got left back, because he just didn’t want to graduate this school. When I asked Aidan about his opinion on religion classes at Xaverian, he told me that he never really thought about it. To him, religion classes were just a part of the curriculum, but he never really thought about how they affected him. He was content learning about religion it never bothered him.
In the terms of this matter affect the meaning of my life, it doesn’t affect me at my current age. I have attended public school all my life, and although I am attending a private university in the fall of 2010, that is different than attending a private high school. However, this matter will affect me at a later age, when I do have a family and have to decide where to send my children to college. Sure some of these pros and cons are subject to change (such as the tuition costs and curriculum), but by knowing the basics I can have some idea of where I want to send my future children. Although it is rather early to be deciding this at my age, I can also help my family members (such as my cousins who have toddlers) decide upon sending their child to a public or a private school.
For my independent research, I read the book The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier. In this book, one boy decides to defy the administration, and disturb the universe. Jerry Renault attends a private all boys Catholic school where everyone listens to the administration and to the secret society named the Vigils. Each year the school has a chocolate sale, where students are required to sell a certain amount box of chocolates in order to raise proceeds for the school. This year Jerry decides not to sell the chocolates, thus upsetting the principal and the Vigils. This story depicts how Jerry goes from being a hero to be shunned by his classmates.
This novel was exactly what my topic was all about. Here we have a teenage boy who attends a Catholic all boys’ school who decides to defy the orders given to him by the administration. Through the values of the school he attends, he is then punished because he doesn’t listen to the rules set forward by the Sister and Brothers that work in his school. The Chocolate War shows the reader how one student who decides to defy the religious administration of his school goes from being viewed as a hero by his fellow students to being shunned by them because the Virgils and the principal tell them it is wrong to follow Jerry’s lead. Religion plays a big role in the education and lives of private school students, and this book shows just how much of an influence it has in their lives. The principal, or Father, decides what happens in a student’s life when they are attending the school, and the student has no say whatsoever in it. Religion provides a stricter curriculum, and teaches students that there is only one way to go about their lives, only one structure to stick to.
I decided to ask my mom about her opinion on public high schools versus private Catholic high schools. Or rather, which she would prefer me to attend (regardless of the cost). She replied that she would prefer to send me to a public school because she believes that we don’t need a religion background or meaning in our lives. She believes that in high school, students are too young to be learning about religion, and having religion control our lives. She said that public schools “give you more of a chance to develop your own mindset and think about things more freely, where private schools force you to incorporate religion into your lives and mindset.” My mom doesn’t believe that religion should dictate someone’s life at such a young age.
I then asked our fellow classmates, Adam Wardas and Carrie Li if they had to choose to attend a public high school or private Catholic high school, which would they choose? Adam replied “private because I know I’d have a better life after going there rather than the public school.” I then asked how he believes religion plays into a private school education, to which he replied “I don't think religion should play a role in education, but if it’s there, then it will affect the mentality of the students because it still influences them nonetheless.” After this I followed up with how would it affect your mindset, to which he replied “well if you believe that religion is real, then all your decisions will be directed towards living in that religions "perfect" society, where you try to get to "heaven" ”. Even though Adam would prefer to attend a private school, he doesn’t believe religion should play a role in a private school education. Carrie said she would prefer to go to a public school (“but it can't be a crappy one”) because “typically I would consider a private school to be strict”. When I asked how she believes how religion plays into a private school education, she replied with “it seems that religion based education allows less freedom from students where the students aren't encouraged as much to express their thought because from my perspective religions seem so close minded. They seem to be more into instilling religious concepts into their student’s minds than letting them think freely or giving them a chance to challenge these ideas”. Carrie believes that religion sets boundaries for students, thus limits their ability to think and develop their mind on their own.
In conclusion, I have found that public high schools and private Catholic high schools both have the same values and teach the same subjects, where as private Catholic schools create more of a focus through the use of religion while public high schools give students the ability to learn and develop their own mindsets. Public high schools gives students the ability to develop their own thoughts and create their own insights while private Catholic high schools teach students what they should know and limit their ability to develop their minds through the use of religion.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Homework 50
The Six-Lesson Schoolteacher
The Six-Lesson Schoolteacher, by John Taylor Gatto, is a speech given by him when he received the New York State Teacher of the Year award in 1991. His speech is basically stating that teachers are always using the same six lessons in their classrooms, when they are teaching their fellow students. He says that teachers try to strip away the value of a student’s worthiness, and that students learn that the teachers are always the ones that are right no matter what happens. He also explains that teachers teach students that they are always being watched, and that homework is assigned in order to provide a surveillance system at home.
When I read this speech, I was beyond shocked. At first I could not understand if Gatto agreed or disagreed with these lessons, and then I realized that he did indeed disagree with them, but he was trying to explain that some teachers agreed and obeyed them. I find some of these lessons ridiculous, such as lesson five “I teach that your self-respect should depend on an observer's measure of your worth”. I think in no way should a teacher be the one determining a student’s worthiness. Who are they to judge what self-respect a student should have, or how worthy they should be in everyone’s eyes? I would never want a teacher to tell me that I am worthy of this grade, and that is the only thing I am worthy of. I don’t want someone else telling me what I am worth, that is no place in anyone’s right to say. I understand some people argue that grades are a way to evaluate a student’s worthiness, however I disagree. Grades are a way to evaluate a student’s progress, not what respect they should have for themselves because of how they are seen in someone else’s eyes. I thought that Gatto had a point when he was disagreeing with the six lessons most teachers use in the classroom. These lessons are wrong and degrading students everywhere. School is not about stripping away a student’s ability to think and have their own mindset, it’s about letting a student explore the world around them with the help of teachers. However with these lessons, that is nearly impossible to do.
Fanning's Interview
In our class, Mr. Fanning came in to answer a set of questions posed by us, the students. He answered the questions posed in a pretty generic way, but also added his own twist to them. By this I mean that he was not the “education is the most important thing in your life, end of story” speaker, instead he was the “education is the most important thing in your life, and here is why” speaker. He explained that when he was younger and in high school, he did not really care for school, instead he just wanted to start a rock band. Remarkably he went to an outstanding college, Skidmore College, while deciding to pursue his dream to be a rock star. After he graduated he became a rock star, but soon retired and came back to teach. One thing Mr. Fanning said was that education is the most important gift someone can ever give you. A pretty generic answer, but he then went on to expand on this statement. He explained that college opens a lot of opportunities for you, and that you can always learn something new, no matter what age you are at. He explains that people are always going back to school to further increase their education, because it is the one thing that sets the building blocks for the rest of your life. Sam Kaplan asked Mr. Fanning how living the rock star lifestyle influenced his teaching style at SOF. To this, Fanning replied that he understands what we are going through as teens. He knows what we are going through, but wants to see all of us succeed at life. Fanning also went on to explain how he loves being principal at SOF because of the diversity around him. Beacon high school, he said, screens its students, and expects them all to get perfect grades, and to always listen to the teacher. However, at SOF, there is a large variation of students, ranging from struggling students to excelling students. He explains that it is this diversity that makes him enjoy teaching (when he did) and being principal at SOF.
It was surprising to hear Mr. Fanning answer the questions in the way he did. I always thought of him as someone who wanted to push the value of education on us, and to make us all want to go to college (not that I ever had a doubt in my mind about going). However, listening him talk about his life shown me a new side of him. I thought it was really cool how he was a rock star at first, and then went on to find a career in the education system. I agree with him that SOF is an extremely academically and racially diverse school, and sometimes I wondered why this was. After listening to him compare SOF to Beacon, I realized the answer to my question. It gives me appreciation for the teachers at SOF, because they have to make sure each student gets their needs met. Each student learns at a different pace, and with such an academically diverse student body, teachers need to work hard in order to help each student in their own way. I always understood the value of education, and never had a doubt in my mind that I would attend college, and then possibly attend grad school if that’s where my future takes me. However, after listening to Fanning talk about all the different ways an education can shape you, and how you can always learn something new, I now further appreciate the ability to have such an outstanding education. Fanning’s interview really made me think about education in a new light.
John Gatto: Teacher of the Year Acceptance Speech
In John Gatto’s Teacher of the Year Acceptance Speech, he is criticizing our education system and how schools are run now. He explains that schools are no longer used to educate students, but rather to teach them to obey orders. He also states that schools force students to sit in a confined area with other people their age, and all learn the same thing. They never see diversity in their school lives, thus cutting them off from reality and what happens to them in their future. He also states that school leaves little time for a child’s mind to grow and develop on their own. Children are constantly under surveillance, even when they are at home (through the use of homework) and have no time to decide what they want to do with their lives or what they want to do for fun. Towards the end of his speech he explains what he wants to change about the school system, and how it should be reformed.
When I first started reading his speech, I have to admit I was genuinely shocked. What teacher would create an acceptance speech that criticizes the very system that he works in and just accepted an award based on? But into further reading his speech, I realized that Gatto had a point. The school system is all about making children into students who memorize everything the teacher tells them. Students don’t have a chance to think on their own, or a chance to explore something using their mind. Instead they are forced to memorized formulae that would never help them in their future unless they go into that particular field. Gatto is right when he says schools don’t educate us, instead they teach us to obey orders. Schools are like a factory, with the teachers being the ones in charge and the students being the assembly workers always going through the same routine without paying much attention to what they are doing.
Lisa Delpit on power and pedagogy
Lisa Delpit argues that students who were raised in a family that taught them basic skills would further advance in schools than students who were not taught basic skills would. She argues that students who come from a “culture of power”, whom are mainly white kids, will do better in school because they all ready know the basic things. However students who don’t come from this “culture”, whom are mainly the minorities or poor kids, will struggle in school, and once teachers see that happening, they will deem them a slower learner, and make them take remedial courses. Delpit argues that a fair curriculum should be created for everyone, including the students who were not raised in the “culture of power”. She suggests that an appropriate education is created for these minority students.
I agree with Delpit because it is harder for students to learn as quickly as they should if they don’t have a background in the basic skills. Everything she is talking about goes back to the theory of “culture maps”, and how some people are born into the “typical American culuture map”, while others are born into a map that doesn’t prove education to be too important. Although most people don’t connect race and class with the education field when you first think about schools, Delpit shows people that it is a huge controversy when students are learning.
The Six-Lesson Schoolteacher, by John Taylor Gatto, is a speech given by him when he received the New York State Teacher of the Year award in 1991. His speech is basically stating that teachers are always using the same six lessons in their classrooms, when they are teaching their fellow students. He says that teachers try to strip away the value of a student’s worthiness, and that students learn that the teachers are always the ones that are right no matter what happens. He also explains that teachers teach students that they are always being watched, and that homework is assigned in order to provide a surveillance system at home.
When I read this speech, I was beyond shocked. At first I could not understand if Gatto agreed or disagreed with these lessons, and then I realized that he did indeed disagree with them, but he was trying to explain that some teachers agreed and obeyed them. I find some of these lessons ridiculous, such as lesson five “I teach that your self-respect should depend on an observer's measure of your worth”. I think in no way should a teacher be the one determining a student’s worthiness. Who are they to judge what self-respect a student should have, or how worthy they should be in everyone’s eyes? I would never want a teacher to tell me that I am worthy of this grade, and that is the only thing I am worthy of. I don’t want someone else telling me what I am worth, that is no place in anyone’s right to say. I understand some people argue that grades are a way to evaluate a student’s worthiness, however I disagree. Grades are a way to evaluate a student’s progress, not what respect they should have for themselves because of how they are seen in someone else’s eyes. I thought that Gatto had a point when he was disagreeing with the six lessons most teachers use in the classroom. These lessons are wrong and degrading students everywhere. School is not about stripping away a student’s ability to think and have their own mindset, it’s about letting a student explore the world around them with the help of teachers. However with these lessons, that is nearly impossible to do.
Fanning's Interview
In our class, Mr. Fanning came in to answer a set of questions posed by us, the students. He answered the questions posed in a pretty generic way, but also added his own twist to them. By this I mean that he was not the “education is the most important thing in your life, end of story” speaker, instead he was the “education is the most important thing in your life, and here is why” speaker. He explained that when he was younger and in high school, he did not really care for school, instead he just wanted to start a rock band. Remarkably he went to an outstanding college, Skidmore College, while deciding to pursue his dream to be a rock star. After he graduated he became a rock star, but soon retired and came back to teach. One thing Mr. Fanning said was that education is the most important gift someone can ever give you. A pretty generic answer, but he then went on to expand on this statement. He explained that college opens a lot of opportunities for you, and that you can always learn something new, no matter what age you are at. He explains that people are always going back to school to further increase their education, because it is the one thing that sets the building blocks for the rest of your life. Sam Kaplan asked Mr. Fanning how living the rock star lifestyle influenced his teaching style at SOF. To this, Fanning replied that he understands what we are going through as teens. He knows what we are going through, but wants to see all of us succeed at life. Fanning also went on to explain how he loves being principal at SOF because of the diversity around him. Beacon high school, he said, screens its students, and expects them all to get perfect grades, and to always listen to the teacher. However, at SOF, there is a large variation of students, ranging from struggling students to excelling students. He explains that it is this diversity that makes him enjoy teaching (when he did) and being principal at SOF.
It was surprising to hear Mr. Fanning answer the questions in the way he did. I always thought of him as someone who wanted to push the value of education on us, and to make us all want to go to college (not that I ever had a doubt in my mind about going). However, listening him talk about his life shown me a new side of him. I thought it was really cool how he was a rock star at first, and then went on to find a career in the education system. I agree with him that SOF is an extremely academically and racially diverse school, and sometimes I wondered why this was. After listening to him compare SOF to Beacon, I realized the answer to my question. It gives me appreciation for the teachers at SOF, because they have to make sure each student gets their needs met. Each student learns at a different pace, and with such an academically diverse student body, teachers need to work hard in order to help each student in their own way. I always understood the value of education, and never had a doubt in my mind that I would attend college, and then possibly attend grad school if that’s where my future takes me. However, after listening to Fanning talk about all the different ways an education can shape you, and how you can always learn something new, I now further appreciate the ability to have such an outstanding education. Fanning’s interview really made me think about education in a new light.
John Gatto: Teacher of the Year Acceptance Speech
In John Gatto’s Teacher of the Year Acceptance Speech, he is criticizing our education system and how schools are run now. He explains that schools are no longer used to educate students, but rather to teach them to obey orders. He also states that schools force students to sit in a confined area with other people their age, and all learn the same thing. They never see diversity in their school lives, thus cutting them off from reality and what happens to them in their future. He also states that school leaves little time for a child’s mind to grow and develop on their own. Children are constantly under surveillance, even when they are at home (through the use of homework) and have no time to decide what they want to do with their lives or what they want to do for fun. Towards the end of his speech he explains what he wants to change about the school system, and how it should be reformed.
When I first started reading his speech, I have to admit I was genuinely shocked. What teacher would create an acceptance speech that criticizes the very system that he works in and just accepted an award based on? But into further reading his speech, I realized that Gatto had a point. The school system is all about making children into students who memorize everything the teacher tells them. Students don’t have a chance to think on their own, or a chance to explore something using their mind. Instead they are forced to memorized formulae that would never help them in their future unless they go into that particular field. Gatto is right when he says schools don’t educate us, instead they teach us to obey orders. Schools are like a factory, with the teachers being the ones in charge and the students being the assembly workers always going through the same routine without paying much attention to what they are doing.
Lisa Delpit on power and pedagogy
Lisa Delpit argues that students who were raised in a family that taught them basic skills would further advance in schools than students who were not taught basic skills would. She argues that students who come from a “culture of power”, whom are mainly white kids, will do better in school because they all ready know the basic things. However students who don’t come from this “culture”, whom are mainly the minorities or poor kids, will struggle in school, and once teachers see that happening, they will deem them a slower learner, and make them take remedial courses. Delpit argues that a fair curriculum should be created for everyone, including the students who were not raised in the “culture of power”. She suggests that an appropriate education is created for these minority students.
I agree with Delpit because it is harder for students to learn as quickly as they should if they don’t have a background in the basic skills. Everything she is talking about goes back to the theory of “culture maps”, and how some people are born into the “typical American culuture map”, while others are born into a map that doesn’t prove education to be too important. Although most people don’t connect race and class with the education field when you first think about schools, Delpit shows people that it is a huge controversy when students are learning.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Homework 49
Our class did not finish making our film, so instead of I will be writing about how our video would have turned out if it was indeed finished. For our film, I was one of the extras; I sat in the background and raised my hand when the teacher asked for volunteers. The message of our film was that teachers always want to act like they helped a student, and taught them everything they know, even when that isn’t true. In our film, we were going to have the main character as the student who didn’t care about schoolwork, and didn’t do anything during class. The teacher thought lowly of her, and so did the other main character, the teacher’s pet. In the end of the film, the student who didn’t care about schoolwork came out on top, and passed a test with flying colors. The teacher thought that it was his accomplishment, and prided himself for teaching the student everything she ever learned. Instead of arguing and pointing out that she studied and did all the work by herself, and taught herself everything she knew, she sat back and watched the teacher brag. In some cases, it’s better to let someone feel proud of themselves even if they didn’t do anything.
Unlike other films we watched, such as Freedom Writers, Blackboard Jungle, Dangerous Minds, etc. our film would have flipped the stereotypical teacher role. Instead of showing a smart white teacher coming into a new classroom and trying to help the minority students, our film would have a shown a white teacher coming into a classroom and not attempting to help the minority students at all. However, in the end, the minority student would come out on top, because of all the work and effort she put into studying. Unlike the other films, our teacher figure was not the savior, he wasn’t the one who came in and saved the day. Instead he was the one who made fun of the student who didn’t try in class, and praised the ones who did.
In our culture, teachers always believe that they can go into a classroom filled with minority students and/or people who don’t want to try in school, and change their lives. They believe that can change their mindset, and make them want to learn, make them see the value of their education. It doesn’t help that every movie every created about schooling shows this stereotypical teacher role. But how many teachers actually do this? Sure it seems like a good idea, come in to a new school, try and help students who everyone else has given up on, and make them see that continuing their education is better than living out their lives on the street. But how often does this work out? About as often as a Disney fairytale comes true. When you find out prince in shining armor, who saves you from the wicked witch or the dangerous dragon, I’ll show you a teacher who can change the mindset of students who frankly just don’t give a crap anymore. I believe that if teachers do want to make a change and help students, they can’t take them on as a little experiment. They can’t try and connect with them, or act like they know what the students are talking about. Instead they have to make what they teach interesting. Why would a Hispanic boy from the ghetto, who saw his best friend get shot in a drive by, want to learn calculus or physics? He doesn’t. But he might if he realizes how it connects to his own life. Teachers have to realize that instead of sympathizing or acting like they understand what the student is talking about, they should let the student vent, and then take it day by day. Don’t try and force a student into learning, because some people don’t want to do that.
Unlike other films we watched, such as Freedom Writers, Blackboard Jungle, Dangerous Minds, etc. our film would have flipped the stereotypical teacher role. Instead of showing a smart white teacher coming into a new classroom and trying to help the minority students, our film would have a shown a white teacher coming into a classroom and not attempting to help the minority students at all. However, in the end, the minority student would come out on top, because of all the work and effort she put into studying. Unlike the other films, our teacher figure was not the savior, he wasn’t the one who came in and saved the day. Instead he was the one who made fun of the student who didn’t try in class, and praised the ones who did.
In our culture, teachers always believe that they can go into a classroom filled with minority students and/or people who don’t want to try in school, and change their lives. They believe that can change their mindset, and make them want to learn, make them see the value of their education. It doesn’t help that every movie every created about schooling shows this stereotypical teacher role. But how many teachers actually do this? Sure it seems like a good idea, come in to a new school, try and help students who everyone else has given up on, and make them see that continuing their education is better than living out their lives on the street. But how often does this work out? About as often as a Disney fairytale comes true. When you find out prince in shining armor, who saves you from the wicked witch or the dangerous dragon, I’ll show you a teacher who can change the mindset of students who frankly just don’t give a crap anymore. I believe that if teachers do want to make a change and help students, they can’t take them on as a little experiment. They can’t try and connect with them, or act like they know what the students are talking about. Instead they have to make what they teach interesting. Why would a Hispanic boy from the ghetto, who saw his best friend get shot in a drive by, want to learn calculus or physics? He doesn’t. But he might if he realizes how it connects to his own life. Teachers have to realize that instead of sympathizing or acting like they understand what the student is talking about, they should let the student vent, and then take it day by day. Don’t try and force a student into learning, because some people don’t want to do that.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Homework 48 - Treatment for Savior/Teacher Movie
Scene One:
Cut to the high school hallways, where students loiter around waiting for their classes to start. They talk to their friends about their summer, and catch up on everything that they missed over the summer break. The bell rings, and students enter their classrooms, waiting for the new day to start.
Scene Two:
Jose Santiago, a straight A student , an active participant in the school’s debate club, the chess club, and the baseball team, watched as the new teacher stepped into the classroom. A tall Caucasian woman who looked at the class with frightful eyes. She glances around the classroom and introduces herself as Mrs. Smith, and explains that she is the new junior English teacher. She rambles on some more about what they will be doing for the rest of the year, and how excited she is to be there teaching. She gives us a brief speech about her background, how she graduated from Boston University and went to graduate school at Harvard University. Soon after the bell rang and class was over.
Scene Three:
Cut to the high school hall way scene once again, this time the students who just had junior English discuss the new teacher. They talk about the prestigious vibe she sets off, and how having English with her should be fun. Once again the bell rings, and the students go to their next class.
Scene Four:
Mrs. Smith sits in the teacher lounge, introducing herself to the other teachers. She explains to them that she wants to help the students to reach their full potential. The other teachers ask her what she means by that, and Mrs. Smith explains that her class is full of minority students, and she wants them to believe that they also matter even though they are not Caucasian. One female teacher tries to explain to Mrs. Smith that there is nothing wrong with her class, they are all bright and receive good grades. A male teacher cuts her off however, and with a smirk on his face, tells Mrs. Smith that sounds like an excellent idea and she should pursue it and give them an update each day. Mrs. Smith looks pleased with herself and thanks the male, while promising him she will update him each day.
Scene Five:
The next day, Mrs. Smith once again enters the junior English classroom, this time with a purpose. She looks each student in the eye and then announces that she is here to help them. Jose looks at her with a question in his eyes, as he is sure other students do also. Mrs. Smith then goes on to explain that she understands they are a minority based class, and that she believes everyone should be treated equal. She believes that each student deserves to go to a prestigious college, like she did. She doesn’t ask them about their background or their families, instead of asking them for their names. Once she hears a mix of Hispanic and African names, with some Asian and Caucasian, she feels as if her thoughts are confirmed. These are students screaming for help, and lucky for them, she can provide it for them.
Scene Six-Sixteen:
Follows the same sequence of switching from Mrs. Smith trying to help her students in the classroom setting to following a new student home in each scene. When following the students home, the viewers realize these students all live in wealthy families and are bright educated people.
Scene Seventeen:
It’s parent teacher conference, and Mrs. Smith meets all of her students parents. After a couple of parents, she realizes that her students have no problems at all. Their parents are all educated and well off, and so are their sons and daughters. Mrs. Smith has an epiphany and realizes that all her hard work was for nothing, she didn’t need to help these students, and they didn’t need help.
Scene Eighteen:
Mrs. Smith goes into her classroom the next day and apologizes for trying to change them, especially since they did not need to be changed. She explains how ridiculous she feels, and how she didn’t mean to treat them like they were stupid.
Scene Nineteen:
Once again cut to the scene of the high school hallway, this time however showing the students getting ready to leave school and go home.
The End
Cut to the high school hallways, where students loiter around waiting for their classes to start. They talk to their friends about their summer, and catch up on everything that they missed over the summer break. The bell rings, and students enter their classrooms, waiting for the new day to start.
Scene Two:
Jose Santiago, a straight A student , an active participant in the school’s debate club, the chess club, and the baseball team, watched as the new teacher stepped into the classroom. A tall Caucasian woman who looked at the class with frightful eyes. She glances around the classroom and introduces herself as Mrs. Smith, and explains that she is the new junior English teacher. She rambles on some more about what they will be doing for the rest of the year, and how excited she is to be there teaching. She gives us a brief speech about her background, how she graduated from Boston University and went to graduate school at Harvard University. Soon after the bell rang and class was over.
Scene Three:
Cut to the high school hall way scene once again, this time the students who just had junior English discuss the new teacher. They talk about the prestigious vibe she sets off, and how having English with her should be fun. Once again the bell rings, and the students go to their next class.
Scene Four:
Mrs. Smith sits in the teacher lounge, introducing herself to the other teachers. She explains to them that she wants to help the students to reach their full potential. The other teachers ask her what she means by that, and Mrs. Smith explains that her class is full of minority students, and she wants them to believe that they also matter even though they are not Caucasian. One female teacher tries to explain to Mrs. Smith that there is nothing wrong with her class, they are all bright and receive good grades. A male teacher cuts her off however, and with a smirk on his face, tells Mrs. Smith that sounds like an excellent idea and she should pursue it and give them an update each day. Mrs. Smith looks pleased with herself and thanks the male, while promising him she will update him each day.
Scene Five:
The next day, Mrs. Smith once again enters the junior English classroom, this time with a purpose. She looks each student in the eye and then announces that she is here to help them. Jose looks at her with a question in his eyes, as he is sure other students do also. Mrs. Smith then goes on to explain that she understands they are a minority based class, and that she believes everyone should be treated equal. She believes that each student deserves to go to a prestigious college, like she did. She doesn’t ask them about their background or their families, instead of asking them for their names. Once she hears a mix of Hispanic and African names, with some Asian and Caucasian, she feels as if her thoughts are confirmed. These are students screaming for help, and lucky for them, she can provide it for them.
Scene Six-Sixteen:
Follows the same sequence of switching from Mrs. Smith trying to help her students in the classroom setting to following a new student home in each scene. When following the students home, the viewers realize these students all live in wealthy families and are bright educated people.
Scene Seventeen:
It’s parent teacher conference, and Mrs. Smith meets all of her students parents. After a couple of parents, she realizes that her students have no problems at all. Their parents are all educated and well off, and so are their sons and daughters. Mrs. Smith has an epiphany and realizes that all her hard work was for nothing, she didn’t need to help these students, and they didn’t need help.
Scene Eighteen:
Mrs. Smith goes into her classroom the next day and apologizes for trying to change them, especially since they did not need to be changed. She explains how ridiculous she feels, and how she didn’t mean to treat them like they were stupid.
Scene Nineteen:
Once again cut to the scene of the high school hallway, this time however showing the students getting ready to leave school and go home.
The End
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Homework 47 - Class Film Preparation 1
1. The movie can be a different version of every serious movie about school (taking the original structure of a movie such as Freedom Writers and turning it into something funny, taking the stereotypical teacher saving the students role and showing how the students also change the teacher). *
2. It can be shown from the students view instead of the teachers view. *
3. It can be a spoof, something funny instead of something serious.
4. We can show different teachers and their teaching styles, and how they differ from each other.
5. A key image would be a classroom setting, but I think we should film a couple of classes and then edit them all together.
6. Each student can come up with a different character, and how they believe it fits into the film.
2. It can be shown from the students view instead of the teachers view. *
3. It can be a spoof, something funny instead of something serious.
4. We can show different teachers and their teaching styles, and how they differ from each other.
5. A key image would be a classroom setting, but I think we should film a couple of classes and then edit them all together.
6. Each student can come up with a different character, and how they believe it fits into the film.
Homework 46 - Research and Writing
In The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier, one boy decides to defy the administration, and disturb the universe. Jerry Renault attends a private all boys Catholic school where everyone listens to the administration and to the secret society named the Vigils. Each year the school has a chocolate sale, where students are required to sell a certain amount box of chocolates in order to raise proceeds for the school. This year Jerry decides not to sell the chocolates, thus upsetting the principal and the Vigils. This story depicts how Jerry goes from being a hero to be shunned by his classmates.
My topic explores how private school and public school education differs, and how religion plays an aspect in private school education. The Chocolate War relates to my topic because it is set in a Catholic all boys private school, where everyone listens to the administration. They are very religious and pray every day. By reading this book I was able to understand how religion plays into the lives of students who attend private Catholic schools.
The Chocolate War shows the reader how one student who decides to defy the religious administration of his school goes from being viewed as a hero by his fellow students to being shunned by them because the Virgils and the principal tell them it is wrong to follow Jerry’s lead. Religion plays a big role in the education and lives of private school students, and this book shows just how much of an influence it has in their lives. The principal, or Father, decides what happens in a student’s life when they are attending the school, and the student has no say whatsoever in it. Religion provides a stricter curriculum, and teaches students that there is only one way to go about their lives, only one structure to stick to.
My topic explores how private school and public school education differs, and how religion plays an aspect in private school education. The Chocolate War relates to my topic because it is set in a Catholic all boys private school, where everyone listens to the administration. They are very religious and pray every day. By reading this book I was able to understand how religion plays into the lives of students who attend private Catholic schools.
The Chocolate War shows the reader how one student who decides to defy the religious administration of his school goes from being viewed as a hero by his fellow students to being shunned by them because the Virgils and the principal tell them it is wrong to follow Jerry’s lead. Religion plays a big role in the education and lives of private school students, and this book shows just how much of an influence it has in their lives. The principal, or Father, decides what happens in a student’s life when they are attending the school, and the student has no say whatsoever in it. Religion provides a stricter curriculum, and teaches students that there is only one way to go about their lives, only one structure to stick to.
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