Some Other Video B/C IRRESPONSIBLE PEOPLE Messed Up Ours

Sigh. I was the director of our film and though I was no Spielberg I think I did a pretty good job. We'll never know our end result because the tape was "ruined". So all that hardwork is now nothing.

Esther's film about the teacher giving up hope on himself is kind of depressing. I totally understand where they were going with it though. The message to me seemed kind of lost and in my opinion not clearly stated (sorry). I liked the idea of him reminiscing on how his class used to be but I didn't see any other message other than desperation. Which might have been the message.

This is different than the movies we watched in class because this teacher actually gave up. All the other teachers keep going until they reach a break through but this one was so lost in his own sorrow and misery that he just couldn't do it. I also think the students kind of gave up on the teacher because in ours it was also about a teacher lost but the students brought him back up and helped him out. In this one when the teacher walks out the students just let him.

Salvation is the act of protecting from harm or danger. Education is an act that has an affect on the mind. These two don't seem to have the same meaning but surprisingly they can be blended together in a teacher's mind. To educate someone is to teach them things that will in turn help them towards a better future. While giving them a better future because of what they learn you are saving them from a doomed life of poverty and misery. Depending on how good the student ends up is how well you saved them.

Someone and Then Another

Gatto:
The reading I did for this was "6 Lessons". This reading was telling us about the basics of teaching in all education. Lesson 1 is that kids are purposely put in certain classes and should therefore stay in those classes. Lesson 2 is to know when to be hard workers yet to be able to move from one material to the next with ease. Lesson 3 is to give up your basic powers as a human to the authorative figure aka teacher. The fourth lesson is that the teacher has all the power in a classroom going from curriculum to disciplinary actions. Lesson 5 is to put all of your everything into receiving the approval of your teacher. You should go to all cost to impress them and revolve your existence around their opinion of you. The last lesson is that you are under survelliance by your teacher at all times. Whether its through other children or homework, they can see and control what you do and learn.

These lessons are completely accurate when it comes to what teachers are suppose to teach the students before any of the work and even during their teaching. These lessons make for cooperative and conformed children who will bend over to do anything for their teacher. This however is bullshit because students shoudl have power in the classroom as well. I'm not talking about total control but we should be able to have some say in what we learn and/or how the teacher teaches it. Not all children learn the same so for some these mind games don't work as well as others.

Freire:
This article was about how teachers are just people to fill up students heads with things that use to mean something and now mean nothing because they are not taught with meaning to us. Teachers put things into our minds and we are expected to remember it all. My favorite quote from the text is "The more completely she fills the receptacles, the better a teacher she is. The more meekly the receptacles permit themselves to be filled, the better students they are." This quote is saying that the more we know the better the teacher is considered. The more we let ourselves be taught without a fight or word the better students we are considered.

This quote to me seems very true because teachers are looked and judged upon the amount their students learn and the grades they get. This however should not be how a person is judged because students can gain more from a teacher than just school knowledge. The fact that students are also judged upon how obediently they learn is also a problem. Students shoudl not have to bow to a "higher power" to learn. Everyone in a classroom setting should be equal because not only are the kids there to learn but so are the teachers.

Delpit:
The interview with Dr. Delpit discussed equal oppurtunity for low income children. She says that you can do this but teachers cannot undermine the student's intelligence. They must believe in the child in order for them to achieve. She also discussed how the arts can be a way to teach children more about school. It keeps them more interested and they relate to it more while they are also being taught about music or writing.

I agree with Dr. Delpit because if a teacher does not believe in the student the kids think that there is no reason to even try. Children need people to back them up in order to achieve wonders. I also agree with arts being another way to teach children basic lessons. For me especially I have always been more interested in music and poetry more than math and science. Incorporating these things into basic school curriculum would definitely interest me more and make me want to learn because I can relate to it. I think what she says about it being mostly children of color or African descent is wrong but hey whatever she wants to believe.

Fanning:
Mr. Fanning talked about the difference between SOF and other schools. He gave it a lot more credit than needed but I guess that's what he has to do. He taught us about the difference between liberal arts and standard education. He said SOF is more about indivuality within teamwork and that the teachers are there to help us with our own thoughts and ideas not just to teach us by books what other people say.

I definitely agree with this about SOF. Whether I think it works or not is different. I think to be at SOF you have to have reached a certain level of maturity. A level that not all of SOF students have reached and even I myself sometimes forget that I have. If you have that level of maturity SOF can be a great advantage because it is about indivuality and a lot more lenient than other schools. Without that maturity however it is just a school that you can bullshit through while getting away with whatever you want.

3 TO 20 PARAGRAPHSSS

So this whole movie thing, I have no clue how we are going to pull it off in all one day when we don't even have a set plan but I'm hoping for the best. My idea was kind of just to have us be ourselves because I didn't want the kids to be like horrible children or goody goods either and I think we're right in the middle of all that. My opinion though. So ummm here goes our movie in my head:

First day of school:
Kids are all in the halls as teacher is walking to class. Everyone is really excited to see each other. Being loud and lots of commotion. Kids are pointing and talking about teacher. Teacher sets up classroom nicely with syllabus on desk for every student and a piece of construction paper. Ten minutes later still waiting for kids. They finally start coming in still loud and disruptive. Jumping around. Teacher ignores the fact that they're late. Asks everyone to sit down and write their names on the construction paper to make little name tags. Everyone starts laughing and immediately writes a bullshit name. More kids walk in late after that with their headphones blasting and sit in the back. Teacher asks them to turn down the music and what their names are. Roll of the eyes and a loud sigh of frustration from the kids. Teacher tries to introduce himself, kids purposely act like they don't understand. Name tags say ridiculous names. Bell rings. Everyone gets up and leaves while teacher is still speaking.

Second day of school:
Teacher is a little more prepared. Got an attendance sheet that has the real names. Calls out attendance. Begins to go over syllabus that of course everyone left yesterday. Students are speaking to one another. One student gets up and begins to leave. Teacher asks where they are going. Bathroom response. Teacher says they have to ask. Kid laughs and leaves anyways. Everyone laughs even harder at this and joke on teacher. Teacher is in shock and disbelief. Bell rings. Class leaves.

Third week of school:
Disruptiveness and disrespect continue. Teacher finally gets fed up and starts talking about something interesting to kids. They have a great conversation about whatever topic this is. Bell rings. Students wait until he finishes his sentence. They say bye to him as they leave. Teacher has a revelation.

Next day:
Classroom is reorganized into just chairs in the shape of a circle and they have a discussion the whole class about what they would like to learn in that class. Kids are really into it. Teacher is happy and part of the jokes not the recipient of them.

Ok so this might suck but it's the kind of the type of movie I want to do so at least use one part of my them or whatever this is called in the real movie. Like the rearrangement of the classroom. I think that one is really smart : )

That Bookie

The book I chose to read is "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time' by Mark Haddon. This book is about a young autistic child who tries to solve the mystery of a dog's death. By investigating this he finds out certain secrets that unravel themselves to be more than he can handle at times. Although the boy faces certain challenges and dilemas he overcomes what most would think is not possible for a child with disabilities. With the help of his neighbor, his determination to find his mom, and his fear of his father this young boy finds a new home and happiness again.

This book relates to my topic because my topic is about children with learning disabilities. With this book I saw the world through the eyes of a child with a learning disorder and learned about the struggles and challenges they face on a day to day basis. Now don't get me wrong this young boy was very smart when it came to his academics but you could still see that he struggled especially when he was having what he calls a "bad day".

This book has helped me better understand the thoughts of those with autism and how it can affect them it not just school but also the outside world (the story was not just about school but slso him being out in the world by himself). He was very good at school and wanted to take an exam for further placement. The book also showed me how the disability could get in the way with the simplest of tasks such as using the bathroom. The author talked about how the character saw other people in his school and what he felt about them. All in all it's a very good book.

Some Stuff For A Vid

- Passive aggressive teacher
- Cool teacher not dorky
- Good kids with only minor defects
- Kids push teacher to like the edge and then teacher comes back harder with teaching.
- Open up kids minds to more important and current social studies.
- One kid attacks teacher and other students turn on kid.
- One big happy family.