"The Class" Reading Response 4

What does it mean to be 'civil?' How does civility impact cultural differences in education and even the opportunity gap? These controversial and interesting topics were explored in two readings: "Creating Classroom Civility" and "Student and School Cultures and the Opportunity Gap." In the first reading, civility is understood to be a factor of culture which operates in "the interest of privilege and power" (164). In the second reading, the opportunity gap is explained through the misunderstanding of cultural differences in school environments. After watching The Class, these readings give insight of why students and teachers act uncivil towards each other and ultimately the cause of an increasing opportunity gap. 

In Megan Laverty's discussion, "Creating Classroom Civility," she addresses the concept that schools are places where civility is taught; "Schools are responsible for shaping society's immature members" (164). So what does it mean to be 'civil?' Well, arguably civility depends on the cultural context but in general civility is a socially accepted way of interaction that is appropriate and sincere. Laverty discusses sincerity as well for she claims civility eliminates the sincere expression of unpopular beliefs. This made me question the relationship between civility and sincerity. In terms of my own experience, sincerity is a cultural virtue that is encouraged. Although, what if someone is sincere about their beliefs but is acting uncivil? Where is the line between being sincere and civil? Civility and sincerity are reflections of societal norms and impact education standards. Since schools are essentially institutions of teaching civility and sincerity, how does one address inappropriate/unwanted behavior in classrooms? The Class and Laverty beat-around-the-bush with the answer but never address it. Punishment is a common resolution in which teachers and schools address uncivil actions but as seen in The Class, punishment has little to no beneficial impact on the students. Rather, positive reinforcement is the most successful and accepting of ways in which to teach people. Positive reinforcement strengthens a behavior by providing a consequence an individual finds rewarding. For example, if your teacher gives you a high-five or positive acknowledgement each time you complete your homework (i.e., a reward) you will be more likely to repeat this behavior in the future, thus strengthening the behavior of completing your homework. With positive reinforcement, parents or teachers or whoever is trying to teach someone, will encourage good behavior and in tern, decrease unwanted behavior. Along these lines, positive reinforcement encourages the idea that everyone is worthy no matter the cultural background. 

Here is a short video about B.F. Skinner's theory of reinforcement

In Prudence Carter's reading, "Student and School Cultures and the Opportunity Gap," he addresses how the opportunity gap is strengthened though the lack of acculturation and understanding of different ethnicities for he claims; "...cultural inequality, both in wider society and within schools, exacerbate that gap" (145). Carter mentions the concept of cultural mismatching, that is, the mismatching of socio economic status and education levels of teachers and students. In The Class, Mr. Marin is a caucasian male who clearly has more education level than his students for his teaching style is described as "bourgeois" and not relevant to the way students actually speak. Meanwhile, his students come from a diverse ethnic background and are struggling to stay in school and receive good grades. According to Carter, this is due to the lack of understanding each other's cultural backgrounds. This lack of understanding is reinforced in curriculum. Particularly in U.S. schools, the teachings of other cultures and ethnicities are limited and often only discussed during certain times of the year. Along with that, when different cultures are rarely taught there is an underlying understanding that those cultures are not valued nor worthy enough compared to "white" culture; "...incongruence Anglo-American cultural purview, tis understood by many of these children as stifling, dehumanizing, degrading, and antagonistic" (151). The lack of exclusivity in school curriculum reinforces the idea that children from minority ethnic backgrounds are not worthy and therefore, their lack of interest and effort in school settings increase. 

What does it mean to be 'civil' then? Civility is related to understanding different cultural backgrounds and the levels of respect that are present in each. With that, civility is a matter of sincerity and no matter who you are, you are subjected to uncivil and insincere actions. The only way to teach civility is through positive reinforcement of what ever is deemed socially appropriate.  

Laverty, M.J. (2015). Creating classroom civility. In D.P. Liston & I.P. Renga (Eds.) Teaching, learning, and schooling in film: Reel education (pp. 130-144). New York, NY: Routledge.

Carter, P.L. (2013). Student and school cultures and the opportunity gap: Paying attention to academic engagement and achievement. In P.L. Carter & K.G. Welner (Eds.) Closing the opportunity gap (pp. 143-155). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

'The Class' Film Review

Holy cow. There is a lot going on in the 2008 French film The Class. I honestly do not know where to begin. Before watching this movie, I expected it to be similar to the previous movies we watched. That is, I pictured the movie to be centered around the teacher and how he helps his students in a heroic way. The Class was completely opposite. Instead of helping the students grow, the French teacher, Francois Marin (played by Francois Begaudeau), arguably did not even help his students and even potentially even hindered their growth. The Class is an interesting film that demands attention and represents the non-fairy tale movies about teaching.

 

The film begins with the teachers introducing themselves before the start of the school year. The teachers are fresh-faced and ready to take on challenges. Although, immediately the experienced teachers make sure the new teachers know which students are "nice" or "not nice." Soon after, the movie pans to Mr. Marin's class in which most of the movie takes place. Within the first day, it becomes clear he is going to have a difficult time with his students. They challenge him on nearly everything he says. For example, they challenge him for comparing a 55 min class to an hour, his word choices during exercises, and the usage of the imperfect verb tense. The students even question his sexuality at one point which not only was inappropriate but out of context. Either way, tensions steadily grew in the movie as the students continuously challenged Mr. Marin's authority. 

Mr. Marin has interesting encounters with multiple students. The movie is set in a Parisian inner-city high school therefore his class is extremely diverse as there are students from China and Mali. The main project that Mr. Marin had his students complete was a self-portrait. This project though, was initiated after they read The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank. Mr. Marin asked one of his students, Knoumba (Rachel Requlier), to read a section of the autobiography out-loud but instead she refused simply because she didn't want to and believed he was picking on her. Mr. Marin was taken back by her reaction and calls her "insolent" after a heated argument. At the end of the class, he demanded an apology from her which ended up not being sincere. Mr. Marin then kicked his chair in frustration. From this encounter, Mr. Marin asks his class to write a self-portrait describing who they are but of course it was retracted from the class who claimed their lives were not exciting like Anne Frank's.

Continuously throughout the film, tensions grew as teachers cried out of frustration and meetings about punishment were highlighted. The climax of the movie began when the boys started an argument about soccer teams during Mr. Marin's class. Souleymane (Frank Keita) ended up flipping-off one of his classmates which led to a visit to the principal's office. The teachers then conducted a meeting questioning how to punish inappropriate behavior and if punishment is even a good tactic. The meeting includes two students who represent the student perspective but instead of being respectful they were giggling and interrupting the conversation. Despite this, the student representatives told their classmates that Mr. Marin thought lowly of them, particularly Souleymane. This consequently created drama in the class. Out of frustration, Mr. Marin claimed the student representatives were "skanks." In response, Souleymane did not agree with his accusation and one thing led to the next, there was physical fighting and even a bloody eyebrow. Consequently, Souleymane was expelled from the school. 

Like I mentioned before, The Class is a rich and provocative movie with a lot of controversial topics mentioned. Through Souleymane and Mr. Marin's interactions, the movie made me question teacher's authority. That is, the students have a very good point about how they don't have to do anything he has to say, not really. The movie also highlighted the concept of respect. Khoumba was a major proponent in expressing mutual respect between teacher and students after her stressful interaction with Mr. Marin. Throughout the movie, Mr. Marin was desperate for respect but so were his students. Unlike previous movies watched, the mutual respect was never accomplished. Instead, further turmoil. Another important questioned raised by The Class was what are the proper ways to punish bad-behaving students? Is punishment really the answer? During multiple teacher meetings, nearly all the teachers argued the ways in which they should address their disrespectful students but never settled on an answer. In the situations they were in, I would understand their frustrations and desire to punish their students but clearly that does not help any situation. In developmental psychology, it has come to be almost common knowledge that punishment and negative reinforcement does not help a child improve. Rather, positive reinforcement is the most influential technique towards teaching children to do good things. During some of the teacher meetings, positive reinforcement was mentioned but overlooked because other teachers didn't agree with it. The Class was consequently a different and provocative film. Despite this, I believe the problems Mr. Marin was facing are very relatable and realistic. If I had to rate this film out of five stars, I would give it four stars. I appreciated how it didn't tell a general heroic story and didn't have a sappy ending. The movie also was encouraged viewers to question authority while also asking what it means to be respectful. The only aspect of the movie which I would have liked more explanation about was the scene in which a student calls his classmates shameful. I was expecting there to be a greater upset amongst his piers but instead the movie focused on respect- which is also a great topic. Either way, I enjoyed this film and would recommend others to watch it. 

'Monsieur Lazhar' Reading Response 3

In this shorter chapter of Teaching, Learning, and Schooling in Film: Reel Education, the authors discuss the film Monsieur Lazhar and address the tropes movies depict of teachers. They begin by claiming there are three common tropes of teachers in film: teachers as a challenger, a martyr, and as a learner. Despite this, Bashir Lazhar's character is respectfully explored within each context and reveals further underlying concepts of education. 

The authors argue that a majority of education film dramas depict teachers as challenging the system in some way. For example, Louanne Johnson in Dangerous Minds and John Keating in Dead Poets Society all address their students and superiors in unexpected and unorthodox ways. In Monsieur Lazhar though, Bashir Lazhar is not challenging the status quo but rather the authors believe his main goal is "supporting the learning and development of the children he teaches" (76). I would argue that Louanne Johnson and John Keating are also supporting the learning and development of their students but their actions have greater consequences among other teachers/administrators. I do not agree with the authors that Bashir does not challenge the status quo. At the end of the movie, he is fired for multiple reasons namely, he lied to his superior about having teaching experience, addressed a difficult concept (death) when specifically asked not to, and also gave hugs to students who needed them when any form of touching is prohibited. Bashir directly challenges the status quo but the way he goes about it is not as demanding or unorthodox compared to other teachers in film. He does actively seek ways to become a better teacher by listening to his coworkers and trying their methods of commanding a class (i.e. counting down from four) but at the same time he wants to connect with his students on a more emotional level. 

The authors then argue Bashir is not a martyr. I agree with their statement for Bashir is grieving about the tragic deaths of his entire family alongside with his students about their beloved teacher, Martine. At the beginning of his teaching experience, Bashir could be considered a more conservative teacher due to his change in seating arrangements and the regular practicing of sentence structure. Although, he is somewhat naïve and he does not know how to control his class at all times. His teaching style is realistic and admirable. In the process of learning how to teach, he creates an open and caring environment for his students. The authors argued the environment Bashir created may have potentially been influenced by his own experiences of grief. Despite this, he is not completely self-sacrificing and reveals to his students that he too is human and susceptible to unfortunate events. 

In Monsieur Lazhar the common tropes (challenger, martyr, and learner) are explored and questioned. Lazhar is unconventional compared to other teaching film dramas which is refreshing for the audience to watch. It is argued his actions are centered in helping the students but not in a way that seems fake. Due to his own tragic past his is able to connect to his students compared other teachers or psychologists. Unlike the American education system, the authors also argue Monsieur Lazhar does not highlight the unfair ways of testing for accountability. In the American school system, it has become increasingly prevalent to have high-stakes testing in which teachers and policy makers "reduce students to scores" (80). In Monsieur Lazhar, the pressure of standardized testing and policies are not as influential on teachers for there are no conversations about grades. In this way, I believe this is what makes the film so refreshing to watch. Despite its intense beginning, it reveals the humanity within the school system. 

In relation to my own schooling, I have heavily experienced the pressure of standardized testing and the increased sense of labeling students to numbers. This increased sense has also increased as my education became more competitive though. When I was young and around the same age as the students in Monsieur Lazhar, my grades and standardized test scores did not affect my understanding of the relationship between my teachers and myself. It wasn't until I reached the time of entering college did test scores start to impact my education for in America, tests scores seem to be equivalent to the education one is worthy of. Now that I am investing time into graduate schools, it has come to my attention that test scores are the determining factor towards admission in better programs. Why is this? I believe it is because of the increase in competition. As the world population increases, it becomes more difficult to be "successful" inside and outside of school. In a perfect world, it would be ideal if schools did not have any form of testing requirements but since there are so many people, testing becomes the most efficient way to understand abilities. In respects to Monsieur Lazhar, teachers and administrators are more focussed on the emotional stability of their students. Of course though, the movie is only offering a snapshot and takes place in a middle school. Despite this, it was refreshing to watch a movie about a teacher who wanted to address emotional instability within his classroom instead of tests.      


Irwin DeVitis, L., & DeVitis, J.L. (2015). Monsieur Lazhar: The subversive dance of relationship and the “fierce urgency of now”. In D.P. Liston & I.P. Renga (Eds.) Teaching, learning, and schooling in film: Reel education. New York, NY: Routledge.

'Monsieur Lazhar' Film Review

The nominated movie for an Oscar in Best Foreign Language, Monsieur Lazhar, not only tells an emotional and relatable story but also addresses important life questions. After the suicide of their beloved English teacher, Martine, the middle-school students learn to grieve in the face of a new and unfamiliar teacher Mr. Bachir Lazhar (Mohamed Fellag). Mr. Lazhar does not know the relationship the students had with Martine but he too is facing grief and consequently relates to their feelings. Monsieur Lazhar is a powerful movie that questions the construct of grief and the ways in which people can address death.

The movie begins with a staggering scene in which a young boy, Simon (Émilien Néron), discovers his teacher (Martine) hanging dead from the ceiling as he is trying to deliver milk to the classroom. Staggering yet efficient, the movie introduces a difficult subject (death) to the audience immediately and sets the tone for the rest of the movie. Quickly soon after, Mr. Lazhar is introduced and volunteers to be Martine's replacement. In the first few weeks of his teaching, Mr. Lazhar and the students are still trying to get to know each other but in the process, Martine's death hangs in the air and creates an unyielding tension among the students and the teachers. Alice (Sophie Nélisse) is a student and is  friends with Simon but their relationship is tenuous now that their beloved teacher is dead. For a majority of the movie, Alice withholds her emotions from Simon and even Mr. Lazhar but it becomes clear she blames Simon for her teacher's death. Meanwhile, Mr. Lazhar's story slowly unfolds to the audience that is an Algerian refugee. During his court sessions the audience learns he once had a wife and two children but were killed in a fire. Mr. Lazhar believes their deaths were not accidental and in fact, were a result of the continuous death threats his wife received due to her controversial and political book. This scene is short though and does not evoke as emotion as it could.
Despite this, Mr. Lazhar is experiencing grief along side his students. 

Simon, in particular, feels extremely guilty for Martine's death. It is discovered during a teacher conference that Martine tutored Simon and even gave him a hug one day when he was struggling. Although, Simon did not like that and came-up with the lie that Martine kissed him. Since any form of touching is not allowed in the school environment and was addressed to Mr. Lazhar by the principle, it can be concluded that Martine's job was impacted from Simon's lie. Thus, Simon feels as though he added to Martine's pain and influenced her decision to hang herself during the day he was delivering milk. Mr. Lazhar addresses Simon's quilt along with the rest of the class by exclaiming it was not their fault and that a classroom is "a place full of life." At the end of the movie, Mr. Lazhar uses the metaphor of metamorphosis to help his students process life and death. He writes a fable in which he allows the students to review that is about a caterpillar that never turned into a butterfly. Soon after, Mr. Lazhar is fired for the principle did not know he was a refugee and did not agree with the way he was addressing death.

Monsieur Lazhar is an emotionally gripping movie that addresses death in a classroom. It raises multiple questions which include: is there a proper way to address death in a younger population? what role does the teacher play in helping them grieve? and where is the line between raising and teaching children? Something that I admired about this movie is the school brought in a psychologist to help the students grieve. I was not expecting that for some reason and I appreciated how the school provided someone else for the students to talk to. Although, the psychologist's role was not highlighted as much as I thought it would. Instead, the movie highlighted Mr. Lazhar's impact on the students- which I also appreciate. There were parts in the movie that felt there could have been more information on though. Namely, Mr. Lazhar's family. The scene in which he described his family's death sounded extremely traumatic and yet his behavior for the rest of the movie did not reflect what I imagined he would be experiencing. This of course brings up the idea of grieving death. No one grieves the same way. Although, I believe it is important for people to understand grief and to take comfort in knowing a person's death is not their fault. In the case of the students, I would imagine that for most of them this is the first time they experienced death and understanding the feelings that come after is an important aspect of life that everyone must learn at some point. 

I would give this movie a three and half stars out of five. I appreciated the difficult theme Monsieur Lazhar addressed but I wished they handled certain situations better. Namely, I wish the writers gave more background information about Mr. Lazhar and I also wish they developed Mr. Lazhar's and Alice's relationship more. The ending with them hugging did not seem as dramatic as it could have been because they did not explore their similarities to a large degree. Despite this, the movie had controversial topics and all great movies have controversial topics interwoven into their stories. Absolutely watch Monsieur Lazhar if you are not feeling like watching a comedy. 

'Dead Poets Society:' Reading Response 2

"(Re)Imagining Life in the Classroom" written by Mark A. Lewis and Ian Parker Renga is an interesting chapter addressing movie archetypes of students, teachers, and their relationship. The authors begin by discussing the "stereotypical boxes" in which movies have repeatedly pegged characters, which include: the misunderstood misfit, the athlete/bully, the popular/princess, the nerd, and finally the rebel. Although, by examining other movies about the school environment including Dead Poets Society, The History Boys, Dangerous Minds, and The Class- do the authors uncover other archetypes. 

The authors argue that movies create stereotypical characters (or enhance them) because they are easy for viewers to relate to. That is, there are expectations within society that have pre-determining powers over social function and it is difficult for people to view stereotypes as such (66). Along with that, the authors argue that there is a problematic view of adolescence. In every example they give, the authors mention how the movies are depicting "out-of-control hormones and angst" in their teenaged characters. They do not exactly point out how this is a problem though, as they further mention how understanding adolescence hormones as a "construct" will provide a foundation for critiquing films (67). 

The authors then discuss how teachers are portrayed in movies. They interpret the stereotypical teacher to be a white-female who is not only overworked but has difficult relationships with her pupils. Although, in Dead Poets Society and The History Boys, both of the movies' students are in a privileged setting with a devoted, energetic, and optimistic by their sides. Both of the films depict teachers as encouraging and respect their students in the sense that they view them as emerging adults with potential rather than "out-of-control" animals, as the teachers do in Dangerous Minds and The Class. 

In this reading, it is clear the authors are comparing and contrasting two types of school environments: privileged vs. marginalized. In the privileged settings (movies: Dead Poets Society and The History Boys), the students' adolescent angst is encouraged by their teachers in the sense that the teachers want to harness that potential to further help their students become successful adults. The students are often depicted as white and understanding their identity is the root of their causes. Meanwhile, in marginalized settings (movies: Dangerous Minds and The Class), the teachers are trying to control the adolescent angst and believe they cannot harness that potential. Instead, the teachers view their hormonal-driven behavior as bad for it does not help them become successful adults. Not to mention, in most marginalized movie settings, the majority of the students are of color.  Despite these differences, all four movies depict students who wish to be respected by their elders. 

The problem with depicting privileged vs. marginalized students is not only because it pigeon-holes certain characters but these movies also highlight the problems that society is facing currently. In the previous reading response about Kozol (1991) and Orfield's (2013) housing issue and education, they too mentioned the increasing segregation of privileged vs. marginalized people. They mentioned how there is a discrepancy between housing cost and quality education, in the sense of a continuous feedback-loop that encourages segregation. These movies highlight the segregation of whites and blacks and how they are treated differently by society. Lewis and Renga argue these movies go beyond the classic stereotypes and address more important issues not only within the education system but in society. 

Lewis, M.A., & Renga, I.P. (2016). (Re)Imagining life in the classroom: Inciting dialogue through an examination of teacher-student relationships in film. In M. Shoffner (Ed.) Exploring teachers in fiction and film: Saviors, scapegoats & schoolmarms (pp. 65-75). New York, NY: Routledge.    

'Dead Poets Society' Film Review

The Oscar-winning movie, 'Dead Poets Society,' is beautifully written and evokes the forever controversial idea of thinking for ones self. The 1989 film directed by Peter Weir, tells a story of camaraderie and tragedy among private-school boys. Set in 1959 at the fictional boarding school of Welton Academy in Vermont, the movie depicts the story of a group of teenaged boys and their encounter with a new and 'different-thinking' English professor, John Keating (played by Robin Williams). Through the study of poetry, Mr. Keating encourages his students to think differently and form opinions for themselves. The strict and tradition-oriented boarding school does not appreciate Mr. Keating's different way of teaching, for some of his students disobey school rules, their parents' wishes and consequently even commit suicide. 'Dead Poets Society' is a tale of strict-thinking and the consequences of conformity.

 

The beginning of the movie sets the tone for how the boys must act. As the dean of the school recites, there are four pillars in which the students' actions must be based off of: Tradition, Honor, Discipline, and Excellence. The students' parents also reflect this requirement as Mr. Perry is called 'Sir' by his own son Neil (played by Robert Leonard) and demands respect in the form of unquestionable faith towards his son's future. Soon Mr. Keating is introduced into the scene and immediately asks his students to not follow directions; as he tells them to rip-out the whole introduction of their English textbook which tells them how to properly 'measure' poetry. Mr. Keating makes the students laugh, stand-up on their desks, play soccer, and walk around a courtyard all to enhance the idea of thinking for one's self. He elicits the boys to come out of their comfort zone and in doing so, gains their respect as they call him 'Captain' from the quote, "Oh Captain, my Captain" by Walt Whitman. He encourages the concept of 'Carpe Diem' or Latin for 'seize the day' in which the students resonate greatly with. For example, Neil Perry takes this idea to heart and thankfully contradicts his father's inconsiderate wishes by secretly reinstating Mr. Keating's club called 'Dead Poets Society' and most importantly, auditioning for the play, A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Throughout the movie, the boys continue to 'Carpe Diem' and end up encountering new experiences. Although, some of the boys' confidence becomes sloppy, so to speak, and they have to face consequences. For example, Charlie Dalton asks the dean to allow girls at Welton. That does not go-down easily for Mr. Dalton receives five slaps on the ass with a wooden paddle. In correlation with the boys' uprising, Mr. Keating's professionalism is questioned. The turning point of the movie occurs when Neil commits suicide.
Following Neil's outstanding performance in the play, his father, who greatly dislikes his son's choices and disobedience, instructs him that he is going to military school and becoming a doctor. Feeling trapped and helpless, Neil takes his father's gun, opens the windows, and shoots himself.
Instead of taking any form of responsibility, Mr. Perry instructs the dean to fire Mr. Keating and an in-depth review of the 'Dead Poets Society' resulting in multiple expulsions. The movie concludes with the students standing up on their desks saying, "Oh Captain, my Captain" to their beloved English teacher, Mr. Keating.

 

'Dead Poets Society' is an extraordinary film for it tells a tragic yet heartwarming story. Despite this, there are parts of the movie I would have liked more detail with. One of the main reasons why this movie is tragic is because of the unjust treatment of parents to their sons. This is highlighted in Neil's relationship with his father. Before Neil committed suicide he had the chance to tell his father what HE wants out life instead, he said nothing. I was extremely frustrated with that scene and would have appreciated more drama. Although, I do see the point. Right before Neil's death, he opened the windows and put on his crown from his play, this scene in particular seemed more romanticized than others. There was something about it that seemed unjointed compared to the rest of the movie. My speculation is because I have a hard time believing that someone would be that metaphorical before they commit suicide. Another part of Neil's death was the movie did not reveal he was in that much distress before. He did not seem as though he needed as much help as he was secretly and desperately needed. He did come to Mr. Keating for advice one time and that encounter did help Neil, although, when Mr. Keating saw the inconsiderate way Mr. Perry was treating Neil, he did nothing. This makes me question about how much a teacher has  influence in a student's life. Who has the right judgement over a person's life? Is it just that person?

Overall, I would rate this movie very high, four out of five stars and absolutely recommend others to watch. There are outstanding messages in 'Dead Poets Society' and captures the difficult time of growing up in a controlling environment. I resonated greatly with the idea of not being afraid to be different and not conforming to expectations. My father was very similar to the boys depicted in this film for he too went to an all-boys private boarding school on the east coast and eventually attended Yale University. I recall him telling me stories about his classmates and how they were only concerned about their grades, the families they came from and where they were going. My dad did not like the strict and competitive life-style he was forced to be in. He eventually dropped out of Yale and moved to New Mexico to live in the desert. I appreciate how this movie encouraged the students to find their own voices. That is a message I have been told many times from my parents; do what you think is best for you, we are here to help you along the way.