Politics
"When the new Congress convenes in January, its fifty-five Republicans will be there on account of the votes of 57.6 million people, while the forty-four Democrats and one independent will be there on account of the votes of 59.6 million people." - Hendrick Hertzberg, The New Yorker, 11/15/04
Two Appearances by Sean Connery
At G. High School, the students read their novels (Jane Eyre or Pride and Prejudice) or had study hall time. A couple of kids had make up tests, too. Out of 20 vocabulary words, I missed one: ductility, the ability to be molded or shaped.
Both G. and H. High Schools filled a good bit of time with movies. The VCR (and DVD) have banished the darling filmstrips of our youth, as well as the occasional rented 16 mm movies shown in the multipurpose room. In two days, I saw Sean Connery twice. Once, as King Arthur in the very tepid First Knight and once in the very nice Finding Forrester. Alas, we didn't make it to the end of the latter and I don't recall how it ends. Somehow, we got in all of The Color Purple. Oh, I think it was lunch block. To complement the "medieval" theme and the bad movie theme, I also endured a crappy early 90s version of the Robin Hood story.
If Jesse and Greg would quit calling from the studio, I could make more of a story of this movie marathon. . . .
4 comments:
Was that K. Costner as Monsieur Hood? With stirring theme music by Bryan Adams?
Come to think of it, what course requires high schoolers to watch this particular selection of cinematic offerings?
P.
I saw those movies with different classes, across different days. A couple of teachers made ties to lessons, but in general, it was filler - stuffing, if you will - for Thanksgiving week.
From the teacher's perspective, I'm awed by the usefulness of the videocasette (Oh, get real, did you really think that Baltimore could afford DVDs and their requisite players?). You stop it and restart it as necessary.
On the other hand, it sucks. At best most classrooms get a TV no larger than those in our early '70s living rooms, which were NOT equipped for thirty people. Since my school was built in the early '50s I have one wall that's nothing but translucent glass, so the glare on a TV screen is horrendous, and half of the students can't see anything.
I've also learned that most of the times our teachers showed us a filmstrip or a movie it was because they were hung over beyond repair. All teachers do it, I do it, and it's pretty much the norm. However, I wish I didn't have to rely on these stupid videos. Ahh, for the comforting "BOOOP" of the filmstrip!
We watched Spellbound (the documentary) Friday and I was surprised at how challenging many words are! Trivia: a friend of mine plays the basketball coach in Finding Forrester -- I'll show you the UNC b'ball playing card with his youthful pic if you come to S&B.
Maggi
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