Teaching the Monster Some Manners

Said Abraham Lincoln, “If you would win a man to your cause, first convince him that you are his sincere friend.” Similar to this principle, President Ezra Taft Benson of the Church of Jesus Christ stated: “Above all, be a genuine friend to the individuals and families you teach.” Being a sincere and genuine friend is not easy for me with even the people I know - let alone a group of students who are complete strangers to me. And yet generating not only care and concern fo these students, but true friendship, may be the best way to help a child or struggling college student.

A friend listens and a friend reaches out

The teachers in my life who have led me to new heights and helped me in countless ways have always shown me they were my friend first, and my teacher second. Actually, I think it is safe to say that those who we choose as friends become our most influential teachers. Whether we are talking about informal "street knowledge" sorts of things, or purely academics, the principle of friendship as a condition to effective and lasting teaching is an essential one.

A friend doesn't use the first time you meet as a chance to scare or threaten (like some teachers seem to do on the first day of class).  A friend is willing to consider your point of view as well as accept that there are problems without solutions. "A friend is more concerned about helping people than getting credit. A friend cares. A friend loves. A friend listens. And a friend reaches out" (Monson, 1997).

The power of friendship is incredible. Below is one of my favorite friendship scenes, taken from The Bride of Frankenstein. The old man's innocence and kindness work wonders on the very Monster the whole town is seeking to kill. In some ways I see the monster as a representation of what we often think of as "problem children," or even our own fears and inadequacies of teaching and learning.

Teaching the Monster Manners

Bride of Frankenstein at MOVIECLIPS.com

Perhaps the Monster is a good representation of our country's attitude about standardized testing? Or the ideology the pervades the rhetoric on the political stage about how we must be "better" than every other country in everything. Maybe the Monster in our classrooms is something beyond our current understanding and, like the blind man, we don't understand the "problems" or dangers of what we face.

If our focus is on friendship rather than scores, student's lives rather than their GPA, then perhaps the underlying purposes of testing and classroom management and much of the education revolution debate  could be met or exceeded.

Yes, the Monster can be taught manners - but only by friends.

Skyfall: Heroism, and Women

Daniel Craig in "Skyfall"

My wife and I hit the dollar theater the other night to see the latest installment of the 50 year old 007 franchise. What most intrigued me about the film was the fact that Roger Deakins shot it (and that the film redeemed the series from the waste of Quantum of Solace), and I was not disappointed. However, as I began to think more about the film and my adrenaline stopped pumping I began reflecting on how it could be used in teaching. What has the 007 series taught us? I realized that this film offers some great opportunities to discuss elements of media literacy such as cultural heros and their reflection of the society that supports them, as well has the depiction of women. This post is intended to be a launch pad to discussion rather than a dissemination of well-packaged wisdom.

Who is this "hero" and why do we like him?

Obviously Bond, James Bond. The problem, however, is what happens if you were required to explain to an alien population why Bond is such a great hero. Well lets see . . . he kills people, he drives cool cars, he has nifty gadgets, and he never smiles or cries. Oh and don't forget, he usually travels with, travels to, or travels over a woman wearing something people call a dress . . . though it never really could be properly defended as such.

This depiction of a hero offers students the chance to talk about what it means to have a hero, and support heros. Washington was a hero to the newborn United States, Lincoln to the repressed Negro, Kennedy to Catholics around the globe. Why? I think more importantly than just naming the why is reflection on questions such as: "Who are your heros? How does what they do influence how you think and act?" 

What can be learned about the ideal man or ideal woman?

Bérénice Marlohe in "Skyfall"

If you have seen Skyfall, then you know why the picture to the left is deeply ironic. Marlohe's character is one of three women in the film that Bond makes sexual moves on. Interestingly enough, he comes at the woman after expressing his desire to help her escape the man who purchased her from the sex trade as a young girl. How does Bond "help"? He has sex with her, allows her to be captured and beaten, and then shot. All he can say about it is, "That was a waste of perfectly good scotch."

So a question one might ask their students: How is Bond's treatment of this woman different than that of her "owner"? Does this image help or hurt the idea of sex trafficking?

The Bond Girl has been around since the first film of the franchise (Dr. No). Over the years the role and impact of the women in each 007 film has changed, reflecting a continuing evolution of the role of women. This article gives a great summary and perspective of Bond's "psychosexual complexity" and reveals that there is more to discuss here than just how 'cool' the movie was.

Beyond heroism, women, and the journey of heros in film and literature, other topics of discussion include Bond's relationship with Q (the evolving use and love of technology) as well as the rule of law and military crime.