And:
From the website of Frederick Wiseman's Zipporah Films concerning "High School," made in 1968 in Philadelphia.
HIGH SCHOOL shows no stretching of minds. It does show the overwhelming dreariness of administrators and teachers who confuse teaching with discipline. The school somehow takes warm, breathing teen-agers and tries to turn them into 40-year old mental eunuchs… No wonder the kids turn off, stare out windows, become surly, try to escape… The most frightening thing about HIGH SCHOOL is that it captures the battlefield so clearly; the film is too true.
I'm not sure I'd totally agree with the statement above—though on the whole it rings all too true. There are moments—and that's all—where there is life for the kids: the boys who come out of the mock space capsule; the boy with the sunglasses—hey, it's Nuwanda, folks!—who won't let any teacher tell him how to think and feel. School sucks! he basically says. And the black kid near him agrees—even as the teacher tells them both they are overreacting. So there's life here, even in that boy in the second clip above who agrees to wear the gym clothes and is still suspended. He's pissed—and confused—and will probably remember this moment for the rest of his life.
A few questions for you before we watch The Breakfast Club -- tomorrow.
1. What is you response to what you saw today? Some of you spoke to this in class, but not all of you. And what moment in it stayed with you, and why?
2. We were talking on Friday about what each school we had seen so far—Whitman High, Welton Academy, North Quay Seconday School—was attempting to do with its students: what each sees its purpose as in regards to its students. What would you say about this school? What do you see its purpose or mandate as being in regards to its kids? And why?
3. Rick and I were talking after class about the teachers in this film, at this school. They value on the whole, as the quote above states, discipline over teaching. Which got Rick and I talking about how we teaches at Paideia accomplish what we do with a modicum of discipline, or at least not the kind we see in the film. So what makes you guys do what your teachers ask you to do—even when it's silly or not well defined or when it makes no sense? Or even when it is all those, and at the end of the semester, and you know it will take you hours and hours to do. What do we wield that takes the place of the discipline the teachers in the movie use? Or maybe it is discipline. In any case—what makes you do what we want you to do?
Tomorrow: Judd Nelson is a bad-ass. And he went to college with Clark Cloyd. Ask Clark about ol' Judd sometime.
1. I liked the documentary because I thought it had an interesting format. Certain shots/ scenes wonderfully depicted what it feels like to be in school sometimes; the girl chewing on her pen, the teacher reading long passages from a boring book, and the teacher conference where the student tried to fight back but was constantly shut down were painfully realistic moments. Wiseman wasn’t concerned about making his audience sit through frustrating or boring situations; we watched entire, real time clips from a school day. Wiseman choose the sedative truth of high school over the Hollywood drama that we normally see high school depicted as.
ReplyDelete2. Like we discussed in class today, the school seemed to work as a factory. It takes in fourteen year olds, thousands it seems, and churns them through class after class before turning them out into the world. The conferences with college counselors (?) had a dreary air to them. There weren’t sparks in students’ eyes as they looked upon a future of four, or more, years of education. Authority figures abused their power, tearing down students without regard for how it affected them, their résumés, or their morale. When the administrator walked down the hall with the camera behind him seeking reasons to convict students, I had a bit of déjà vu.. Michael Scott, regional manager of Dunder Mifflin, walking into a workplace and commanding attention because he has power, he has a camera, and he has plenty of powerless workers. A blatant overuse of dominance is not new or unique to this documentary- we can see it time and time again in our own lives- but it’s funny for me to see such a strong overlap between a television comedy and a documentary.
3. A lot of the time, sheer respect for a teacher makes you change your behavior in their favor. For many kids, a look of disappointment can be punishment enough. Otherwise, I think going to a small, close-knit private school holds incentive for students to maintain a reputation of courtesy even in the most infuriating of situations. If you slip up and defy, all other students and faculty can and probably will find out about it. You’ll have to face that moment of resistance for the rest of your high school career. It’s a great system for hormonal, sleep deprived teenagers. And most of Paideia’s teachers are logical people, so if they stick to their assignment or argument, they’re probably right or just in some way (even if it’s hard for us to admit).
I really enjoyed the movie. I've always been a huge fan of documentaries and what I loved about this one is how it's completely interrupted. As a viewer, it felt like I was just observing a day at a huge public high school as opposed to watching a movie. Because no questions are being asked, it seems like a true documentary. It really flows really well and it seems as if the students weren't aware of the cameras. The scene that really stuck to me was when the teacher was calling her students overweight. That definitely would't be accepted in a school today.
ReplyDeleteI really feel like this school doesn't have a true purpose, apart from graduating the kids. They aren't as worried about sending every student to college because they don't make every student take all the classes required for colleges. They just want for their kids to be able to graduate so they won't have to worry about them anymore.
I do what my teachers tell me to do because I really care about my grades. I want to do well and no teacher is going to reward a student who doesn't follow their instructions with a good grade in the class.
Originally, I did not very much enjoy the film. The lack of a single point of view and no one perspective was confusing and at times irritating. Though, as I look back at the documentary, I can see how it makes sense. There is no one perspective in high school. We often drift as students unrelated yet still connected. I think the film shows a realistic version of high school. The film accurately shows moments in students and teachers day-to-day lives. I also think that the film is an intimate portrayal of high school. There are moments when the camera zooms in to certain aspects of a student or teacher’s body. The viewer has this intimate moment with that person. I think then the viewer is able to connect with some of the people shown. Those intimate moments provide the intimate connection that bridge what is on the screen to the viewer. That leads me to one of the scenes I remember most vividly. When the young man is in the teacher or administrator’s office explaining himself trying to get out of detention but the teacher keeps refuting what the boy is saying, the camera zooms in on the young man’s mouth. I felt a connection with that student in that moment. There were no distractions from that young man’s mouth. It was solely him and his words in that moment. That significance became personal, and that moment stood out to me.
ReplyDeleteI saw this school as a business. As we were talking about in class, it had the feel of a factory. The school seemed to be trying to manufacture kids into the ideal student. The students had one purpose which was to follow directions, to do what they were told. I do not believe that the teachers were interested in the students’ overall well-being or what they would take out of the school. They were just hoping that they would meet regulations. The teachers and administrators act selfishly, caring about their own interests of succeeding rather than the students. We see that at the end when the woman is reading a very touching letter from a former student. The letter was emotional and full of depth, but at the end, all the woman reading had to say was that the school had succeeded. It was like a factory that had succeeded at putting out a product that sold.
I think that the students at Paideia in the end follow their teachers’ assignments, directions, etc., because they care. Most Paideia students care about their learning. They have an interest in learning and an interest in succeeding. Though I think some of that comes from pressure from parents, teacher, and other students, I think that mainly they take pride in their work. I know I do, at least. In the end, they do not want to disappoint themselves. Paideia students are driven to push themselves and work for themselves. Though there are exceptions, I think mainly it is a personal choice to work for themselves.
I did enjoy watching this film. I liked the cinematography and felt the places in which the film was cut/its transitions were very clever. I also liked the black and white and felt it added to the dreary tone of the school. A few moments stood out to me. One in particular was when the administrator dealt out a suspension to they boy who said he couldn't participate in Physical ed. I remember I think in part because the whole time I was thinking, “Wow, how unfair!” It was at this point I feel, that the administrator was bullying the student simply because he felt he could. Another moment that stood out to me was when the teacher played the Simon and Garfunkel song in class. I felt that moment wasn't far from something you would see at Paideia.
ReplyDeleteI think this school’s purpose is to offer the kids a somewhat large range of courses so that they can find what they are good at and then go from there. That’s one good thing they do. They offered fashion/ clothes designing courses, multiple literature courses, etc. There are some teachers that encourage discussion (on slightly controversial topics), but one that does, when a few of the kids tell her North East high school is not a good place, ends up just telling the kids they’re overreacting and that this school system is really not that bad. That kind of message is common throughout the school. “We as the administrators will let you make certain decisions on your own, but in the end, we know what’s right for you.” I think the goal of the school is to raise students so that they are just good enough, so that they meet requirements and deadlines and are disciplined, but when it comes to the actual supporting of students so they can all follow different directions and go after new and different things later on, so they can have their own unique ideas and positions, the school is lacking here.
I can’t speak for everyone. What makes me do what my teacher tells me to do is probably a result partly of the pressure I put on myself because in the end, I do want to do well, and partly because I know there could be consequences if I don’t. Not consequences in the sense of school discipline (detention, suspension, phone call home), but in the sense of not being prepared for the test, or then not receiving a good grade and then having to explain it to my parents or whoever. In the end, I think we work hard because we know it will pay off-if it didn't I doubt we would care to try as hard.
I think the school in the documentary fits my idea of a massive public high school. It's one building, has very strict rules, and has some teachers who put discipline before teaching. I know many high schools are not like that but, from what I have heard, many schools do fit that idea and structure. I think the scene that sticks with me the most is in the fashion and design class where the teacher criticized how the girls looked repeatedly but none of the girls looked surprised or offended. It even appeared that the people in the class respected the teacher and her opinions. They laughed at her jokes and there did not seem to be a lot of side discussions. It was interesting to me because if a teacher told me that I shouldn't wear something because my legs were too fat I would be incredibly offended and I would probably call the teacher out or at least complain about it to my friends while the young women in the class appear to have no reaction at all to the teacher's insults.
ReplyDeleteI think this school's goal depends on who the student is. Like Walt Whitman high, it is a big public school which means that some of the kids might be planning on going to college and maybe grad school, while others are probably planning on getting a job right out of high school. We see a meeting in a college counsels office where the discussion is about how much money the family can afford for their daughters college education but it is never a question of wether or not she will attend college. We see a different meeting with a young woman who says she wants to attend a school for cosmetology. Her parents are not excited that she is not going to college but they have accepted her choice.
I think the way Paideia teachers are able to maintain a level of order in class is through respect and tolerance. Almost all of my teachers at Paideia have treated me with respect and given me the responsibility of behaving without strictly laying out the law and telling me the consequences if I step over the line. Many of my teachers also will let side conversations and comments go to a point before they draw it back in. My classes like this are kind of like controlled chaos. The teacher is not spending all of his or her time controlling the class and disciplining those who are not paying attention, but the teacher still has enough control over the class so that they are able to lead a discussion about the topic or give notes.
I enjoyed the movie today. I liked how raw and true it seemed. Because there wasn't a plot to follow, you had to assume everything was real and you had to interpret it independent of anything that may have happened relating to it that we didn't get to see. The part that really stuck with me was when the teacher was commenting on the girls legs and weight in the fashion class. I know that is to be expecting considering the time period, but it really struck me as not ok.
ReplyDeleteThis school seemed like it was really trying to keep the kids in line, maybe teaching them a thing or two along the way. It had a very homogenous, monotonous look to it and a lot of the teachers acted in a kind of dismissive, rude manner to the students, so i think their main goal was to just get through the day. There didn't seem to be a great amount of respect by the teachers for the students or vise versa. Any respect the students had for the teachers seemed pretty fake to me.
When we (students at Paideia) do the stupid things teachers sometimes say to do, it think it's because we respect you. Or actually it's because you have authority. We've granted you the authority in a sort of unspoken social contract but it's kind of the agreement that we'll do what you all say and you'll teach us and sometimes bring us food. We don't actually have to do anything y'all say. If every student at Paideia were to I rise up and never obey the teacher, I think the teachers might have a pretty hard time controlling us. But I think for the most part, Paideia students want to learn, so we do what you say so that we learn from that (hopefully) and so that you'll teach us later on.
I really liked this documentary. My reaction to it was weird, though. It left me with a feeling of a loss of all hope in humanity, but it also reminded me that not every school is like that. Ispent all afternoon thinking about this documentary, something that, to me, means that there is at least one redeeming factor about a movie. This was not the only good thing about this documentary. It also showed the truth about this particular school. Everything actually happened; it wasn't written up by someone trying to find a dramatic end to a story of growing boys, or something of the sort. Even though the truth of the story is relatively unfamiliar to me, it is still a truth to someone. I liked this. Even if I didn't completely understand the time period, it was refreshing to watch something and know that it wasn't done that way for dramatic effect and that no actors tried to play up a character.
ReplyDeleteThis school cares about discipline. The school's goal is to produce students who have some level of respect for their elders. They don't seem to care much about the education the student's receive itself; they care mainly about asserting their power over the students and teaching them that they are not in charge. Instead of being a step ahead of the students in terms of disciplinary actions and such, they are a step behind. The students aren't afraid of disobeying the rules because they aren't afraid of the consequences. Their teachers won't be disappointed in them (because they had no respect for them in the first place) and the main punishment seems to be detention (which is only bad for the time that it lasts) or expulsion (which probably wouldn't bother the students too much). The school is behind the students, and they pay for it by having so many problems with the students disrespecting the teachers.
I think that Paideia students do what their teachers ask because they respect their teachers and their teachers respect them. At least for me, i believe that my teachers have some level of respect for me, and I don't want to break that respect over a small assignment because there is still work to do, and it's much easier to do work for a teacher who respects you than a teacher who doesn't. For example, I take a relatively hard math class, and the most important thing to me is not to let my teacher down. I don't want him to stop respecting me over one test or assignment. I think that it's important for students to do their best in order to, not so much please their teachers, but rather not displease them. This is the main difference between Paideia and the high school in the documentary. As I said above, the teachers have no respect for the students in the first place, so the students don't mint doing things that would usually make them less respectful.
I was irked by the documentary. I didn’t enjoy the teachers. They all seemed to abuse their power, as we said in class today. The parents that were shown put too much of their self worth in the success of their children, which is why the father became so angry that his daughter wanted to go to beauty school. Everyone spoke down to the children, giving them no respect. The main moment that stood out to me and displayed the lack of respect was when the beauty teacher, or fashion teacher, told all of the girls about their weight issues. The fact that the girls took it as though they were used to being so degraded angered me even more.
ReplyDeleteI didn’t feel as though the school had much purpose for the kids. It seemed as though the school was more functioning for the adults as a place of work than a place of learning for the kids. Their didn’t seem to be much of a wish for all of their children to go to college, the choice was left up to the children and their parents. The only purpose the school had was to keep the children in line, or attempt to, for the four years the children had to attend the school.
When I was younger I suppose I did what the teachers said because I wanted a good grade in the class, though it has changed as I have grown up. For me, especially as a senior, the main drive to do school work and weird demands from a teacher is the respect I have for them and the school. I feel like Paideia implements the idea of respecting authority figures in your life. Also, specifically this year, I have good relationships with all of my teachers, which then leads me to want to do well in their classes to show the respect I have for them.
1. I enjoyed this documentary because of how natural and pure it felt. It wasn’t scripted at all and to me it didn’t feel too forced or interview-like. Although it was a little confusing to me how it skipped around frequently and seemingly completely randomly, I think that it was a pretty accurate portrayal of what High School is like; chaotic and confusing if you’re not where you’re supposed to be or are not following the same safe trail you have grown used to. The scene that stuck with me the most was the scene with the teacher/staff member walking down the hallway and demanding to see a hall pass from every single person he saw, regardless of what they were doing.
ReplyDelete2. This school reminded me of North Quay (before Thackery came along) in the way that it seemed too just pump out students like a factory without giving too much thought about what the final product would be like. They seemed to be like this because it didn’t really matter what the students turned out like as long as they graduated and the school got rid of them so to speak.
3. I personally do what teachers tell me to because they are adults in authoritative positions and I virtually have no choice in obeying them or not. School is something we are legally required to do (until 16) and you get used to the rhythm of simply obeying the people in power to not cause any trouble or draw any unnecessary attention to yourself.
I am typically not a big fan of documentaries, but I did find this film interesting and entertaining. So real, and honestly, so vastly different from the other stuff we’ve seen so far. I used to go to a big public school that wasn’t super different from that one. It was middle school, not high school, and it was in the 2010s as opposed to the 60s, so I’m sure my experience was a very mild version of those students’, but still—I saw so many familiar moments in the film. The moment where (teacher?) walks down the hallway, terrorizing every kid he comes across—doesn’t matter that the kid on the phone is on his lunch break, the point is that LUNCH means LUNCH, and you can’t do anything else in that time (your only free time)! Doesn’t matter that you did eventually agree to wear your gym clothes, you’re still getting suspended! It was those parts in which I could empathize with the students at this high school so much, with the experience of being under the control of and bearing the brunt of administrators with an unwavering and often times unfair adherence to mindless rules and regulations. And I think Wiseman did a really good job of capturing and depicting those moments and the reactions of the students.
ReplyDeleteI think the major goal of this school is to graduate all the kids and to hopefully move most of them to college. Being a public school in the 60s, I’m sure they also have a very regulated and systematic course requirement for graduation, which is probably partly why the daily routine seems so boring and factory-like. The school also clearly values discipline and obedience to sometimes pointless rules, ideally shaping its students into little deferential drones. There is an obvious lack of interest and enthusiasm in many of the teachers. Overall, I don’t think this school’s intentions are bad, but the sheer monotony makes it seem like some sort of machine or factory.
Everyone else is saying this, but I agree—the power many Paideia teachers wield is respect. A teacher can earn it in different ways, but once they have earned their students’ respect, the students are likely to obey them and pay attention to them. I think Paideia’s friendly and slightly informal teaching environment makes student-teacher respect more common than perhaps in other schools. The students in “High School” will never respect their blunt, unfair teachers, and that’s probably why there are so many student-teacher confrontations throughout the film. But when students actually like their teachers, like most at Paideia do, they will want to do what their teachers want.
1) I enjoyed watching the movie today. I liked how the film showed the real life situations and encounters of the daily life in the high school. It gave the film a much more real effect because we knew that the scenes were not acting and were actually what was going on at the school. I also liked how the movie showed a variety of places and situations in the high school. Even though it made the viewing experience a bit choppy and convoluted, it was necessary to get the full understanding of the school. For example, just showing the happy gym scenes would have left a false impression on the viewer of what the overall experience of the high school was like just as if the movie had only showed the gym clothes scene. The moment when the teacher made the student hang up the phone in the hallway definitely stuck out to me. It really showed how the teachers there were abusing their authority and really cared more about discipline than about actually teaching and inspiring. The scene also made the school seem like a prison, with the massive hallways, the phone call, and the warden (teacher) ripping away the phone from the student (prisoner) for no reason.
ReplyDelete2) I think the school is just trying to shuffle kids in and out, a little like a factory. In the classrooms, there is almost zero discussion (with the exception of the time when the students voiced their dislike for the school, but that doesn’t count because it wasn’t about an actually subject, just complaints) and is simply the teacher imposing their thoughts on the class. The figures of authority do try to help the students, but they go about it the wrong way and for the wrong reasons. For example, the instructor who dealt with punishments was helping resolve problems, but he was only doing it because he liked to be in a seat of power, high up on his mighty throne. This is evident when he demands the sick student to out on his gym clothes even though he probably shouldn’t wear them. Then, when the instructor didn’t like the kid’s attitude as he accepted his fate, he threw suspension in his face, just because he could. There is no compassion shown by any of the workers and its clear they care little for the students and simply want them to graduate, to make the school look good, and then vanish.
3) In my case, the want to do well and knowing what needs to be done to do well causes me to do what my teachers ask. I could care less about them liking me or being dealt a punishment, but when it really comes down to it, I obey the teachers out of my drive to excel. I know that if I disrespect or disobey teachers, I won’t get a severe punishment like the detentions or suspensions in ‘High School’ or a paddling like at Welton; but the teachers’ opinions of me would definitely drop and I would be portraying myself as a student who doesn’t care. The teachers grade my work, write letters of recommendation, and are in positions of authority high above me at the school. Sometimes I won’t necessarily agree with my teacher’s ways but I know that I can’t allow myself to dip that low and disrespect them because that wouldn’t accomplish anything and only bring about more trouble and extra stress that I don’t need.
I liked this movie, because it really gave you a glimpse of what going to this high school is like. But even though I liked it, this film made me very angry at parts, and made me really appreciate going to Paideia where we don't really have to deal with stuff like this. I think any of the scenes where an adult is talking down to a kid and won't listen to their side really bugged me. For example, you could tell that the guy giving out detentions loved making kids upset and seeing them squirm. I really hate people like that.
ReplyDeleteI see this school as a realistic version of Whitman. The kids are all from a similar socio-economic class and the school size looks to be about the same. But at this school, the kids are no where near as excited to learn, and I don't blame them. Most of the teachers don't look like they want to be there, and that teaching is just a way to pay the bills. And plus, as I believe is mentioned above, they seem to be focusing more on discipline than learning. They just want to get the kids through high school and possibly college, although most teachers don't really seem to care what happens to these kids after high school.
I do my work because, a) you can't graduate high school with good grades if you don't do your work, and b) I want my teachers to like and respect me. Plus, I trust the teachers at Paideia to not just assign busywork, and so the stuff they have us do actually has a point. I have received a few rather frustrating assignments in the past, but I just do them because of reason a. Sometimes there is stuff you just have to do.
As I watched the documentary, I wasn't completely thrilled. I felt like there were a lot of slow/boring parts, and there were times when I was completely confused. But after the movie, and upon further thought, I started to appreciate it's message more. Elements of the movie that were insulting or seemingly inappropriate accurately matched styles of life of that time period. I love watching or seeing situations that are completely different from my experience (in a negative way), because I realize how grateful I am for what I have. In this case, it makes me feel proud to be a Paideia student because the school in this documentary was so anti-progressive, and I feel like our school is on the right track. The scene that stuck with me most was the fashion class scene, where the teacher insulted the girls about their physique and the students seemed indifferent to her words. That was surprising and infuriating.
ReplyDeleteThe school values a good high school education. Almost like Whitman High, this public school has a large body of students with some hoping to go to college and some not. It seems like they care about what the kids want, but it's not fully in their hands and it's not their main responsibility/goal as a large public school. The college counseling session showed the teachers making an initiative to work out their student's lives, but the fact that many of their students won't go to college doesn't affect them.
I believe that if a teacher sets many rules, students are most likely going to want to rebel. If there are very few rules set in place, there is nothing against which the students can rebel. Teachers at Paideia, who respect their students and become close with them, put themselves in a place of much higher power than a teacher who doesn't get to know his/her students and has disrespect for them. In the Catholic school that I attended previously, the rules were so strict that nobody had any sense of individuality. Girls weren't allowed to wear makeup, wear nail polish, or dye their hair. Boys had to have their hair cut above their ears, and they all had to wear a certain pair of black nike shoes with our strict uniform. Every month, we would recite the rules from our handbooks in our classrooms, and we would go to church service every Tuesday morning. Despite all of these crazy restrictions, the students that I knew at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School were the most disrespectful and out of control middle schoolers I had ever known. They looked to sex, drugs, and alcohol as a release from the ridiculously controlled lives they led at school. I am so glad that Paideia teachers don't disrespect their students the way that the teachers at the Catholic school did.
I really liked this movie, for I really like documentaries. I find them usually more thought provoking than fictional films, and this one did not prove to be an exception. Having gone to a large public school for a while, I found the movie very realistic and relatable. At times there is no rhyme or reason as to why teachers do what they do there, and the fact that it was shot all around really captured the essence of that. I was particularly able to relate to having teachers march up and down the hallway looking for excuses to send you to detention. The content was realistic and disturbing at the same time, and I appreciated that. The teachers treat the students cattle, all to be herded to one place, forgetting entirely about human individuality. They have only discipline in mind, with no plan b's available.
ReplyDeleteI think the reason Paideia works so well is the mutual respect between the teachers and students. In this school, the teachers are so abusive and condescending I could find no reason that would make me want to behave. At Paideia I trust and respect and they trust and respect me so that makes communication and behavior not as much of an issue.
I was kind of struck at the disconnect between the teachers and students in the documentary, compared to how I feel students and teachers interact today. The documentary seems to be critical of this, and in many of the scenes I got the sense that Wiseman is trying to make the viewer dislike the teachers and school administrators. The scenes in the movie don’t show the high schoolers in a favorable manner–the students seem immature and unintelligent for the most part. The moment that stayed with me the most was when the one girl was meeting about college, and the teacher was asking her about her college desires. The girl, and her parents, did not seem to take her future very seriously at all, and the teacher and father were joking about the girl’s intelligence. That scene just seemed alien to the world we live in.
ReplyDeleteFor a smart and ambitious student, like the astronauts, this school offers plenty of opportunities for success and preparation to succeed beyond high school. However, the large majority of students did not seem as interested in getting the most out of their high school education (granted there weren’t very many students shown, so it was a small sample size compared to the hundreds and hundreds of students in the school. The school reminded me of Whitman High, except there was no Pete running the show.
In my opinion students at Paideia don’t act out and listen to the teachers because Paideia is a private school. Most students recognize the privilege of attending private school and receiving the individual attention that teachers offer, and most students recognize their parents put them in private school so that they can take advantage of the advantages of a school like Paideia, and they want to respect their parents.
I initially did not enjoy the film overall because I think that it exaggerated the overall portrayal of public schools and mainly focused on the unfavorable aspects. I personally felt that the film purposely wants to teach students and people overall that public schools are bad schools that focus only on discipline and control over their students. It is true that public schools are technically defined as a "government-regulated school," but I felt that the film did a great job portraying the "regulated" aspect of the school.
ReplyDeleteI felt like this high school simply wants their students to graduate and be able to make a living in life. Since it looks like this school is considered a "crappy" school, it's easy to infer that the school expectations are not very high. Discipline and absence of trouble is what the school hopes for, but I think that at the same time the teachers are key players that cause trouble along with the misbehaving students. Because the teachers are very strict and unfair to the students themselves, students appear somewhat justified in their actions.
I think the situations that happen in the school would rarely take place at paideia because teachers treat their students with respect and the students respect their teachers reciprocally. In the high school portrayed, teachers show their desires to be abusive towards their students, which is different from the teachers at paideia. I feel like that teachers at paideia have almost no reason to abuse their students, and students have justified cause to misbehave towards their teachers.
I personally did not enjoy the documentary. I understand that the movie was meant to be a depiction of the high school and relationships between the teachers and students with no official plot, but this is what bothered me. I did not get too into the movie because of a lack of plot and/or story and I lost interest. However, a moment that stayed with me is the conversation between one of the girls, her parents, and a teacher. In the scene, they are talking about the girl's future plans, especially with college. The parents and teacher are somewhat joking around about the girl's schoolwork and intelligence and the girl does not really stand up for herself. This scene stuck with me because it is an example of something that would not fly schools today, especially at Paideia.
ReplyDeleteI saw this school as a place where the students are just supposed to get through their high school lives and graduate. The teachers there seemed to just go through their lesson plans and not go too deep into discussion.This is unlike the other schools we have seen so far, where each teacher becomes more involved in their students' personal lives. I also feel that this school. the teachers especially, were there to keep the students disciplined and out of trouble. The teachers were at times ruthless with their behavior and were not kind to the students.
As many said above me, I agree that teacher-student relationships at Paideia are different due to respect. Some/most teachers at Paideia take time to get to know their students and build trusting relationships with them. We, as students, reciprocate our trust with the teachers by not wanting to disappoint teachers by misbehaving. We do not want our teachers, some of which have taken the time to build a good relationship with us, upset at our actions because we feel that it could be a break in trust.
1) I really liked this documentary. It was un-interrupted, creating something very honest. Though there were some scenes that were a bit upsetting, ultimately they were a reflection of the times more than anything, and a reflection of the school injecting the students with impersonal lessons and messages. I also liked the close-up shots. They brought something very personal to the clips and offered a different view. A scene that resonated with me was the Simon and Garfunkel scene. It kind of gave an air of hopefulness in such a strict institution, especially when the song started playing.
ReplyDelete2) I think this school has lost its purpose. It’s so rigidly focused on bringing down discipline and corralling the kids like cattle that they don’t really remember why they’re doing it. I think the school does do it to be successful, to create a homogenized group that will perform well and be equipped well enough for life, but ultimately, the school does not have a dedication to students as it probably once did.
3) I think I do what teachers want to do because I like following rules. Following rules feels comforting and is like my security blanket, because I detest confrontations and being rude or breaking rules for no reason. I also like school and learning and want to be successful, so I’ll oblige to what I feel are mundane tasks to get there.