Sunday, March 30, 2014

Reason #58 Figuratively speaking

What does it mean to have a voice? Do you feel like you have one?

These are two powerful questions, ones that impact our daily lives, our every moment. To have the opportunity to open up this question to adolescents, adults in the near future is so full of surprises, and so rewarding.

The classic tale of Cyrano de Bergerac, is there a better story to illustrate the consequences of using or not using one’s voice? I think not. How timely that this movie was to exactly follow the beginning of our wall project? Serendipity I tell you. I couldn’t have planned it to work this smoothly!   

We finished the movie and surprisingly there were no tears, well, besides mine.  How is it that I can cry every year when I watch these movies? I have seen them so many times, more than I can count. Is it that the stories are just so relevant, timeless?  Maybe, or maybe I am just a hopeful romantic. That is probably perfect combination to induce crying, every year.
After the movie, at the point where usually someone else is crying, one student asked the question “So, what was the point?”  Merci Alex. What a perfect lead in to the conversation about how the film illustrated having a voice. We were talking about the end where Cyrano dying, sorry to spoil the ending if you haven’t seen it, and one student said “Didn’t Cyrano really die at the same time Christian did in the war, figuratively?” There should be some proud English teachers out there- great use of literary term in a perfect context. What a cool connection to be made.

Now, if Zoe can just remember his phone, his gym bag, and his shoes……he is lucky I tend to stay for a little while after school every day!

Merci Zoe pour ton analyse du film et bonne connexion avec la perte des paroles et la mort figurative.  C’est une bonne leçon pour tout le monde.  

Intellectual conversations about real-life issues….


This is why I teach!          


                                                                

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