I arrived at Lincoln Junior High School last week to discover that I was to teach my group of 7th graders a lesson for the upcoming CSAP testing (identifying adjectives, nouns, and verbs). While this lesson wasn't difficult for me to teach, it reminded me how CSAP testing interrupts the regular flow of a curriculum. You see, not only are teachers expected to cover the same amount of material now as they did prior to CSAP, they have to address and teach to CSAP because their jobs are on the line. If you're a teacher and your students don't perform well on the CSAP, it goes on your record and you become accountable. If a school has failing test scores on a consistent basis, it will be shut down by the state government and everybody in that school will be out of a job (as was the case with a Denver middle school three years ago). It rarely gets to this level as a principal will likely fire a teacher if their students don't perform well on the CSAP before it gets out of hand. Every day last week, my class at Lincoln was focusing on some aspect of CSAP preparation. My mentor told me that she wished this wasn't the case, but because of the 'No Child Left Behind' Act, this is unfortunately the outcome. As a future educator, it's very important for me to understand the pros and cons of the 'No Child Left Behind' Act as it will undoubetedly have an impact on my career. But for all of you who are reading this (and might not be teachers), it is also very important to understand because you may have children in public education, or will have children in public education very soon. So lets go over some of the pros and cons real quick:
PROS of 'No Child Left Behind'
1. CSAP testing. According to the NEA (National Education Association), test scores from CSAP indicate that the majority of students are becoming more proficient in Math and English on an annual basis (this is compared to previous results gathered from a national test such as SALT).
2. ELLs (English Language Learners) benefit from the program because standards are leveled and it "creates equal opportunity in education".
3. Forces teachers to be certified with a license. This is actually a useful benefit of NCLB. In a previous post, 'Bro C' stated that teachers weren't required to have a license, they just had to pass a state test (PLACE or PRAXIS) and have education equivalent to a Bachelor's Degree. This isn't true. NCLB requires that you must obtain a teaching license from an accredited college or university (which is what I'm doing currently - I wish I could just take the PLACE or PRAXIS and not be in 30k student loan debt lol).
4. NCLB gives students a school-of-choice option; they get to pick whatever school they want (in the past it was dictated by zip codes).
5. If you're a politician, it somehow makes you look better to endorse it and it definitely fattens your wallet, but let's not get into that.
CONS of 'No Child Left Behind'
1. CSAP testing. As stated above, it cuts into EXPECTED school curriculum and places pressure and accountability on the teachers (I suppose it's similiar to professional sports in a sense, if the players don't play well and the team is terrible, the coach gets canned). Shouldn't the accountability be on the students? (this differs from my professional sports analogy...in professional sports, a team can release or cut a player if the organization doesn't feel they are giving good effort. In education, a teacher can't release or cut a student if they just refuse to be accountable; the worst they can do is fail a student which in turn makes the teacher look bad on their record).
2. CSAP testing. Because of the pressures and accountability that CSAP testing puts on teachers, they HAVE to 'teach to the test' (so-to-speak). They spend valuable time and effort teaching kids how to get it right on the test instead of teaching kids how to understand the material. You're probably scratching your head and saying: 'doesn't teaching them how to get it right and how to understand it go hand-in-hand?' Simply put, no. It doesn't. Teachers no longer care if the kids understand it or not, they just want them to get it right because their job is on the line. Just because a kid knows that 2 + 6 = 8 doesn't neccesarily mean they understand WHY 2 + 6 = 8.
3. CSAP testing. What life skills will CSAP testing give students in the future? Seriously think about this. In all honesty, the knowlegde that children gain in order to perform well on the CSAP will most likely be of no value (or little value) when they grow into an adult and are faced with real-world problems.
4. NCLB facilitates military recruitment. Here's something I bet hardly any of you knew: NCLB REQUIRES that all students information be given to the military and be placed in their recruitment programs. Failure to do so results in the student's expulsion from public school. Hmmm...wonder why this is part of the tiny print in NCLB (a purely political concoction) although it has nothing to do with education or improving education.
5. Some students just don't learn as well under a "one-size-fits-all" standard of education. Some students require much more creativity than NCLB allows to grow and blossom as a future citizen in our society.
6. Teachers don't get anything from it. As if our jobs weren't stressful and hard enough, placing a "one-size-fits-all" standard on our career as well as our teaching methods, our curriculums, and our educational beliefs and consequent outcomes doesn't make it any easier. However, even if our personal finances don't receive any kind of boost, if our students perform well on the CSAP, our school gets more state funding - - yay. I guess. maybe. I don't know. I don't really care. I'm just glad I still have a job...I guess. yay.
So all-in-all, no wonder teachers hate NCLB so much. You would too if you were/are a teacher. Your freedom would be stripped away and you'd fear for your job as it would lay in Little Pedro and Sweet Sally's hands. In the next few posts, I'll be going over the educational beliefs of Mike Huckabee, John McCain, Barrack Obama, and Hillary Clinton, so all of you can gain a little information on how they'll impact my life if they're elected President of the United States in November. So shame on you if you vote for somebody that will make my professional life suck. Just kidding. Not really.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Initiative
A response to the following quote:
"We are all leaders. Each one of us is setting an example for someone else, and each one of us has the responsibility to shape the future as we wish it to be."
-Keshavan Nair
Initiative
The General. The knight in shining armor. The apeaker. The director. The captain of the kickball team. These are all leaders, but they are also teachers. To the troops, the soldiers, the audience, the actors, and their teammates. They're leaders, but they're also teachers. As a person in this world, it is inevitable that we will always be a student to someone or something, but it is not inevitable that we become teachers and leaders ourselves. It becomes a choice that we must all make, a bridge that we choose to cross or stay put, but regardless of whether you are the teacher or the student, the capacity to be a leader yourself will always be there.
"We are all leaders. Each one of us is setting an example for someone else, and each one of us has the responsibility to shape the future as we wish it to be."
-Keshavan Nair
Initiative
The General. The knight in shining armor. The apeaker. The director. The captain of the kickball team. These are all leaders, but they are also teachers. To the troops, the soldiers, the audience, the actors, and their teammates. They're leaders, but they're also teachers. As a person in this world, it is inevitable that we will always be a student to someone or something, but it is not inevitable that we become teachers and leaders ourselves. It becomes a choice that we must all make, a bridge that we choose to cross or stay put, but regardless of whether you are the teacher or the student, the capacity to be a leader yourself will always be there.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Teaching Trade-Off
You hear it all the time, teachers aren't paid enough. As a student, I'm constantly reminded that becoming a teacher will not bring any monetary rewards worth noting. I decided to take a closer look into this, wondering: 'Just how much does a teacher make? How does it compare to other professions?' Here's what I found:
According to the NEA, the average teacher in a K-12 environment makes 28,553$ annually (Colorado is actually lower than the national average by the way), and according to the United States Department of Labor, a teacher makes 30,377$ on average every year. Here's a list (provided by the US Dept. of Labor) of other professions and what they make on an average annual basis:
Dentist 110,160$
Lawyer 78,170$
Nuclear Engineer 71,310$
Physical Therapist 56,600$
Computer Systems Analyst 52,180$
Gov. Security Officer 48,090$
Psychologist 48,050$
Construction Worker 47,610$
Librarian 38,470$
Technical Writer 36,480$
Funeral Direcctor 35,040$
Postal Worker 34,840$
Fire Fighter 31,170$
Plumber 30,720$
Teacher (K-12) 30,377$
Retail Sales Worker 29,570$
News Reporter 26,470$
Home Appliance Repairman 26,010$
Bus Driver 23,070$
Vending Machine Repair 23,040$
Music Instrument Repair 23,010$
Dancer 21,430$
Personal Guard 16,240$
Janitor 15,340$
Cook / Chef 13,440$
Obviously there are a lot more jobs out there than I've listed here, but I was just trying to get a sample from a variety of salary ranges. What this shows me is that teachers aren't necessarily in the pits for pay (considering they have summers off and have pretty good health benefits), but they aren't much better than the bus drivers and vending machine repair people of the world. To put it in context, your average retail sales associate at JC Pennies or Macys is making just as much as a K-12 school teacher. Also, look at some of the jobs that pay better than a K-12 teacher: funeral direcctor, construction worker, postal worker, plumber, LIBRARIAN! Seriously...ask any K-12 school teacher if they'd rather be a librarian based on monetary value and they'd say 'yes'. However, perhaps this is where the attitude comes in that teachers don't do it for the pay. To a certain extent, perhaps they understand there are much better paying jobs that are A LOT easier to do, but they love working with kids and they won't choose anything else. I personally feel teachers are grossly underpaid considering what they have to deal with and the amount of time they spend with other people's children (on average - if you discount sleep - a child spends more time around educators than their own parents), but I'm definitely biased considering that I'm entering the field of education - of course I want better pay :) Perhaps some of you can shed some light on this subject with your own opinions. What do you think? Are teachers underpaid or not?
According to the NEA, the average teacher in a K-12 environment makes 28,553$ annually (Colorado is actually lower than the national average by the way), and according to the United States Department of Labor, a teacher makes 30,377$ on average every year. Here's a list (provided by the US Dept. of Labor) of other professions and what they make on an average annual basis:
Dentist 110,160$
Lawyer 78,170$
Nuclear Engineer 71,310$
Physical Therapist 56,600$
Computer Systems Analyst 52,180$
Gov. Security Officer 48,090$
Psychologist 48,050$
Construction Worker 47,610$
Librarian 38,470$
Technical Writer 36,480$
Funeral Direcctor 35,040$
Postal Worker 34,840$
Fire Fighter 31,170$
Plumber 30,720$
Teacher (K-12) 30,377$
Retail Sales Worker 29,570$
News Reporter 26,470$
Home Appliance Repairman 26,010$
Bus Driver 23,070$
Vending Machine Repair 23,040$
Music Instrument Repair 23,010$
Dancer 21,430$
Personal Guard 16,240$
Janitor 15,340$
Cook / Chef 13,440$
Obviously there are a lot more jobs out there than I've listed here, but I was just trying to get a sample from a variety of salary ranges. What this shows me is that teachers aren't necessarily in the pits for pay (considering they have summers off and have pretty good health benefits), but they aren't much better than the bus drivers and vending machine repair people of the world. To put it in context, your average retail sales associate at JC Pennies or Macys is making just as much as a K-12 school teacher. Also, look at some of the jobs that pay better than a K-12 teacher: funeral direcctor, construction worker, postal worker, plumber, LIBRARIAN! Seriously...ask any K-12 school teacher if they'd rather be a librarian based on monetary value and they'd say 'yes'. However, perhaps this is where the attitude comes in that teachers don't do it for the pay. To a certain extent, perhaps they understand there are much better paying jobs that are A LOT easier to do, but they love working with kids and they won't choose anything else. I personally feel teachers are grossly underpaid considering what they have to deal with and the amount of time they spend with other people's children (on average - if you discount sleep - a child spends more time around educators than their own parents), but I'm definitely biased considering that I'm entering the field of education - of course I want better pay :) Perhaps some of you can shed some light on this subject with your own opinions. What do you think? Are teachers underpaid or not?
Friday, February 22, 2008
Miracle on Education Avenue
Last week, a miracle happened. No, nobody found the cure for cancer, Jesus didn't return, and Bush is still the President. Something else happened. I was student teaching at Lincoln Junior High School and a much welcomed ghost from my past reappeared. His name is Darrell Speer and he was a science teacher of mine back when I was in high school at Rocky Mountain. I hadn't spoken to him for a few years and lost contact with him when his email stopped working. I googled him, I looked him up in the phone book, and I even asked around, but no luck. I feared the worst of course, considering his age, but to my surprise, he's still around and still teaching (as a sub for PSD). He's a remarkable man and in a way, he saved my life. He took me in when no one else would, he saw the potential in me as a student, and he was willing to be my friend in life. It didn't matter if I didn't understand a lick of chemistry or an ounce of physics, he passed me anyway. He told me it didn't matter, the formulas were just formulas and the science was just science, even if I got it wrong. He told me the only thing that mattered was what I had in my heart. In today's world, teachers are grossly underpaid, and terribly unappreciated for as much impact as they have on tomorrow's world. Teachers are the most important role models a child will have as they grow into an adult. They shape children, they inspire children, they care for children, and unfortunately, they're mostly forgotten by the powers that be in our decadent society. If it weren't for teachers like Darrell Speer, the world would be a much darker place. Thank you Mr. Speer, and I hope every0ne who reads this will take a moment to remember some of their best teachers and just how much of an impact they had on their lives while they were growing up. When people ask me why I want to be a teacher, there's a variety of reasons, but if I could personify all of my reasons, they would best be described by Darrell Speer.
Monday, February 18, 2008
2007 Movie Grade Guide
While this post won't be intellectually stimulating or related to my education class which shares this blog space, it will act as a substitute for my missing Coloradoan editor and the annual "Movie Grade Guide" that I always put together. For those of you who are unfamiliar, I write movie reviews for the local newspaper (archived online) and grade them on an A-F system. Every year around Oscar time, I put out my grades for the previous 365 days. Last year, I blasted the movie industry and ranted about the lack of "good" movies and the terrible abundance of rehashes and special effects shows. This is no doubt related to the Writer's Guild Strike and the studios attitude towards writers in general - don't get me started on that. So what did we see in 2007? Transformers, another Die Hard, an addition to the Rambo series, another Jack Sparrow tale, another Spider-man, another Jason Bourne movie, a return for the Ninja Turtles, Ghost Rider, and a two hour escapade into the town of Springfield. Hmm. Rehashes and special effects shows? 2007 was an even worse year for the movie industry than 2006 - something I thought was nearly impossible. But again, when you don't have writers - sorry, good writers - this is what happens. Honestly, I almost forgot the Academy Awards were going to air this weekend until I saw an ad for them during LOST. To me, the movie industry is in trouble, BIG trouble. Box office sales have been falling since 2003, and 07's numbers are down more than ever while TV ratings are sky-rocketing with the continuing desire for reality shows, and the video game industry is surprisngly the fastest growing medium out there now that Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo are in full swing with next generation software (this doesn't factor in the PC gaming world which is relatively healthy as well). My point is, not as many people are going to the movies anymore. The studios will blame the technology and availability issue, saying people find ways to watch their products with a variety of methods, not just the silver screen. While there may be an element of truth to that argument, I think the CEO's running the movie business need to look at it for what it is - people aren't going to the movie theater because the movies - generally - suck. Fact of the matter is, if a studio puts out a "good" film, people will see it, and they'll pay the ten bucks or whatever it is nowadays to see it in a theater. With that being said, let's move on to my actual grade guide for 2007 (from worst to first):
"Ghost Rider" Grade: F (45%)
The worst movie I've seen in years - if not forever. When people ask what my worst movies of all-time are, I tell them it's hard because you have things like "Napolean Dynamite", "Dude Where's Your Car", "Dungeons and Dragons", and "Day After Tomorrow" that come right to mind, but "Ghost Rider" may be worse than any of those. I can't believe I'm about to write this - for God's sake, slap some sense into me - but I'd probably rather watch any of the aforementioned films on my list of worst movies than "Ghost Rider".
"Grindhouse" Grade: F (50%)
Here's another terrible movie - but wait! It's a double-feature so you get twice the suckage. The first film is a mindless zombie-fest while the second film features Kurt Russell trying to run over women with his 'death-proof' car. Luckily I didn't spend any money to see this one.
"Shooter" Grade: F (55%)
What's up with all of the 'F' movies this year? Am I really becoming a tough, cynical, and bitter critic, or what? By the way, don't waste your time watching this junk.
"Vaccancy" Grade: D (65%)
"Rescue Dawn" Grade: D+ (67%)
How long can Christian Bale run for? Oh yeah, two and a half hours.
"3:10 to Yuma" Grade: D+ (69.9%)
Sorry Dad, but it was a little too chessy for me.
"Transformers" Grade: C- (70%)
'I AM OPTIMUS PRIME!' right...
"Spider-man 3" Grade: C- (72%)
They turned a decent story into a special effects show, what a shame.
"Pirates of the Caribbean 3" Grade: C- (73%)
I did like the Johnny Depp scene where he's stuck with the rock creatures.
"The Hoax" Grade: C (74%)
The real hoax was how they got me to pay to watch it.
"Next" Grade: C (74.1%)
"Live Free or Die Hard" Grade: C (74.2%)
The first Die Hard is still great, but this comes in second as far as the series goes for me. Not sure why everybody liked the third one so much, I thought it was like watching a made-for-tv movie personally.
"The Simpsons Movie" Grade: C (74.3%)
It just didn't have a Simpsonesque feel to me. Bart flashing everybody? Seriosuly...
"Hot Fuzz" Grade: C (75%)
This was actually an 'A' movie until the end where it degrades into a zombie-fest - although the grocery store scene with zombies throwing pineapples at the protagonists cracked me up pretty good.
"The Golden Compass" Grade: C (75.1%)
"Elizabeth: The Golden Age" Grade: C+ (77%)
A very intriguing film. There was just too much confusion in parts for it to really blossom. Definitely worth a rent if you're into the Queen Elizabeth historical time period.
"Ratatouille" Grade: B- (80%)
Probably the worst Pixar movie I've seen, although it is still 'cute' and well done. It's very creative - that's what I love about Pixar, no matter what world they take on, they bring it to life so well withmemorable characters and stories.
"I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry" Grade: B- (81%)
This may surprise some of you - considering I generally don't like comedies; especially Adam Sandler comedies - but I laughed out loud at this one. If it's getting a 'B' or better on my list and it's a comedy, check it out.
"American Gangster" Grade: B- (82.2%)
I was really looking forward to this one, but it kind of fell on its face. It's still a decent movie, but it's definitely not the 'A'-list material I was hoping for.
"Ocean's Thirteen" Grade: B (85%)
I really wanted to hate this movie, but as much as I tried, I couldn't. It's clever, funny, and entertaining. It's definitely the best of the 'Ocean' series.
"Charlie Wilson's War" Grade: B+ (86.9%)
Another movie that was supposed to be an Oscar contender, but fell short. It has a lot of good messages in it, but I wish the filmmakers would have had a much clearer stance and representation of what really happened during the Cold War instead of briefly touching upon it. This could've been a great movie, but instead it ended up just good.
"The Bourne Ultimatum" Grade: B+ (87%)
For an action-thriller, this is an awesome film. I really really enjoyed it and it would have easily made my 'A' list if it wasn't for the cop-out ending.
"TMNT" Grade: B+ (89%)
Yes. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are back and yes, I gave a kids movie a high 'B'. Of course I was a ninja turtle fan growing up so I'm biased, but for all of you fellow turtle freaks, this is my favorite turtles movie even though it doesn't have the Shredder in it.
"The Kingdom" Grade: A- (90%)
A very powerful film, and the first mentioned 'A' list movie in my guide. The ending is a little sloppy, but everything else makes up for it.
"Atonement" Grade: A- (90.1%)
Originally, I wasn't going to put this on my 'A' list, but the more I thought about it, the more it grew on me. It's a wonderful film, my only beef with it is that the film-makers try to make you believe it's based on a real story and the only way to know that it's not is by reading the credits after the film.
"Cloverfield" Grade: A- (91%)
I was also very hesitant to put this on my 'A' list because it absolutely wouldn't be a very good film if you were seeing it for the second time, or if you knew anything about the film before you saw it. If you know nothing about it, check it out and enjoy - it's intense.
"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" Grade: A (94%)
As many of you know, the Harry Potter series is up and down, hit or miss with me. Sorcerer's Stone got a 'B' in my book, Chamber of Secrets got a 'C', Prisoner of Azkaban got an 'A', and the Goblet of Fire got a 'D-'. Phoenix is my favorite thus far in the series because it is a little more mature without losing th creativity.
"300" Grade: A (95%)
I'm already into anything that relates to mythology, but this film is simply stunning. The story isn't necesarily great, but the film is probably the most artistic and beautiful film I've seen in a long time. The creativity, camera work, and editing makes the imagination explode.
CO-MOVIES OF THE YEAR
"Sicko" Grade: A+ (97%)
Yes, it's a Michael Moore film, and yes, I really liked all of Michael Moore's previous films where others have not. But to be fair, Mr. Moore isn't such a dominating personality in this documentary about the health care system in the United States. The information he gathers and the perspective he captures is simply astounding. As he says in the beginning of the film, it's not a documentary about the people who don't have health care, it's a documentary about the people who do have health care. If you're scratching your head about how that could possibly be life-changing - yes, life-changing - then go rent it. It's my movie of the year not only because it makes you think, it's real. It's the world we live in and it's messed up.
"No Country for Old Men" Grade: A+ (97%)
I was told to see this movie by several people, and for one reason or another, I never made it to the theater until it was re-released because of its large amount of Oscar nominations. I must say, this is a truly great film. The writing is amazing, and if you don't have your thinking cap on, you'll be confused and you won't get much out of it. So don't go into it expecting a popcorn action thriller or anything like that. To fully appreciate this movie, engage with the dialogue and really pay attention to every detail because it all ties back to the major themes of the script. I highly recommend it.
Overall:
A's = 7
B's = 7
C's = 10
D's = 3
F's = 3
07 Movies I still need to see:
"Michael Clayton"
"Into the Wild"
So as the Academy Awards approach, I'm really pulling for Michael Moore to win Best Documentary with "Sicko", and the Coen brothers to win Best Picture & Best Original Screenplay for "No Country for Old Men". As far as the Best Actor / Actress awards go, I really could care less. Three 'F's is a lot, even by my standards, so hopefully 2008 will bring some better material, although you won't really see any post-writer's strike movies until late 2009 at the earliest (which is bad news).
"Ghost Rider" Grade: F (45%)
The worst movie I've seen in years - if not forever. When people ask what my worst movies of all-time are, I tell them it's hard because you have things like "Napolean Dynamite", "Dude Where's Your Car", "Dungeons and Dragons", and "Day After Tomorrow" that come right to mind, but "Ghost Rider" may be worse than any of those. I can't believe I'm about to write this - for God's sake, slap some sense into me - but I'd probably rather watch any of the aforementioned films on my list of worst movies than "Ghost Rider".
"Grindhouse" Grade: F (50%)
Here's another terrible movie - but wait! It's a double-feature so you get twice the suckage. The first film is a mindless zombie-fest while the second film features Kurt Russell trying to run over women with his 'death-proof' car. Luckily I didn't spend any money to see this one.
"Shooter" Grade: F (55%)
What's up with all of the 'F' movies this year? Am I really becoming a tough, cynical, and bitter critic, or what? By the way, don't waste your time watching this junk.
"Vaccancy" Grade: D (65%)
"Rescue Dawn" Grade: D+ (67%)
How long can Christian Bale run for? Oh yeah, two and a half hours.
"3:10 to Yuma" Grade: D+ (69.9%)
Sorry Dad, but it was a little too chessy for me.
"Transformers" Grade: C- (70%)
'I AM OPTIMUS PRIME!' right...
"Spider-man 3" Grade: C- (72%)
They turned a decent story into a special effects show, what a shame.
"Pirates of the Caribbean 3" Grade: C- (73%)
I did like the Johnny Depp scene where he's stuck with the rock creatures.
"The Hoax" Grade: C (74%)
The real hoax was how they got me to pay to watch it.
"Next" Grade: C (74.1%)
"Live Free or Die Hard" Grade: C (74.2%)
The first Die Hard is still great, but this comes in second as far as the series goes for me. Not sure why everybody liked the third one so much, I thought it was like watching a made-for-tv movie personally.
"The Simpsons Movie" Grade: C (74.3%)
It just didn't have a Simpsonesque feel to me. Bart flashing everybody? Seriosuly...
"Hot Fuzz" Grade: C (75%)
This was actually an 'A' movie until the end where it degrades into a zombie-fest - although the grocery store scene with zombies throwing pineapples at the protagonists cracked me up pretty good.
"The Golden Compass" Grade: C (75.1%)
"Elizabeth: The Golden Age" Grade: C+ (77%)
A very intriguing film. There was just too much confusion in parts for it to really blossom. Definitely worth a rent if you're into the Queen Elizabeth historical time period.
"Ratatouille" Grade: B- (80%)
Probably the worst Pixar movie I've seen, although it is still 'cute' and well done. It's very creative - that's what I love about Pixar, no matter what world they take on, they bring it to life so well withmemorable characters and stories.
"I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry" Grade: B- (81%)
This may surprise some of you - considering I generally don't like comedies; especially Adam Sandler comedies - but I laughed out loud at this one. If it's getting a 'B' or better on my list and it's a comedy, check it out.
"American Gangster" Grade: B- (82.2%)
I was really looking forward to this one, but it kind of fell on its face. It's still a decent movie, but it's definitely not the 'A'-list material I was hoping for.
"Ocean's Thirteen" Grade: B (85%)
I really wanted to hate this movie, but as much as I tried, I couldn't. It's clever, funny, and entertaining. It's definitely the best of the 'Ocean' series.
"Charlie Wilson's War" Grade: B+ (86.9%)
Another movie that was supposed to be an Oscar contender, but fell short. It has a lot of good messages in it, but I wish the filmmakers would have had a much clearer stance and representation of what really happened during the Cold War instead of briefly touching upon it. This could've been a great movie, but instead it ended up just good.
"The Bourne Ultimatum" Grade: B+ (87%)
For an action-thriller, this is an awesome film. I really really enjoyed it and it would have easily made my 'A' list if it wasn't for the cop-out ending.
"TMNT" Grade: B+ (89%)
Yes. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are back and yes, I gave a kids movie a high 'B'. Of course I was a ninja turtle fan growing up so I'm biased, but for all of you fellow turtle freaks, this is my favorite turtles movie even though it doesn't have the Shredder in it.
"The Kingdom" Grade: A- (90%)
A very powerful film, and the first mentioned 'A' list movie in my guide. The ending is a little sloppy, but everything else makes up for it.
"Atonement" Grade: A- (90.1%)
Originally, I wasn't going to put this on my 'A' list, but the more I thought about it, the more it grew on me. It's a wonderful film, my only beef with it is that the film-makers try to make you believe it's based on a real story and the only way to know that it's not is by reading the credits after the film.
"Cloverfield" Grade: A- (91%)
I was also very hesitant to put this on my 'A' list because it absolutely wouldn't be a very good film if you were seeing it for the second time, or if you knew anything about the film before you saw it. If you know nothing about it, check it out and enjoy - it's intense.
"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" Grade: A (94%)
As many of you know, the Harry Potter series is up and down, hit or miss with me. Sorcerer's Stone got a 'B' in my book, Chamber of Secrets got a 'C', Prisoner of Azkaban got an 'A', and the Goblet of Fire got a 'D-'. Phoenix is my favorite thus far in the series because it is a little more mature without losing th creativity.
"300" Grade: A (95%)
I'm already into anything that relates to mythology, but this film is simply stunning. The story isn't necesarily great, but the film is probably the most artistic and beautiful film I've seen in a long time. The creativity, camera work, and editing makes the imagination explode.
CO-MOVIES OF THE YEAR
"Sicko" Grade: A+ (97%)
Yes, it's a Michael Moore film, and yes, I really liked all of Michael Moore's previous films where others have not. But to be fair, Mr. Moore isn't such a dominating personality in this documentary about the health care system in the United States. The information he gathers and the perspective he captures is simply astounding. As he says in the beginning of the film, it's not a documentary about the people who don't have health care, it's a documentary about the people who do have health care. If you're scratching your head about how that could possibly be life-changing - yes, life-changing - then go rent it. It's my movie of the year not only because it makes you think, it's real. It's the world we live in and it's messed up.
"No Country for Old Men" Grade: A+ (97%)
I was told to see this movie by several people, and for one reason or another, I never made it to the theater until it was re-released because of its large amount of Oscar nominations. I must say, this is a truly great film. The writing is amazing, and if you don't have your thinking cap on, you'll be confused and you won't get much out of it. So don't go into it expecting a popcorn action thriller or anything like that. To fully appreciate this movie, engage with the dialogue and really pay attention to every detail because it all ties back to the major themes of the script. I highly recommend it.
Overall:
A's = 7
B's = 7
C's = 10
D's = 3
F's = 3
07 Movies I still need to see:
"Michael Clayton"
"Into the Wild"
So as the Academy Awards approach, I'm really pulling for Michael Moore to win Best Documentary with "Sicko", and the Coen brothers to win Best Picture & Best Original Screenplay for "No Country for Old Men". As far as the Best Actor / Actress awards go, I really could care less. Three 'F's is a lot, even by my standards, so hopefully 2008 will bring some better material, although you won't really see any post-writer's strike movies until late 2009 at the earliest (which is bad news).
Thursday, February 14, 2008
The Ethnic Steroid
In the book, "A White Teacher Talks About Race", author Julie Landsman recounts a day in the life of a middleclass teacher living in St. Paul, Minnesota. She works in a school that primarily deals with "at-risk" students. She states that "the challenge [in this type of environment] is dealing with changing student attitude." Alright, not ground-breaking by any stretch of the imagination, but she's refering to ethnicity and education. Throughout the book, she restates comments from her students, and the predominant viewpoint is that African-American, Vietnamese, and Latino students don't want to learn too much because they don't want to "give in" to the "white man's world" and "become a white man" themselves. Landsman's solution is to integrate more ethnicity into the classroom, building a theory that infusing more race and culture into the classroom will help students become more engaged and give them something tangible to relate to. While this may be a valid point, I don't feel it's the solution. Landsman is only addressing half of the problem. What she fails to recognize is the socio-economic background of many of these kids. This is a problem that spreads well beyond the realm of education and the classroom. If you look at the numbers, the majority of the poverty-class in America is made up of non-whites. Not surprising if you consider the historical background of African-Americans and the modern day problem of illegal immigration. However, despite these factors, there are more opportunities for people of color these days than there ever has been before. Landsman may indeed be speaking the truth when she claims that students don't want to learn because they don't want to become "white", but the solution isn't to inject education with tons of ethnic-friendly material. Perhaps we need more ethnicity in the classroom (good luck trying to find any colored authors of note pre-20th century), but this won't solve the problem of students not wanting to gain an education for fear of being assimilated into the "white man's world". Should the question not be asked: how much of this problem is a lack of ethnicity representation in society, and how much of it is just an excuse for the colored person? In all seriousness, if students in St. Paul are predominantly taking a stance against education for a silly reason such as fear for becoming "white", how much of that is true, and how much of that is fear of escaping the poverty class and pursuing opportunity. In the book, one of Landsman's students tells her that he skips class a lot not because he dislikes school, but because if he gets an education, his 'homies in th' hood will beat [him] down for bein' a white mama's boy'. This doesn't sound like a lack of ethnicity in the classroom, in fact, injecting a Bonds-like amount of ethnicity in this situation won't help the problem at all. To me, the culture of the poverty-class has become a brotherhood of sorts where if one pursues a better life, they're branded a turncoat. It seems to be a situation where a group of people (the poverty-class) wants to victimize themselves to see how much they can gain from government programs, employers, and even education. As a future teacher, it will become my job to challenge kids in these type of situations. To educate them about their situation and make them realize that they aren't losing their ethnic background or diversity by gaining an education, they're merely working to escape a poverty-stricken culture which others of similar skin color seem to identify with. Students shouldn't be ashamed nor afraid to gain an education. So as much effort and thought as you put into your ethnic-explosion-in-the-classroom plan Mrs. Landsman, I think you've overlooking a big part of the problem. Never underestimate the mentalities and self-fulfilling victimization of most people in the poverty-class, no matter if they're white, African-American, Latino, Chinese, or Smurf, being a victim becomes an excuse for not trying, and we need to help change the mindset of children who may be growing up in such conditions.
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