Extra Credit- "The Class"

After watching "The class", I found it to be much more realistic than the other films we have watched under the "teacher/savior" genre. The film allows you to see the teacher as a human being, one far from perfect, yet one who does seem to care about his students. One thing to be noticed is how the film displays the different perspectives of the participants- the teachers, the students, the parents, and the administrator. In many scenes, we see these different perspectives clashing, and trying to be resolved. It seems that the students are primarily concerned with fairness, calling out Mr. Marin on several occasions, some as simple as doing what he requests his students to do, like writing their names down. The teachers seem to be primarily concerned with discipline, and it's interesting to see this debated at the staff gatherings. Each of the teachers represents a different "typical" teacher- Mr. Marin is the one who secretly cares more about his students than he allows to be seen in the classroom, and defends them to the other teachers. There is also the lax teacher who believes that by enforcing disciplinary action they are doing a disservice to the students. And there are others who are traditional disciplinarians who believe that no matter what the student's personal case might be, they should be punished with a set, standard set of consequences, disregarding what these actions might cause the student to face at home.

As I considered what might be an idealistic resolution to the conflicts that occur in the school, ones that seem to draw on the cultural differences and diversity of students, I realized how hard it is to be in that position. I thought about how they "resolved" the problem in Souleymane's case, expelling him. I didn't feel like this was the right thing to do; like Karl pointed out, everyone has reached their limit at one point or another. And it was never his intention to hurt the girl, even she herself was willing to recognize that it was an accident and forgive him. I feel like this solution would lead Souleymane no were, and certainly not anywhere better. I found it interesting, however, that as soon as Souleymane left, suddenly everyone in the class was getting along, there were no more side conflicts and bickering, and Mr. Marin was even welcome to play soccer with them at recess. This new tone seemed to spring out of nowhere, and I found it corny. Removing the "trouble maker" was all it took, then the entire system suddenly worked? Please. But the last shot, with the chairs knocked over and in disarray redeemed it though because it symbolized that the problems were not really fixed.

I don't think the teacher is to blame for Souleymane's fate, but rather the system as a whole. As the teachers themselves acknowledged, there were plenty of signs along the way, yet none of them were resolved, allowing the problems to escalate, and then suddenly "wiping" him out. Granted, he did take some part in his own damage, but I think that at the age of 14 or 15, around 70% of behavior and conflict resolution is a reflection of what occurs in the individual's home. Adolescence is a tricky age, because one has to shift from behaviors and ideas that are learned, into questioning their own ideas, and begin drawing from outside sources, so that they can develop a set of ideas and behaviors that they choose to adhere by in adulthood.

The classroom setting in the movie definitely reminded me of SOF. I feel like I've definitely sat through classes like the ones shown. One thing we can learn from this movie is maybe empathy- I know a lot of teachers as well as students fail to consider how their actions impact others. We should think before we act, and maybe learn about a person before judging, as school administrators are fond of doing. Decisions made blindly based on standard's can do a lot of damage to a young person's life. Only with real, full knowledge of a situation, can a just, effective, and beneficial decision be made.