Reading+Reactions

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie How I knew sandy was the one to betray Miss Jean Brodie

In Miss Jean Brodie it is fairly apparent throughout the whole book that Sandy is the one to betray Brodie. While all the rest of the Brodie set is happy to play the roles that their teacher had assigned them Sandy always seemed to question “why”. Why did this one person have so much power over these girls? Why were they so easily swayed to believe what Brodie wanted them too? Another give away that Sandy was the one who had betrayed Brodie was throughout the book there is a special focus placed on her. She was obviously one of the main characters but it seemed as though she was targeted. Sandy also seemed to always want to defy Miss Jean Brodie. One of the finest examples of this was when Sandy has a love affair with Mr. Lloyd despite the fact that Brodie wanted Mary to. Although Mary had gone alone with Sandy’s plan I did not see her as the one to betray Brodie due to her meek and somewhat stupid personality.

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie Miss Jean Brodie as a teacher

I would never want Miss Jean Brodie as my teacher. Although she carries one of the trails I think that every teacher should have she does not use it morally. Brodie is passionate about all that she teaches but what she teaches is her real problem. Passion is a key component of teaching but when it is used for no good the ability to be a great teacher fades. Brodie used her passion to manipulate her students into doing what she wanted them too. In this was Brodie was both able to feel powerful and entertained. She looked up to many of the world communists and in turn seemed to become one with the Brodie set. This eventually led to her down fall as a teacher.

Pygmalion Intimidation

Henry Higgins used intimidation as a method of teaching. He would yell and degraded Eliza Doolittle to no end. There was even one specific time where Eliza broke down and cried because Higgins had pushed her so hard. Although I believe that Higgins methods of teaching were the reason for Eliza’s success, I also believe that he took things to extremes. Being up countless hours and being degraded on the regular could have provoked Eliza to leave. Luckily she was able to find the strength inside to keep at her studies and become the lady she had always wanted to be. And in turn winning Higgins his bet.

Pygmalion Subject vs. Student

Throughout Pygmalion the Henry Higgins cares more about the subject matter than he does about Eliza Doolittle. Should this be the correct way to teach? Higgins is extremely passionate about the subject matter he teaches. His passion caused him to forget that Eliza was in fact a human being with feelings. He didn’t care how hard he pushed her or even if he made her cry. His main concern was winning his bet and nothing more. Although Eliza did win Higgins the bet this should not be looked at as an effective way to teach. There should be a fair and equal balance between passion for the subject matter and caring for the wellness of one’s students.

The Moral Life of Children When Children Find Their Morals Early in Life I believe that a child’s moral development is a lot of the time dependent on their parent’s views and morals. An example of this is the stories of Hank and Ruby in Robert Coles book The Moral Life of Children. Ruby was not hateful towards the protesters because it was what she learned at home and in church. Hank however was hateful towards African Americans because of the views his abusive father had. In my opinion at a young age children have not had enough experiences to develop their own morals. All that they really have to find morals are what other people, more specifically their parents, tell them. Although this may change as one grows the bases of a child’s morals definitely seem to start with one’s parents.

The Moral Life of Children The Effect Movies Have on Young Children

After reading the chapter Movies and Moral Energy I began to wonder about the effects that movies have on the developing morals of young children. From what I know I think that it is safe to assume that the morals shown subliminally in movies and television shows have a large impact on children. This could be why there is such a fuss about parental control over televisions. Parents are concerned about what their children may pick-up when watching television. Robert Coles talked about how different children viewed the same movie differently because of the morals they had already developed. I don’t think it was the morals that made these children view the movies differently, but the personal experiences they have had. Experiences may shape the way one looks at the world.

The Uses of Enchantment How Should Fairy Tales Be Told To Children? There are a lot of discussions over whether or not children should hear the unabridged version of fairy tales. I believe that children should be given more of a real version of the fairy tales but not enough to give them nightmares. The fairy tales that are told to children are often told in the perspective of the “small” main character beating the “large” villain. This is symbolizes that a child can over through an adult. But in many of the real versions of the fairy tales the child like character learns more of a lesson through their actions.

The Uses of Enchantment Parent vs. Child

When taking a deeper look into fairytales the pattern of a “small” person conquering a “big” person seems to be a common theme. It is said that this shows the battle between parents versus child. Fairy tales are a way children can over through those who control them a.k.a. their parents. For example in the story of Cinderella, Cinderella shows up her evil step-mother by going to the ball and winning the love of the prince. Another example is in the story of Jack and the Beanstalk. In this story a small boy out smarts a huge giant and in turn winning his treasure. All of these stories give children hope of over throwing their parents. One might ask why are the very people whom these stories talk about overthrowing the ones who are reading these stories to their children. Isn’t that just a recipe for disaster?

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time Prime Numbers and Life Lessons In Mark Haddon’s novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time the main character Christopher John Francis Boon says “I think prime numbers are like life. They are very logical but you could never work out the rules, even if you spent all your time thinking about them”. I believe that this is a very intellectual statement and I agree with what he is saying. I also find it very interesting that his abstract views of the world led him to such a great comparison. Many people look at those people with autism and say that they aren’t as smart as the average person, this isn’t true. Even though these people have a disability doesn’t mean they are academically challenged, it can mean that they just see the world through different eyes. Some of the greatest ideas and philosophies can come from those who are seen as disabled people just need to learn to give them the chance to shine.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time Lack of Emotions In the book The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, the main character Christopher is autistic. One of the many qualities that are seen in children with autism is their lack of the ability to understand emotions. At the beginning of the novel Christopher talks about how his counselor, Siobhan, works with him on understanding the different kinds of emotions. She has him look at pictures with different faces on them each corresponding to a different emotion. I could not imagine going through life without being able to tell peoples different emotions. Not to mention how frustrating it must be to have to deal with someone who doesn’t understand the emotions you’re going through. For example when Christopher’s father does not want to talk about Wellington’s killing and Christopher keeps pushing to talk about it. This cause his father to become angry and frustrated.

The Curious Incident of the Dog at Night-Time Caring for a Person with a Disability Throughout the novel it is clear that Christopher is autistic. After both reading this book and working with special education students I am beginning to notice that it takes a lot of passion to work with people with disabilities. In the Curious Incident of the Dog at Night-Time the act of working with Christopher’s disability became too much for his mother. Even Christopher’s father struggled to handle Christopher’s behavior. Working with someone with a learning disability takes a lot of both patience and passion. You must me passionate to work with a student so much to only see the smallest improvement. It must be extremely difficult to a parent or sibling of someone with a disability. To teach someone with a learning disability you are only with them a portion of the day but when you are a family member you spend the majority of your day with them. The stress of that is probably overwhelming.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time Lists and Charts Throughout the novel Christopher faces many different conflicts and problems. The solution to many of these issues was to make lists and charts. For example towards the end of the book when Christopher doesn’t feel safe around his father any more he makes a list and a chart of all of the possible solutions. This chart truly does help him to make a choice on what to do. Even though there are some daily tasks that I use lists to help me with I could not imagine having to make one for single action in my life. Compared to Christopher I seem so simple minded. When something happened to Christopher he would thing about it in so many different dimensions when a normal person would see it just the way it seems.

The Curious Incident of the Dog the Night-Time Do they know? During the time that I was reading the novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time I also watched the movie Mozart and the Whale. This made me wonder if the main character Christopher knew that he was autistic. In the book he does mention that his parents say he has behavioral problems but does he actually understand what it means to be autistic. In Mozart and the Whale Donald and Izzy are both fully aware that they have asperger’s and they know their habits and that it doesn’t happen to everyone. After reading more of The Curious Incident if the Dog in the Night-Time I don’t think that Christopher really understood that not everyone like him. From what I know I guess of at the knowledge of this comes with time and maturity.

Flowers for Algernon Is ignorance bliss? In Flower for Algernon Charlie is a mentally challenged adult. The people Charlie works with often make fun of him and make him the butt of their jokes. Charlie never seems to notice. He thinks that these people are his friends and thinks that they are laughing with him not at him. Even though Charlie is being made fun of he doesn’t know it, this makes him happy. This is an example of ignorance being bliss. In Charlie’s case what he doesn’t know left him to be a happier person.

Flowers for Algernon Relationship In the book, Flowers for Algernon, Charlie develops a sort of relationship with his teacher Mrs. Kinnian. This made me wonder just how hard it is to be in a relationship with someone who is mentally challenged. A relationship between mentally challenged people is also shown in the movie Mozart and the Whale. There are many differences between these two relationships. For example both Donald and Izzy in Mozart and the Whale are both mentally challenged. In Flowers for Algernon Charlie is mentally challenged but Mrs. Kinnian is not. However when their relationship truly blossoms Charlie has a mind of a normal adult. I believe that to be in a relationship with someone who is mentally challenged it take a huge amount of patience and understanding. I have a lot of admiration for those who can do that.