Tuesday, November 20, 2007

I thought the film "Etre et Avoir" did an excellent job in showing a classroom atmosphere that many of us are probably not too familiar with. It was interesting to see the dynamics among the children who were forced to learn in such close proximity. I was surprised to see children as young as four and a half learning right along children who were more than twice their age. I felt that the scene where the young boy was crying for his mother and the older boy consoled him exemplified the sense of cohesiveness in the educational experience. I also thought Monsieur Lopez was a quite the character. I especially liked the way he would talk to students. It reminded me a lot of my own father who, whenever I would ask him questions when I was young, would always reply with more questions until I actually figured it out myself. The scene where Monsieur Lopez gets the young boy to comprehend the concept of infinity was particularly significant. He was also very good at listening to the students, especially to the ones who had obvious social problems. I think this movie helped me realize that the Ghandi Ashram is going to be unlike any teaching or learning environment I have yet to encounter. I will definitely need to listen to the students more closely, not only because of the language barrier, but also because of the cultural differences I am sure to face.

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