“Dangerous minds”

Dangerous Minds is a 1995 American drama hood film based on the autobiography My Posse Don't Do Homework by former U.S. Marine LouAnne Johnson. Starring Michelle Pfeiffer as LouAnne Johnson, the film was released to mixed reception, but became a surprise box office success in the summer of 1995, leading to the creation of a short-lived television series.

Louanne Johnson is an ex-marine who begins a teaching career in an inner-city school. But she finds her pupils to be a rebellious handful in need of guidance as much as education. She then decides to use her own methods to win them round to learning, against the wishes of her bureaucratic superiors.

The film depicts the most burning problems at all times: teachers’ disrespect towards their students and low motivation of the students in studying.

As the film progresses, Johnson tries to use a variety of methods to gain the attention, trust, and interest of her students. She originally captures the attention of her students by telling them of her Marine background and showing them some basic karate moves. However, the head teacher doesn’t find her new methods useful as teaching karate is against school rules, and she is forced to stop. The Head Teacher doesn’t want something strange to interfere his system. He isn’t interested in getting along with these students as his only concern is their graduating, not more. The episode when Emilio tries to get his attention but forgets knocking the door to the Head Teacher’s cabinet brightly illustrates Mr.Grandey’s aloofness in his students’ problems.

Nonetheless, Louanne does her best to stir up her students’ interest in studying. She keeps their attention by using language and topics they could relate to, including using Bob Dylan song lyrics as poetry. From there, Johnson makes powerful promises that her students are afraid to believe, thinking them too good to be true. The first of these promises is “at this point everyone has an A, but it’s up to you to keep it.” For students whom are considered to be difficult and have probably never received an A in a class before, this is a revolutionary idea and a seemingly impossible achievement. However, she gives the students their first real seed of hope. Throughout the year, Johnson continues to encourage her students. She does all she can to help them both in and out of the classroom. As a result, they come to trust that she will always be there for them.

The most important trait Johnson exhibits is her unconditional belief in her students. No matter how students act, where they are from, or what others expect of them. Johnson defends her students’ ability to learn and challenging the preconceptions that had already been built around them.

 This movie gives us a little hope that there are people in the world prepared to go to extreme lengths for the good of others. This is a heartwarming story, and although at times it's quite tragic, it shows a growing bond between a group of socially discarded students and a very special teacher.

The Ron Clark Story

The Ron Clark Story (2006)

Director: Randa Haines

Cast: Matthew Perry as Ron Clark, Brandon Mychal Smith as Tayshawn, Hannah Hodson as Shameika, Micah Stephen Williams as Julio, Ernie Hudson as Principal Turner, Melissa De Sousa as Marissa Vega, Patricia Idlette as Devina, Judith Buchan as Snowden School Principal

Genre: Drama, Television

Settings: United States, New York City, Harlem

Review:

Ron Clark, still relatively early in his career, leaves his stable life teaching at an elementary school in his suburban North Carolina hometown, the school where he is appreciated by both his fellow teachers and his students for his innovative teaching methods which results in raising test scores. Instead, he decides to look for a teaching job at a tough New York inner city school where he feels he can be more useful. He eventually finds a job at Inner Harlem Elementary School, where the students are segregated according to their potential. As Clark is white and "nice" looking, Principal Turner wants to assign him to the honors class, especially as Turner's job security depends on good test scores. Clark, however, wants to take the most disadvantaged class. He quickly learns that it will be a battle of wills between himself and his disruptive students to see who can outlast the other. But he also learns that he has to understand them, both individually and collectively, on their level to be able to get through to them before he can teach them the standardized materials. But even the best laid plans can be turned askew by unforeseen events, such as illness and the behavior of others outside of his control. And he has to overcome the self-fulfilling prophecy of failure to instill a sense of worth within the students. Through it all, he is supported by Marissa Vega, the beautiful waitress at the restaurant where he works part-time.

This film is based on the true-life story of Ron Clark, a remarkable teacher who takes on the challenge of a rebellious Harlem school. He teaches the middle schoolers to dream big but it takes a lot of effort and patience on his part as he chips away the stone and begins to see the first small cracks of light and hope. Matthew Perry is excellent in his role as Clark.

There is some language in this movie and some of it is used by the teenagers. There is also strong disrespect shown toward the teacher in the beginning and even to some extent for awhile after that. However, the redeeming value of this story is evident once the viewer watches it through to the end. We find a compassionate teacher who truly is there for his students and leaves his fingerprints on their lives in a positive way. And the entire class changes by film's end. He stands by his classroom rules which eventually are respected by the students. For this reason, with a warning about the language, we recommend the film for ages twelve and above. It is told in a realistic manner which underscores the change in attitudes by the end of the film. Ron Clark wrote a best-seller which includes his essential 55 rules. The Ron Clark Academy opens this fall in Atlanta, Georgia.

As for awards, it was nominated for three 2007 Emmy Awards, including "Outstanding Made For Television Movie", "Outstanding Casting For A Miniseries, Movie Or A Special" and "Outstanding Lead Actor In A Miniseries Or A Movie" for Perry. Additionally, Perry was also nominated for the Golden Globe Award and the Screen Actors Guild Award for "Best Actor".

In conclusion I’d like to say that some aspects of the story sometimes seemed to be too good to be true. And in the tradition of film adaptations, I wonder how much of the movie was altered for dramatic purposes. But that should be the least of your worries, I find this movie hugely entertaining and easy to watch. Definitely not a bad way to spend a few hours on.

School Education in Britain and the USA

School Education in Britain and the USA 

1. The main categories of school are:

·         local authority maintained schools (State Schools)
Free to all children between the ages of 5 - 16

·         independent schools. (Private/Public Schools)
Parents pay for their children's' education.

2. Children are required by law to receive full-time education after they become five. They leave school at 18.

3. The education system is divided into nursery (ages 3–4), primary education (ages 4–11), secondary education (ages 11–18) and tertiary education (ages 18+). British law requires all children to be in full-time education from the age of 5 to16, but parents like to send younger children to a nursery school or playschool from the age of 2 or 3.

4. Their progress is tested by their teacher through standard assessment tests (SATs) set nationally at the ages of 7, 11 and 14. Students continue to study subjects in the National Curriculum and take SATs at 14, and then work towards GCSEs in as many subjects as they can manage often 8 or 10.

5. Students who hope to go to university stay on at school for 2 more years or go to a sixth-form college to study for A levels in 2, 3 or 4 subjects.

6. The Secretary of State and LEAs have a duty to put in place, and follow, a curriculum that is balanced and broad and “promotes the spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils at the school and of society and prepares pupils at the school for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of later life.” There is a national curriculum in place across England that consists of a foundation stage and then four key stages.  During these stages, various arrangements are in place for assessing students and upon helping them achieve attainment targets.  For the four key stages of education the core subjects include mathematics, English, science, design and technology, information and communication technology, physical education, history, geography, art and design, music, citizenship and a modern foreign language.

7.Full-time education is compulsory for all children aged between 5 and 17.

8. Education in primary schools is rather traditional: it concentrates on reading, writing and basic mathematics, but also touches already a very broad range of topics (biology, music, religion, history, etc.). Students enter secondary education. Here they have to choose a course that they want to follow, depending on their skill level and interests.

9. Some schools are now abandoning entrance exams and accept students on the basis of their previous results or an interview, during which they examine the child’s interest in the chosen field. That is usually the case of vocational secondary schools without maturita that aim to raise interest in studying crafts and professions by various scholarships.

10. All schools have admissions criteria to decide which children can be allocated places.

Your local council can give you a booklet about schools’ criteria and how to apply. If you’re applying for a school place after the start of the school year (eg changing schools), contact the council.

Admissions criteria are different for each school. For example, schools may give priority to children:

·                     who have a brother or sister at the school already

·                     who live close to the school

·                     from a particular religion (for faith schools)

·                     who do well in an entrance exam (for selective schools eg grammar schools or stage schools)

·                     who went to a particular primary school (a ‘feeder school’)

·                     in care or being looked after (all schools must have this as a top priority)

11. They provide children with more qualitative education.

12. The National Curriculum consists of 10 subjects which all the children must study at school. The subjects are English, Mathematics, Science, a modern foreign language (for 11-16 year olds), Technology and Design, History, Geography, Music, Art, Physical Education (PE). These subjects are called foundation subjects. English, Mathematics and Science are also known as the ‘core’ subjects which help children in studying all the other subjects. History of Art  or Car Maintenance can maintain  an  exciting  interest  with  students.

13. Education in Russia is organized and coordinated by the state, which ensures that general education is free and available for everyone. Most schools are state schools but private schools have also been established in recent years. Russian general education is aimed at the intellectual, emotional, moral and physical development of the individual. It aims to develop the abilities that will allow a student to adapt to life in society as well as helping individuals to make conscious choices concerning professional education.

14. Pupils peeing in buckets during lessons. Groin-grabbing games.

15.In my opinion I think these are the qualities good teachers should have.
 
1. Knowledge of the subject matter
2. Patience
3. Intellectual curiosity
4. Confidence
5. Compassion
6. Achievement
7. Planning
8. Awareness .

16. The most memorable experience was my first reading aloud. The most exiting ex-e was sharing the same desk with a nice boy. The most painful ex-e was not getting a gold medal just because of teacher’s mistake.

17. I feel very anxious .

18. I think, written exam is easier to pass, because of a lack of eye contact, which can be an obstacle for shy people.

19.It depends on my degree of preparedness.

20.I don’t use rough-work sheets in a written exam, because it’s a waste of time.

21. yes.

22. A crib can be useful. Sometimes, it help to calm down, just because if it’s essence.

23.No.

24. It there’s no chance to answer, it’s your last opportunity.

25. I think. it’s preparation. You have to learn a lot of new material.

26. Advantages:

1.) The student will likely get a better education.

This is no small point.  After all, this is the purpose of school.  Beware, there are terrible private schools too, where students graduate without barely knowing how to read.  But compared to the public school system in the United States and in many countries abroad, a private school education is far superior.

2.) The student will mature more rapidly.

Students attending boarding schools, in particular, will learn how to clean their rooms, take care of their own laundry, and be forced to deal with personal conflicts in a way that can never be learned in the protective shell of home.  Some of the world’s greatest leaders, sports stars and entertainment figures had a boarding school education.  This includes numerous American presidents, European Kings and Queens and British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill.

3.) Private schools usually have better teacher – student ratio.   

This is an important factor in learning math, science and foreign languages.  In contrast, a student in a large classroom setting can sometimes get lost.

4.) Private schools have better discipline.

This is because public schools in most countries are forced by law to accept all children in their geographical areas and are paid government money based on the number of students in attendance.  This makes expelling a student both difficult and expensive.

In a private school the reverse is the case.  A troublesome student upsets teachers and fellow students and can cause others to drop out if he or she is not expelled immediately.  Parents are suddenly involved.  They have paid money for their son or daughter to attend the school in question and they will become more insistent in assuring that their child cooperate.

5.) Students from private schools are more likely to graduate from a university and with better grades.

Again.  Nothing can be assumed and much depends on the particular school you attend but in general, private school students are more likely to advance their education at the university level.  This is often because they are forced to develop study habits in the private school setting, especially at the boarding school where peer pressure and dorm rules require completion of home work.

6.) Private schools are safer. 

They have a better safety record over public schools.  This may be in part because of stricter private insurance requirements that public schools do not need to fulfill.

Disadvantages:

Here are some of the negatives sometimes associated with private schools.

1.) Private schools can be very expensive.  Make sure you chose wisely.

2.) Students are sometimes shielded from social challenges. 

Private schools usually prohibit the use of drugs, alcohol or sexual activity.  These choices are sometimes left to the student in a public school setting.  Some parents feel that their children need to be faced with such choices and learn to develop their own judgment.

3.) Public school curriculum tends to offer diverse philosophical curriculum, allowing the student to see the world through the lens of many different ethnic, religious or sexually oriented ideas.

By contrast, private schools are often founded in a religious tradition.  In the United States most private boarding schools were founded in the Catholic or Episcopalian tradition.  (CCA is the oldest, continuously operating, evangelical private boarding school in America. )

27. Yes. It helps to improve you skills at that very subject.

28. I think 6. At last a sensible observation that actually takes into account child development.I can say that the young age at which children start formal schooling, together with what the powers-that-be expect them to achieve, is a recipe for disaster. State education in the UK will continue to fail the children, irrespective of how rigorous inspections become. The failure arises from the fact that there is little or no understanding of how children develop.

29.No. at that age they should receive high education.

30. Yes,it’s a good idea for pupils to participate in the running of schools.

31. The national curriculum requires all students to take an extensive series of examinations. Students must pass 6 exams to earn a Leaving Certificate at the end of high school. International English Examinations are tests which help to define and confirm the level of language knowledge.

32. Increased numbers of students in Higher Education and the corresponding increase in time spent by staff on assessment has encouraged interest into how technology can assist in this area. Ensuring that the assessment methods adopted reflect both the aims and objectives of the course and any technical developments which have taken place is becoming increasingly important, especially as quality assurance procedures require departments to justify the assessment procedures adopted.