Sunday 31 August 2008
One week after meeting her teacher, Rita comes back to Frank's office for her tutorial. She has prepared a paper on the book Rubyfruit Jungle, but it is not what Frank expected. I think that the fact that Frank explaines to her why it isn't correct and what she should do in order to improve it, and then he listens to Rita's point of view about other book he mentions shows us that he wants to understand her and help her graduate, eventhough he doesn't want to be her teacher. Eventhough Rita has a different background as a working-class woman, and knows nothing about the world of literature, Frank listens to her and doesn't understimates her. That's part of being a good teacher, to enable the student to be critical and to express his or her opinion. Rita is very perseptive and also talkative. She wants to test her teacher and observes the room meticuluosly, trying to learn more about him. But Frank brings her back to the topic of discussion and reminds her that learning means a lot of work.
8 comments:
Hi Adri!!
I agree with you that a good teacher should enable her students to think by themselves critically and should speak their minds. This is healthy both for the teacher and the students. The teacher can get to know her students better; and students are able to express themselves and improve their learning.
Bye!
Lau
Hi Adri!
I completly agree with you on the fact that learning (as well as teaching) is a lot of work and that digression is good sometimes but not all the time (as Rita tries to get off subject in stead of paying attention to what she has to learn).
In spite of that, during the play both Frank and Rita learn indirectly, don´t you think?
Love,
Romi
Hello Adri!
I also think he is a good teacher.
He is very demanding because he wants Rita doesn't fail the exam.
However, he also lets her make a halt to express her points of view. Like Laura and Romina said, they come to know about each other, about their culture which is one of the main issue of the book. I also think that in this way, both teacher and student enrich each other.
Hugs,
Lili
Hi everyone!
Some ideas I'd like you to tell me more about:
1. Sure Frank doesn't want to teach Rita?
2. Why is what Rita has written "incorrect"? Why does she "know nothing about literature"? Says who?
3. Is Rita simply "wasting time" when she tries to learn more about Frank's life?
4. Lili has said that learning about each other's culture "is one of the main issues in the book". And in our teaching-learning contexts?
Looking forward to hearing from you,
Gladys
Hi everybody!
Gladys:
Nobody is forcing Frank to teach Rita, so maybe he wants to teach this woman after all. ;)
What Rita writes is incorrect because it does not meet academic standards on literature. What she knows is not enough to pass the future exams; she needs to learn how to write appropriate essays to promote the subject. However, we could say that she has her own knowledge of authors and books, and a way to critically analyse them.
I think that Rita is wasting her time when she repeatedly asks Frank about his personal life in the sense that she engages in conversation with his teacher instead of using that time to improve his writing. However, it is not merely a waste of time in the sense that it is important for Rita to learn about Frank's life because she wants to get to know him better, as she wants to know a bit more about everything.
Culture is present in our lessons too. It is important to let children know that the most vulnerable culture is as important as others that are more widely known and accepted. In the book Frank does not look down on Rita for belonging to a different (lower) social class.
Really enjoy reading your poststs and comments, Adri! Thanks for clearly answering each of my questions so patiently!
Love,
Gladys
She finds it very difficult to leave behind her previous experiences in life in order to be able to be 'educated' by Frank. That's why she has problems with her first essay. She cannot 'criticise' Howards End without feeling discouraged by the author's opinion.However, Frank finds the way to show (teach) Rita that we may not always agree with what we read and, all the same, we will be always able to take something good from it (there are people with whom we agree and people who does not agree with us). I really believe that Frank is trying to show her that we have to be respectful upon others, their views and values...However, it is true that Rita may not be ready to accept this diversity yet, but I do believe that she will learn it sooner or later.
Hugs
Mariana
After reading the whole book I wanted to return to this post, because your prediction war right Marian! :) Frank was trying to teach Rita that everyone's opinion is important and that we have to be respectful with others, but she forgets this later on when she returns from her trip feeling very confidient and at the same level, or even more, than the "propper students". At that point Rita forgets what Frank had indirectly taught her, and she leaves the tutorial, but then she returns to her office knowing that Frank has been a good teacher and a good friend to her and that they have taught each other many things
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