Almost 150 years ago, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., expressed the following sage but sad observation in his book “The Professor at the Breakfast Table”: Society is always trying in some way or other to grind us down to a single flat surface. Unfortunately, this is still true today. Last week I saw the movie “The Breakfast Club” written and directed by John Hughes which expressed a similar theme. Fortunately, youth of every age “are quite aware of what they are going through” and have the ability to break the fast imposed on them by the socialization process which begins in the home and is reinforced at school, not only by students and parents but teachers like Mr. Vernon as well. In “The Breakfast Club” five disparate personalities, each secure in his identity and yet filled with insecurities, spend a lazy Saturday confined to Detention at Shermer High School in Shermer, Illinois, for various and sundry school violations. Yet each character has a troubled life as foreshadowed by his very presence in Detention. Families mold, intentionally or not, their children into little reflections of themselves. School, thru peer pressure, thru the various academic and social clubs, and thru the imaginary audience, serves to enhance the socialization process begun at home.
Students are labeled and are not allowed to change “their worlds”. Students hang out only with people who look, dress, and live like themselves.There are nerds, freaks, cholos, etc. There’s the Math Club, Prep Club, Latin Club, Physics Club for students who belong. Mr. Vernon, the teacher in charge of the students, unwittingly assigns an essay with the subject “who am I”. Unwittingly because as Carl, the custodian and the “eyes and ears of the institution”, reveals that the students haven’t changed but that he, the teacher, has changed. Perhaps Mr.
The Essay on Advantages of a Press Club in schools
A press club is an organization for journalists and others professionally engaged in the production and dissemination of news. The press generally has to do with gathering, evaluating and distributing facts of current interest. It makes use of reporters, learners in this case, who research and write stories to be presented during school assemblies or to be posted on boards often with the guidance ...
Vernon should answer the question himself. The movie then proceeds to answer the question through the actions and dialogue of the protagonists. My favorite character (and yours too) is John Bender, the criminal, as portrayed by Judd Nelson, the leader of the notorious Hollywood Brat Pack. John is the main character in the movie and functions as the catalyst or the instigator. One by one, he shocks and exposes each student’s insecurities. John is living proof of the creed, “If a child lives with hostility, He learns to fight.” John is subjected to severe mental and physical abuse at home. His father hammers him with vulgar names and brands his forearm with a lit cigar for spilling paint in the garage.
So he rebells and becomes the “criminal”. John has been labeled for life. Mr. Verner yells at him, “See what he’ll be like in 5 years.” It is ironic that he has developed such a cynical outlook on life, yet he possesses such a keen insight into others’ personalities. However, there is a spark of hope for him. Although obnoxious and intolerable, the others do not expose him as the guilty party for removing the screw and closing the door. And he takes the fall to save the others when they wander the halls.
His first target is Claire. The first thing out of the Princess’s mouth is ” can’t believe you can’t get me out of this”. And the first impression we get is “spoiled brat”. She would rather be shopping this Saturday morning. Her yuppie father drops her off in his yuppie Beamer. She doesn’t belong in Detention.
Her role is winning popularity contests. She is the most popular student in school and is so “lovable”. Except at home where she is treated as an object her parents use to get back at one another. The Jock is raised in the image of his father. According to his father, there is nothing wrong in screwing around as long as you don’t get caught. As the Basketcase describes him, “He can’t make his own decisions”. He tortures a student by taping his buns not because he wants to, but because he thinks he can win his father’s approval.
The Essay on Are Single-sex Schools Better Than Co-ed Schools For Most Students?
Worldwide, most students attend either single-sex schools or co-ed schools. Is there a difference? Close analysis of both systems of schooling shows that in terms of social, academic and emotional growth, co-ed schools are better. Firstly, it is important to explore the advantages and disadvantages of both systems. Co-ed school provides a superb environment and opportunity for both sexes to mix, ...
His coach and father expect him to be a winner. Perhaps this is why an attraction develops between him and the Basketcase, who is expected to be a nothing. When she is dropped off at school, no words are exchanged between her and the driver. And when she attempts contact, the driver coldly drives away in a new Cadillac. She is an introvert, isolated from family and society, and has her own therapist. She has been ignored all her life, by parents and students and school staff.
Avoid the loner. She has no friends at school. But shows up at detention because she has no where else to go. The school environment serves only to reinforce her lack of socialization. The Brain perceptibly comes from the perfect 1950’s TV family, according to Bender. However, he has an uncomfortable self-image.
His family has socialized him into accepting nothing less that straight A’s. The family car even has a license plate that reads EMC 2 for energy equals mass times the speed of light squared. And when he gets an F in Shop, his self-image can’t accept it. He takes a gun to school intending to shoot himself but gets caught. In the most important environment of a student’s life, even one F is not allowed. The school reinforces what the parents expect. Even his little sister echos the mother’s sentiments when she admonishes him to find a way to study in Detention.
It is from the Brain’s point of view that we realize that “you (Mr. Vernon/the school) see us as you want to see us”. “We were brainwashed,” he writes in the collective essay. In the end the students, by revealing their fears and expressing their emotions, overcame the limits set by family and school, the ones that “spit on them” . They realized that they are “immunized” to authority and that they can change their worlds, that they have multi-faceted personalities. And so do Holmes, Hughes, and Bowie. Even a “criminal” can win the heart of a “princess”.
What I Expect From My School
Frs. 101 Justin Walker Prof. Squires Portfolio Entry 1 Educational Contract What I Expect from My School I expect my school to help to the full extent to help me to reach my educational goals to the best of my ability. The professors, counselors, and other faculty should make themselves accessible for the student and not feel bothered if a student comes to them looking for help. The school should ...
John Bender was a better teacher than the system for he taught the Princess, the Jock, the Basketcase, and the Brain who they really were, and most importantly, who they were not..
