We watched West Side Story yesterday in class. It was to present the Romeo and Juliet drama in a fun way. Of course, I choked up at the end when Maria was singing to her dying Tony. I thought I hid it well until one of my students said,
“Ms. Pullin, why are you crying?”
“I’m not,” I said, “why would I be crying?”
After watching the movie, we talked about the theme of violence, and I gave them the assignment to brainstorm ideas to the essay question, “What are some of the causes of violence and how could they be addressed?” They surprised me with their insight and knowledge about the causes of violence, but I was saddened when most of them said that they could think of no way to adequately address the causes.
One student was especially insightful in identifying the causes, dividing them into three main categories: religion, race and land/territory/power/money. He broke down each category into several specific problems. When it came time to address the problems, though, he only came up with one idea; get rid of religion. Interesting idea. I’m discovering that this is a very pervasive thought among my students and other young people I’m meeting.
1 comment:
I can see why post 9/11/2001 children would disdain religion. That is why I more claim to be a spiritualist.
Never hide a cry.
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