Saturday, January 26, 2008 5:22 AM
by
jtspencer
why I like movie nights
A small crowd of ten students gather in my classroom for our monthly movie night. The name is a bit of a misnomer. The movie actually runs from 4:45-5:15, but "Monthly Movie Late-Afternoon/Early Evening" sounds convoluted. I guess most lies are borne of convenience more than anything.
We watch "Salt of the Earth," a movie banned in America during the height of McCarthyism. The students groan when they see the initial scene. They can't imagine engaging in anything so monochrome, absent of explosions or the latest pop songs in the background.
However, the power of the story overwhelms them. I end up pausing multiple times to lead short discussions.
"Now I get why McCarthy was so paranoid," a boy says. "Imagine that the world is turning Communist and here is a movie about worker's rights."
Another time a girl says, "I'm surprised that people weren't more shocked by the feminist beliefs." Another girl speaks candidly, "That machismo right there. That's how it is in my family. Or that's how we pretend it is. But we all know that my mom's the one who's really in charge."
There are honest dialgoues in the film - some that open up wounds. "Nothing has changed for Latinos," a kid says. "We're still given less pay and more dangerous jobs." But his comment is shot back with a response, "That's because we believe that is how it has to be. But look around. Back in the day, Mexicans only got farm jobs. When my dad went to school, none of his teahers were Mexicans. None of the doctors or engineers or anything like that. Things are changing."
There is a scene where the labor leader (who is white) talks to a man. The guy says, "See that picture. That's a picture of Juarez. You probably don't know who it is. But you would think I was stupid if I didn't know anything about George Washington." It leads to a conversation about sharing leadership. So, I ask a question, "How much effort have teachers put into learning your culture?"
Needless to say, we only watched fifty minutes of it and we'll resume it next week. Yet, it reminds me of what I miss as I teach social studies. I don't engage students in the narrative. I don't immerse them in a story where the history is not a lesson, but a larger context weaving into people's lives. It also reminds me that sometimes the best lessons occur when learning can be spontaneous.
