"The Class"

     All experiences in life are learning experiences whether or not you enjoy them. You can always learn about things you like, that you enjoyed learning in a certain setting; you can also learn that you dislike a certain experience more than you did initially.  I feel that there was definitely learning taking place in the classroom in the film. I also feel that there could have been more effective teaching and that there could have been a lot more learning taking place under the right circumstances.

     There were lots of teachable moments wasted, hypocrisy and cross-culture conflict that defined the culture in the classroom. Learning processes were supported and constrained throughout and varied to both extremes very often. It didn't create a stable environment for the students to learn in.

     The moment that stood out most to me was the creativity that the teacher was supporting while Souleymane was working on his Autobiography project.  He and his student moved cooperated to bridge the gap between his teaching style and his student's learning style. I can't help but think about an idealistic world where teachers would be more willing to adapt to the student population's cultural needs along with each individual's needs.

     I felt that there were a number of constrained learning processes as well. Teachers, as understanding as they need to be with their students, also need to create structure and assert a certain level of seniority in the classroom. This is to make the students feel more secure and understand their role as a learner. It is important to guide the class but also allow them to direct it to some extent. Through his arguing, then losing his temper and saying something regrettable, he lost his student's respect and validated their antagonistic, avoidant behaviors.

     The frequent conflicts in class between the teacher and students clearly demonstrated the two cultures colliding. They were unable to understand each other. The usage of language between the two groups demonstrated both supported and constrained learning cross-culturally. while the children were talking about the sensitive things they might include in the autobiography, there is a new word for "bourgeois" as someone who smells of Camembert (a very pungent cheese.) Their linguistic and cultural differences is made evident when teacher calls the girls "Petace" (skanks.) This word represents two different things for the two groups. It is translated as a very derogatory reference to being prostitutes whereas the teacher only meant is as girls being giggly.

     The good and bad approaches to the classroom by the teacher in the movie give a lot of perspective about good and bad practices when teaching. It is important to note the other linguistic barrier between English to French. There are always cultural references lost in translation.