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| Groton Video http://forum.gayleturner.net/viewtopic.php?f=43&t=4729 |
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| Author: | Brittany Norman [ Fri Oct 24, 2008 1:14 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Groton Video |
This is going back a few classes, but in the movie we watched on the bording school Groton, I noticed something interesting. The students were talking about how they were only after the money and the power and didn't really believe much in service, while the teachers were talking about how they were teaching the students to believe in service and not just after money and power. Do you think the teachers were just saying this because they were being interviewed, or do you think that was really thier goal? Do you think they really didn't know how the students felt on the subject? I just thought this was sort of interesting and wanted to know if anyone else had noticed and had any thoughts. |
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| Author: | Kerry Smith [ Fri Oct 24, 2008 3:55 pm ] |
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I also found that to be very interesting. I think that the teachers sounded sincere in their comments. I just think teachers can only do so much to instill these positive values in their students. Students are also influenced by their family and their peers. If a student’s family is telling them money is all that matters and if their peers are focusing on careers based on money and power, they may be inclined to do so as well. I can think of several examples in the video that support this theory. The example that first comes to mind is of the students talking about college choices. They all wanted to go to Harvard, Princeton, or Yale just like all of their peers. Also, several students mentioned going to their parent’s alma mater or that student’s with lineages at a certain school were accepted easier. These are just two examples of how our peers and parents play a vital role in our lives and decision making processes. |
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| Author: | Lauren Jennings [ Sun Oct 26, 2008 6:15 pm ] |
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I agree with Kerry in that it can be hard to change strong family views that have been instilled in students since they were born if not before then. Teachers can have positive influences but when they are feed influences of money and power all their life it seems to be their only goal. I think the students would have acted differently in the video if they had any intentions of changing their attitudes about their futures. |
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| Author: | April Wilkinson [ Mon Oct 27, 2008 12:38 pm ] |
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As sad as I am to say this, I must admit that nothing in the Groton video surprised me. I think I've shared this in class before but just in case I haven't, I'll share it here. 15-20 years ago, the main reason people went to college was to "help people" however, now the main reason is "to make money". That is the reason the video didn't suprise me. The teachers were talking about service and helping others because they grew up getting an education to "help people". The students were talking about money and power because they've grown up wanting to get an education to "make money." |
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| Author: | Dana Currin [ Mon Oct 27, 2008 1:14 pm ] |
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I like the way that April summed up the idea of why the teachers in the Groton video focused on "service" and the students in the Groton video focused on "money". Just as she said, the teahers at Groton are older than the students and they grew up in a world where going to college was a wonderful thing to help you further your education, and get the job of your dreams, whether you made $8/hour or $30/hour. Today, college has become a place where students attend in hopes of being "rich" one day. As a future teacher, it's obvious that that is not the reason I decided to come to college, as well as for many of the education majors among me. College to us still seems to be a place where you can learn to help others, not just "get rich quick", so good intentions still do exist. |
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| Author: | Jerry Nicole Whitener [ Mon Oct 27, 2008 6:46 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Groton |
I think that the teachers really wanted the students to learn how to be better, but I remember what its like to be 15. I used to want to have a job making lots of money, a house that ten families could live in, and a car that i couldnt afford to insure. However, the older I get the more I want to get out of debt and stay there, take care of others, and make sure that the next generation will have a safe place to live in. I dont think that the teachers at these students age were concerned about helping others, and I HOPE, that these students did more than just make a lot of money. This would be really sad. |
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| Author: | Justin Mccrary [ Tue Oct 28, 2008 8:50 am ] |
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I think a lot of these kids were just dreaming big. I also think that they were brought up in an environment where money and power was the end all, be all. They seemed to be from families that were well off and had parents that were in jobs that brought in the money. |
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| Author: | Katie Tyndall [ Tue Oct 28, 2008 12:32 pm ] |
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This video didn't really shock me at all. The students at Groton are mostly from families where life is a series of endless opportunities and for many of them the price tag didn't matter. Their families have a lot of money and so thats what these students are used to, having money and working in big business or high paying jobs to gain this money. Its the same as if a student were to grow up in a missionary family overseas, that student will most likely value service far beyond what their classmates have even considered. Money and power are the world that these students are a part of at home and by attending Groton they're in a separate society there as well. I thought it was interesting that the teachers approached the learning through a service focus because few of these students would be exposed to that aspect of the world without the influence of those teachers. I think this just reaffirms the incredible impact teachers can have on each of their students. |
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| Author: | Ryan Earnhardt [ Tue Oct 28, 2008 1:47 pm ] |
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Yea, it didn't really suprise me that the teachers said what they said, or that the students said what they said. The teachers will make themselves look good, or attempt to without thinking about it, whereas the students have no incentive to hide what they truly believe. It didnt suprise me, and I do not think it is a neccesarily good or bad that each group felt the way they did. |
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| Author: | Amanda Klinger [ Tue Oct 28, 2008 9:11 pm ] |
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While I do agree that the reasons individuals attend college/and or/ "better high schools" has changed, I think there might be another reason for the dichotomy. When something, particularly service, is pushed on individuals it loses some of its innate value, and therefore becomes something one sees as a requirement and essentially just another hoop you have to jump through to reach success. I believe the teachers really wanted to instill the value of serving others into their students, however, students weren't quite seeing the whole picture (as many adolescents do.) I also thought that many of the teachers seemed to be of a different social class than most of the students, one talked about having to adjust to a "new world" when he first went to Groton, and this might have been one of the reasons as well. |
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| Author: | Jessica Placke [ Tue Nov 04, 2008 6:23 pm ] |
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I agree with a lot of people who were saying the students' family lives greatly affect the students and their perceptions of the world. They are use to power and money, and they love it. However, we must also consider the fact that this video was edited by the documenters. They could have phrased their questions a certain way to get the students and teachers to say what they wanted to insert in their film. Sure everyone likes money, but a lot of people probably want to do some good in the world too. Not all the students could have been so selfish. I think this is a stereotype often placed on rich whites. While I'm sure it is true in some cases, it is not in all cases. |
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| Author: | Kari Tatum [ Tue Nov 04, 2008 6:46 pm ] |
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I agree that the students are giving in to their peers and the lives their families want for them. I know that if my dad was a lawyer or doctor or whatever and wanted me to take over the family business I probably would have because I want SO badly to please my parents. Fortunately, I know that whatever career path I choose, as long as I can support myself or will eventually get to the point where I can, they will be behind me in that decision. However, many of the students at Groton don't have parents that will support them in whatever decision they make. Many of them only go because they are told to and because it will make them better. But this doesn't always happen. Even the girl they interviewed and followed for most of the video (I'm sorry... I forgot her name!) said that when she went home she had trouble fitting in because the "new" person she had become was not good for her family anymore. It is unfortunate that in students' quest for happiness many of them become more unhappy than they were to begin with. It just proves that money and power don't equal happiness! |
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| Author: | NikkiTester [ Thu Nov 06, 2008 9:57 am ] |
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I think its also important to note that those kids parents were probably in a higher socio-economic class than most of the teachers. Not to say that all incredibly wealthy people are only interested in money but there is a different values system in place. |
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