Programme of study (changes)

In EDUCATING RITA, Willy Russell writes that "education gives you a choice"
There are several changes in Rita as a result of her choosing education.
Firstly, in her background and culture. After so many lessons, she seems not to belong to her background any more. For instance , when she went to a pub with her mother and her husband, at that moment, she realized that she was speding too much time there, so she decided to leave the place. That was one instance of her changes.
Secondly, there are changes in her personal circumstances, for example, in her job. She decided to quit and she got another job in a bistro, where she could have access to more intellectual people in her opinion. Besides, she got divorced from her husband and went to live with a friend. That was another instance of her changes.
Finally, her personality also changed, she behave in different way with people, she has chosen other topics in her conversations, she dressed up differently and she decided to visit different kinds of places, such as galeries related to culture.

Programme of study

EDUCATING RITA is a play about clash and culture. The play would be considered a "meeting" between two people.
On one hand, there is Rita, who belongs to a working class,adding that she doesn't know much about other cultures except her own and also she doesn't have enough systematic education. Her role in this meeting is teaching Frank her own knowledge about life in general.
On the other hand, there is Frank, who belongs to a middle class, he is a tutor so he knows about different subjects, especially literature. His role in this meeting is to promote educational values in his lessons.
All things considered, it would be said that they managed to learn from each other throughout the play, in spite of their differences.

Act 2 Scenes 6 and 7

"Diferent directions"
I think that another possible names for the book would be "Educating Rita and Frank" or "The education of Rita and Frank".
They learned from each other throughout the play.With regards to Rita, she has learned several things from literature to different aspects in life.
Regarding to Frank, he has learned many things from Rita as well.
At the beginning of the play, Rita thought that students only would be involved in a systematic education, studying subjects from school and that was enough to be cultivated people. However, as the as scenes passed by, she has changed her viewpoint related to students because she has learned not only literature with Frank but also different aspects related to life in general.
As a consequence of that she made up her mind as students' concept is concerned.

A letter to Mr Burguess

Dear Mr Burguess,
I'm here writing to you because I want to tell you that I've just passed my exam. As a consequence of your teaching and the way you made us to study as much as possible in order to be well-educated people, not only for present but also for the future.
I can add that apart from techiques of studying , you taught us another point of view in life. You taught us how to be better people too.
Thank you so much
I will never forget you!
Romina

Act 2 scenes 4 and 5

"Crisis between Frank and Rita"
I think that Frank's feelings towards Rita have become stronger and stronger. He feels that Rita is more than his student, now she would be considered part of his life. She has strong influence on him and viceversa.
I have sympathy for Rita, mainly because she is so sincere and also she expresses her feelings naturally.
Regarding Rita's job, she would have given up it because she seems to be no interested on it any more.Adding that it can be another issue included in her own life's changes, also her desire to change her own name, in some way she would want to become another woman or have other identity.It can be added that Frank suggests her names including well- known people related to literature.
They have a discussion but I would think that they can not live without each other.

The "new" Rita

In these scenes, Frank finds it difficult to cope with the "new" Rita. Of course, as her teacher, he is partly responsable for what has happened, because teachers are expected to develop their pupils'potential.Frank is a bit surprised to see so many changes in Rita.
For isntance, Rita changes her way of speaking because she wants to practise vocabulary constantly in everyday situations.
Another change of Rita is towards the students, at first she was quite wary of them but now she talked to them about poems and authors in the lawn.
Regarding the essay, Frank told Rita that in her essay she interpreted the poem, which she was supposed to write,in a wrong way. But she insisted that she talked with the other students about the poem and wanted to give a second interpretation from it, apart from the "simple surface value" that is to say; the blossom.

Act 2 Scene 1 "Changes"

"Significant changes have taken place in Rita's life...She has been to Summer School and now lives in a flat with a friend"
When Rita said that the window "bleeding budge", I think that she means the window opened as a change, new air, in Frank's life. She continuing saying "you need air, Frank, the room needs airing" but at the same time, Frank wants the window closed. He wants limits in some way,a boundary between the interior and the exterior.
I would say that the scene ends with the words "You don't do Blake without doing innocence and experience because it would be related to both, Rita and Frank, and their own lives.I can add that Rita represents innocence while Frank represents experience.
It can be added that positive changes in Rita are related to her education and decisions in her own life, such as going to Summer School. I wouldn't say that she has negative changes up to now, because she is intelligent enough to learn from every mistake. Adding that Frank responds satisfactorily to her changes.

Act 1 Scene 7 and 8 "Decisions"

"Having been briefly tempted back to her old way of life, Rita resists and makes the momentous decision to leave her husband.... She must continue her education"
The characters in this play, Rita and Frank, have changed from student-teacher relationship to another one, in which their personal lifes seem to be involved. For instance, Rita's husband and her mother are being taking part in some way. Apart from that, Julia, Frank's wife also appears in this scene in Frank's words.
Rita did not go to Frank's dinner party because she thought that she could not behave and talked as those people in the party (Frank's guests). Also she supposed that she would have been the only person to be laughed at.
When her mother said that they could sing better songs than those in the pub, I think that Rita related those words to that moment in her life, in which she was trying to improve as a person.
The act ended "an" we start again because Rita wants to continue with her literature course, in spite of the fact that, it has been really difficult for her. I would say that she is taking all that process as an important challenge in her life.

Act 1 Scene 6"An apple and a can of soft drink"

Rita's cultural horizons are expanding and she proposes Frank a visit to an art gallery. Rita had gone to the theatre to see "Macbeth" by Shakespeare. Then, she went to Frank's studio to tell him about the play but she went there other day , not the day of her lessons. She considered "Macbeth" a fantastic play and the story a dead exciting one. What is more, she wants to do an essay on it.However, she only can use these words from the play in an essay as a quotation if she wants to develop the idea of the play.Because the words are specifically for this play.
I think that willy Russell offers Rita and Frank an apple and a can of soft drink as two symbols. The apple as a symbol of sin when refering to Adan and Eva. And the soft drink in order to soften up their feelings

Act 1 Scene 5 Rita and Frank in the process of learning

Rita says that the course is providing her with life itself. With this expression she wants to demonstrate how important is the course for her. On the other hand, her husband thinks really different from her,he burnt all her books because he does not want her to continue with her studies.However, she thinks that the situation with the books does not matter to her because she has the knowledge "inside her head".
Rita does not want to go to the pub with frank because she discovers that he stopped being a poet because of his adiction problem, in a way she wants to help him to stop drinking.
Frank is so reluctant to go to see the production of The Importance of Being Earnest, not because it is amateur, it was because he prefered going to the pub instead. In spite of that, he thinks Julia would be jealous if he goes to the theatre with Rita.

Act 1 Scenes 3 and 4 Discussions about Culture

In the first scene, Rita wrote an essay on one auhtor but with almost total reference to another author, also Frank noticed that her essay was really short. So he decided to tell Rita a story of the theology teacher, in order to make her realize that a clever and short answer is not necessarily the correct answer. In a way he tried to explained her that she had to span a bit more her essays and devote more time to do it, applying all the information that she had.
When Rita said "it makes me stronger coming here", I think that she would feel better by acquiring knowledge about culture in general, maybe she felt more secure than before coming to the lessons.Apart from that, she made comments about social issues, such as violence and economic problems as well that affected people's everyday life.
By the end of the two scenes Rita has learned mainly that she was able to write essays by taking into account Frank's advices. Also that she could put into practice her previous knowledge to perform the activities in the lessons.

Act 1 Scene 2 The lessons that Rita needs to learn

Education is one of the central themes of the play and I think that Rita has knowledge related to her experience in life but what she needs are systematic lessons. They would be connected with language or vocabulary in order for her to become cultured or cultivated. The lessons would help her to improve her use of language for instance.
In some way I can say that both, Frank and Rita, are learning from each other differents issues.
Rita thinks that Frank has good taste to decorate the room because everything is in the right place in her opinion. "A perfect mess". She also thinks that proper students are the ones who read and study. What do you think?

Educating Rita (Act 1 Scene1)

I have just started with the book Educating Rita by Willy Russell. It began introducing the main characters, Rita is a working class, twenty six - year- old and a hairdresser. She is supposed to have a baby by now, but she wants a better life so she decided to start a literature course in order to become more educated and culturally aware.
Frank is her tutor in his fifties and with a drink problem. During the first interview, she teaches him many things related to her experience in life, in this way we would interprete that she is not a stupid woman.

Final Post on Savater's book

I will try to make this entry more personal. While reading the book I experienced different feelings, I agreed with many ideas in several chapters, from the most interesting ideas to me I wrote in the previous entries.
The book also made me reflect about my life as human being.I thought about my experience as student, daughter and now as a teacher too.I try to improve my behaviour, my reactions, to be calm. But it is sometimes not an easy process.
Finally, the most important thing, according to Savater's words, is "to live a good live" with all that it implies. I might add that as teacher to be It will not enough to know only the subject, I should also know values, act according to them and transmit them to my students through actions or examples.

Apendice: Diez años despues: Ante el Nuevo Milenio

Fernado Savater tells us that even if the century changes the world remains more or less the same, similar people, similar problems, etc.We should try to be better as a person, as a member of a society or as a member of the same species. We would also bear in mind that we should work together in order to get the same aim, that is to say, to live in this world as better as possible!In addition to that, we have to respect everyone even if the other person is different from us, in this way we respect ourselves as human being too.

Epilogo: Tendras que pensartelo

"... Porque vivir no es una ciencia exacta, como las matematicas, sino un arte, como la musica. De la musica se pueden aprender ciertas reglas y se puede escuchar lo que han creado grandes compositores, pero si no tienes oido, ni ritmo, ni voz, de poco va a servirte todo eso.Con el arte de vivir pasa lo mismo: lo que puede enseñarse le viene muy bien a quien tiene condiciones, pero al "sordo" de nacimiento son cosas que le aburren o le lian aun mas de lo que esta. Claro que en este campo la mayoria de los sordos suelen serlo voluntariamente..." I related this part of the book to Learning as a long life process, we can learn as much as we want through our lives!
We can improve ourselves all the time , if we want!

Chapter 9 Elecciones Generales

What I highlighted in this chapter is when Fernando Savater says " Piensa en el hambre, que hace morir todavia a tantisimos millones de personas, o el subdesarrollo economico y educativo de muchos paises, o la pervivencia de sistemas politicos brutales que oprimen sin remilgos a su poblacion y amenazan a sus vecinos, o el derroche de dinero y ciencia en armamentos... Otro ejemplo: el militarismo, la inversion frenetica en armamento de recursos que podrian resolver la mayoria de las carencias que hoy se padecen en el mundo, el cultivo de la guerra agresiva( arte inmoral de suprimir al otro en lugar de intentar ponerse en su lugar)" And I related those words with the film I've just seen that is called "Fahrenheit" and it presents the ambitiuos plan of the United States' government during the war in Iraq, In my view,it is a country that spends a lot of money and technology on the development of the production of the weapons of mass- destruction instead of solving other more important problems that affect everyday people's life.In this case politics and Ethics are not closely related!

Chapter 8 Tanto Gusto

Fernando Savater wrote: "Como a mi juicio el puritanismo es la actitud mas opuesta que puede darse a la etica, no me oiras ni una palabra contra el placer ni por supuesto intentare de ningun modo que te averguences, aunque sea poquito, por el apetito de disfrutar lo mas posible con cuerpo y alma...." "si tardas mucho en pasarlo bien, terminas por pasar de pasarlo bien..." and I really agree with him, I also consider that it is closely related with the question of Enjoy the life, as he has been showing us in the previuos chapters. In addition to that he wrote "La etica consiste en apostar a favor de que la vida vale la pena, ya que hasta las penas de la vida valen la pena..." in this case he played with similar words which I think are true,I can add that we always learn something even from the wrong or incorrect things in life.Because life is a continuous process of learning!

Chapter 7: Ponte en su lugar

While reading the beginning of this chapter I started to relate it with a book we are reading for another subject, it is called "Lord of the flies". This book shows a period in the life of a group of children far away from civilization and how they become savages without grown ups and also without rules or limits. It represents a small society because all the characters of the book have different personalities and should live together and try to survive as best as they could in a desolate island. I would consider it similar to our society, we are all different but we have to be in contact to each other all the time and everyday.In addition to that we have to manage to live as better as possoble. PONTE EN TU LUGAR in my opinion means that we are all human and must treat others with respect only because they are humans too. Also we obtain what we give,if we treat other rudely we will receive almost the same kind of treatment. I always think about putting in the other shoes and trying to understand other people's behaviour and thoughts and consider the other person as real as me.This chapter would be the most interesting for me up to now!

Chapter 6: Aparece Pepito Grillo

I would relate this chapter with our conscience because we can not separate our bodies from it.It appears every time. On page 95 says...Uno puede ser imbecil para las matematicas y no serlo para la moral, es decir, para la buena vida. Y al reves: los hay que son linces para los negocios y unos perfectos cretinos para las cuestiones de etica... I think that not only as future teachers we should know the subject which we have to teach but also bear in mind values in order to live the good life! and transmit these values to our students too.For example if I respect them they will respect me as well. I may relate this with reciprocity. And on page 97 says... Si nadie te trata como humano, no es raro que vayas a lo bestia...Pero una vez concebido ese minimo, creo que el resto depende de la atencion y esfuerzo de cada cual...our first teachers and the most important ones are our parents;they are who first teach values through words and examples.I consider this as essential in the first years of our own lives. Then is a question of each individuals conscience.

chapter 5: Despierta baby!

I realized that in the previous chapters I almost wrote the same things because for me they were closely related.Sorry!
This chapter, number 5, connects things with people; it says that if we consider people like things, people will consider us like things too!For me the most important of my life are my family,friends and my pets that is why I do not have children yet.And I related this chapter with priorities, mine are what I mentioned before, and then career or courses, jobs and material things. The author says that We sometimes treat people as objects and as the result of that we recibe the same treatment and it does not help us to learn to live in society or to become more "human" and enjoy the good life that we are in this world to live! He also says that nobody can choose to be free for you, we, as people, are the only one who choose how to live our lives

Chapter 3 Haz lo que quieras

I related this chapter mainly with Freedom;freedom to choose but also knowing what our decision is about, for example, as students we are free to decide to study or not but we know that if we don't study, we'll obtain negative results from this choice. So I think that we have to learn to choose by ourselves, but for doing so we should know the consequences of our own choices too!According to this; I believe that we have to think twice what are we going to do before performing the actions and the reasons why we act in some way instead of other. It may be difficult sometimes for me to know what the correct decision would be, and I think that we never know the finally results of our decisions.

Chapter 4: Date la buena vida

I related this chapter first; with Freedom, as students for example, we are free to choose between study or not but the consequence of our decision is our own responsability too, second; we should prioritize our choices in life,and also know the reasons why we choose something instead of another thing, in my case I think twice before an important decision or what I really want to do. Finally and the most important way of communicate these decisions is through languaje, such as words, gestures, body postures and the different meanings that they convey.I think that we have to take all these items into account in order to "darnos la buena vida"

Chapter 2: Ordenes, costumbres y caprichos

We do things for three main reasons: first, because someone orders us to do it, second, because we should as we are accustomed and it is part of our life, and third, because we want without any purpose. Most of the time we do something because we think it is good for us but we also should take into account if it is appropriate for other people too, in order not to cause damage to others.
We have the right and the wrong side inside us, also we have to choose between them through all or lives

Chapter 1: De Que va la Etica

People can live in different ways, but we should know and distinguish what is right from what is wrong in order to live in society. Whereas what is right for many people would be wrong for others, and viceversa.
Our lives are in part the result of our own thoughts about these concepts.
We, people, as opposite to animals are free to decide and choose what to do or not, but we should remember that we live in society and we must respect each others. Finally, Ethics is the art of life or the knowledge of living.

Etica para Amador

Aviso antipedagogico - Prologo
I related the first part of the book with my primary and secondary education, because I was taught ethics mainly from the theological point of view as I attended classes in private and religious schools, but it is essential also to stimulate students to think freely obviously guiding them to do it so.
I also found very interesting some lines from the "prologo" which refered to the importance to teach our students to be confident on themselves in order to be better people in the future, of course we, as teachers, should let them know the tools to achieve their own goals in life.

romina2704

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