It's 2023: Students Hate Movies

Last tended: January 22nd, 2023

To the Lost 🫗 #^֎

I loved movie classes. They were no-brainers! And aside from their convenience, I sincerely believe films possess unique educational value. Kids and I got to chill, lay back, hopefully learn a thing or two, and we all walked away happy. At one point, I swear, screening something was considered a reward, a proverbial carrot! Not anymore… R.I.P easy lesson, for you are gone but never forgotten. 🫶

I may not live to teach, but I take pride in molding my classes to be both educational and entertaining. I do not put myself at the mercy of every single whim my students have, but I take note when I see problems. And gradually, over time, it’s become that I can no longer ignore the majorities detest for watching something. I don’t know about you, dear reader, but this attitude legitimately surprises me…

What Happened? #^֎

Well, I think I’d be wise to bet that this change cannot be blamed on any one thing in particular; but rather a conglomeration, perhaps each contributing in different ways and, as a whole, pushing forth this general sentiment. Here are my top picks:

These ain’t the 90’s anymore. #^֎

Media is… beyond over-saturated. You could spend countless hours consuming it and ingest nothing of value. It exists in more forms than ever, from video games to live-streams, the interactivity of those different mediums surely reduces the disposition to engage with something as passive as film. Combine the omnipresence with its evolution to invoke a more profound, more intense connection and its little wonder some random video provokes groans of “torture and suffering”.

Social media and short attention spans. #^֎

“Surely you could just let us be on our phones, Mr. Teacher Sir?”. Forget being born with a silver spoon, try being handed an iPad five seconds after you pop out. Attempt navigating a “digital native’s” friend circle without involving multiple social media apps and the exploitative, corporate middle-men accompanying them. Struggle to contain the psychological effects from billions of dollars invested into engineering addictive, mind-altering, algorithmic experiences. And THEN tell me how attention spans could possibly be the only victims of such a life.

Teaching has… improved? #^֎

Alright, hear me out: I may be a tad arrogant in believing that some of my lessons run circles around those of some of my colleagues, but even then I’d like to think that the symbolic whole of us run ORBITS around the teaching of yesterthen. I desperately NEED for the innumerable amount of time and money education has spent on “Professional Development”, and workshops, and consultants and certifications, to have meant SOMETHING.

That we, and our methods, are just better now at reaching the students. That we value interactivity like discussions and debate, cooperation and group work. That these and future generations of kids subconsciously consider the idea of mindlessly viewing a film to be a waste of time and insult to their potential for intricate thought and elaborate inquiry.

That we are not just victims of changing times and infinite greed, but that we have also, however minutely, made an impact!

One can hope. #^֎

This blog post is part of Bring Back Blogging^֎. A project attempting to encourage individuals to both write and exercise ownership over their content. During the month of January, participants are posting at least 3 times. This is my 2nd submission, and my second ever blog post honestly 😅. Mercy appreciated 🙏.

Comments Section #^֎