My History of Movies in the Classroom

As a child I was not a very good reader and I did not do very well in school. My teachers moved me into a group where I had to do extra reading and writing classes just so I could keep up with my regular class. This continued for a long time until I was able to read a book in class and then watch the film afterwards.

I read Little House on the Prairie when I was in 3rd grade. I had a hard time visualizing what was going on in the book and so my teacher let us watch clips from the movie and TV show so we could get a better understanding of what we were reading. This was one of the first times I was able to enjoy a book. Before then I hated reading because it was hard for me to read something that did not interest me.

In 5th grade I read The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. I had to do a book report on it. I love this book now but when I first read it I was not as interested in it. But at that time there was a cartoon movie of the book and I was able to watch it and get a better understanding and appreciation for what was happening in the book.

Once I got into Intermediate school, the teachers became more lenient about showing the class a movie about what we had been reading or learning about. During this time I grew to love history and especially history movies. My classes allowed me to expand my mind through film.

It wasn't until my Freshman year in High School when I was in my Honors World History class that I was able to watch films based on actual events. My teacher thought it would be a good idea to show what it might have been like during certain time periods. We also read The Odyssey in his class and he showed us the movie. The movie really helped me and the class get through the Epic Poem by Homer. It brought his words to life. This class later went on to watch Schindler's List. This movie shows what it was like during the Holocaust and nobody in my class had ever seen anything like it before. The movie had been out for sometime but we were all too young to see it. My teacher did not show any of the sex scenes but he showed us the rest of the movie.

Ever since then I have been reading books I do not like or understand and watch their movie version of the book or the time period to help me better understand the book or the time period. I had another professor have us watch the 10th Anniversary Version of Les Miserables just so we could understand the characters and see some of what the characters are going through in the book by Victor Hugo.

I will always strive to learn and gain as much knowledge as I can. Going to the Movies and reading books help me do that. Some teachers do not think that watching movies in class will hep their students. I say that is just them being blind. Kids need to be able to imagine and see things that are not just on the page. This is why I am so steadfast in my beliefs of why movies and school go hand in hand.