Our discussion concerning Sophie's Choice led us first to talk about the mother. Specifically, we talked about making split-second decisions. In the clip, Sophie had to choose between sending her son or daughter away to an concentration camp. She doesn't have time to think through the decision because it's either one or both of them. She chose to send the girl away, which made us wonder, "How will she ever live with this decision? What could have been going through her mind as she made that decision? How will she ever forgive herself?"
We also discussed the biblical reference and its significance and linking to other texts in general. Specifically, we discussed text to text, text to world, and text to self.
In regards to age appropriateness, we decided that it would be best to use this with older high school students. They would be more ready to look at things through the eyes of a parent than a freshman or sophomore. The idea of split-second decisions would also be important at that age because they are just getting ready to go on their own and have full accountablity for the first time. They will get a better understanding of the ramifications even seemingly small decisions can have on their lives years later.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
7 comments:
The decision of the mother was also of concern to our group. We felt her decision was not really a choice at all.
The biblical reference and taking this text to compare/contrast status is an interesting way to handle the material. I like it.
Finally, I thought that this clip could be used as a discussion starter or writing prompt for 8th graders.
Why did she choose the daughter? Why? Why? Why?
If we take into account the Biblical reference, and the fact that Sophie was privileged, then the office should have sent both children. If he truly believed what he said (the Biblical reference) then it would have been better for both children to go. As it were, in my opinion, he knew he was being sadistic and he enjoyed it. What would motivate a person to do that, I am not sure. That is what I want to find out.
While the clip itself is not appropriate for young students, the idea of using a clip from a movie to demonstrate a conversation-starting event is developmentally appropriate at all age-levels. Sometimes even just a few minutes of a movie or video can inspire a wealth of discussion and lots of writing. Teacher Tube is like You Tube, but is easier to access on public school internet since the videos are typically screened and deemed "school appropriate", while the vast assortment of videos on You Tube are not always classroom-ready.
I liked what you had to say about the issue of making important decisions at a moments notice. It would certainly be helpful for young people to consider all of the moral and ethcial perimeters that have to be set before someone can make a good decision, if a good decision even exists, in a moments notice. In other words, what informed Sophie's decision?
The biblical reference was obviously taken out of context, so that could be another discussion. I agree with the age appropriateness of this clip, but it made me think of other clips we could use in order to use this activity for our 8th graders.
I agree this clip is to powerful esp. for a middle school students. The Biblical reference is a twist I had not thought of but one I would hesitate to bring up in a public school setting.
Why place this kind of suffering before anyone? The fact that this sort of thing actually happened in our history is enough to make it worthy of discussion and action. I like the action-oriented approach to teaching this material.
We must not allow this to continue to happen over and over again!
Post a Comment