[MOSAIC] Comprehension in general

[Renee]

Bill,

Do they play video games? Could they report on those?

Renee

On Mar 10, 2007, at 2:19 PM, Bill Roberts wrote:

> Hi,
> You haven't heard from me in awhile because I've met my match with this
> year's 8th graders. They don't read, they don't do homework, they  
> don't do
> anything.  They have no hobbies, interests, opinions.  They are  
> zombies who
> come into the classroom, sit, and take up space.  For the first time  
> ever, I
> can say they are not any smarter or better prepared than they were in  
> the
> beginning of school...and this is confirmed by every 8th grade teacher  
> I
> work with!  But I've discovered something that at least explains what  
> is
> going on, even though it offers no solutions:
>
> They have NO comprehension at all.
>
> I assigned movie reviews thinking it might get them to try and do  
> something.
> I gave a list of the AFI Top 100 Films of all time, plus a list of the  
> top
> 250 foreign films of all time.  The best films ever made.  I hoped they
> might discover a new world by seeing classics like CASABLANCA or GONE  
> WITH
> THE WIND or even SILENCE OF THE LAMBS.  Was I wrong.  Most couldn't  
> even
> watch a film because they didn't want to make the effort.  They had 9  
> weeks
> to find a film, watch it, review it, and they didn't do it.  So I made  
> it an
> assignment for the next grading period...I wasn't going to give up.   
> Same
> assignment, but this time they had to do an oral review and talk about  
> the
> movie.  My plan was for them to use their reading strategies and apply  
> them
> to a movie....
>
> 18 weeks of cajoling, reminding, and pleading, and about half did it.   
> The
> ones who did, though, couldn't remember how the movie ended.  They  
> could
> tell me in detail about the first 10-15 minutes of the films, but they
> couldn't tell me the story, who the characters were, how the movie
> ended...nothing.  I thought they might have fallen asleep, or stopped
> watching, but all said they watched the entire movie....they just  
> couldn't
> remember anything.  Some even remembered wrong endings like the girl  
> who
> said the shark survived the ending of JAWS.  Her logic?  The shark was  
> in
> JAWS 2 and 3, so it must have survived.  One girl couldn't remember  
> anything
> about THE WIZARD OF OZ, not the yellow brick road, Dorothy, the  
> music,...she
> couldn't even tell me the name of the land they were in!  One advanced
> student told me he watched WIZARD OF OZ, but he couldn't explain it  
> because
> he got lost and confused.  Another told about the Lion, Scarecrow, and  
> the
> Robot.  Most could not stay focused on 90 minutes of film long enough  
> to
> process and remember it.  Another, who loved CASABLANCA, couldn't  
> remember
> what state Casablanca was located in.  According to another, Clarice  
> was
> interested in Hannibal Lechter because she was writing a book on him.
> Another watched MY FAIR LADY, but hated it because she hates musicals.  
>  I
> asked why did she pick it when she had over 300 to choose from and she  
> said
> "it sounded interesting."
>
> If they can't comprehend a movie, then what hope do we have of them
> comprehending a book?
>
> Bill
>
>
>
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