Teaching style

I think that if this was the way of teaching in modern society there would be a lot of people who grew up to be bad people. Because for some kids school is their only escape from their home. The personal relationships they have with their teachers is what in a sense gives them the strength to keep going. IF they were only taught fact and not given any life tools to take with them beyond school how could we expect them to make it in the real world? also, having a connection with students outside of the education stand point is very important. I'm not saying it has to be a very deep connection but some type of personal connection. That is needed for students to feel comfortable and to be able to get the "facts" they need from school. The idea that the headmistress of Wellseley college was similar to the extract from Charles Dickens and it worked until she met someone who refused to conform to live the way she was told.

Theme

My favorite theme of the story was the idea of standing out. Miss Watson was very independent and refused to conform and she stood out because she didn't live by the same moral and rules as other girls did. These girls looked up to women that were housewives and typical women and that wasn't her. Yet she had probably the deepest impact on them.

Mona Lisa Smile

I think that some women in the movie will settle for what is expected. I think that some will stand up and change the way the women of this time live. I think that there will be some that surprise you and some that will do the expected. I think that Julian Roberts character is trying to get these women to see and understand that they do not have to conform to society. She wants them to open their eyes and see that they don't have to just be a housewife. Some are open to the idea others not so much.

High school vs. College

I think that college and high school exams are different in many ways. In high many teacher give a review or a study guide. Then they turn around and give multiple choice tests. This in a sense is spoon feeding the material to students. Students are no longer thinking on a higher level they are relying on memory. Students are reminded when they will be taking a test. If teachers don't give a review they most likely tell student what will be on the test. In college students are not always given a study guide it all depends on the professor. Therefore, students always know what to expect which presents a challenge. College students aren't reminded constantly of when they have a test sometimes they aren't reminded at all because they are given a course schedule. So if they don't keep up with course schedule then they may not even know when they have a test. So high school is much easier than college by a long shot.