Trying Not to Kill My Student Over Into the Wild

HermanBloom · July 2013

So I have my students read Into the Wild for my English Comp class I teach at community college. As a treat, I sometimes show the film. We watched it today and about a half hour in a student, who I really like, says the one thing wrong with this movie is they got this stupid singer to do the soundtrack. It's that lame Eddie Vedder from Pearl Jam. And then he mocked his singing. I rebutted and made fun of his musical taste; he just wrote a review of Green Day's Uno praising it as an assignment. He then said and I quote, "Pearl Jam's almost as bad as Nickelback." I had to muster all I could from not destroying him right then and there. So throughout the rest of the film, he would always laugh and mocked Eddie when music came on. I told him that I would be buying an extra ticket and dragging his sorry ass to Pearl Jam in October.

dana_b · July 2013

Oh no you won't! He doesn't DESERVE to go! I like your thinking though.

I would have dropped his grade by one just for his lack of taste.

rr165892 · July 2013

Sounds like a"F" teach.

JTH · July 2013

Sounds like the kid was just trying to push your buttons.

Mission accomplished.

HermanBloom · July 2013

JTH wrote:

Sounds like the kid was just trying to push your buttons.

Mission accomplished.

Maybe at the end, but he had no idea I liked Pearl Jam before the initial comments.

DriftingByTheStorm · July 2013

ouch.
that kid ...
oh man,
well, at least ... he isn't a good charlotte fan?

i'm gonna go out on a limb and make the sad guess that more than a few kids in the class actually laughed with this kid as he mocked e.v throughout the movie?

sign of the times

and imho dragging the unsuspecting to a pj show is effort=fail.
you can't love pearl jam without understanding the lyrics,
and you sure as fuck aren't going to learn them at a live show.
without the lyrics it is just some pretentious mumbler backed by a "good" band (i've also gotten, by a "pretty good" lead guitarist, and a "really good" drummer, so fwiw) playing too loud for way too long. (what those i've taken seem to experience at times)

walkintoyourgarden · July 2013

When I was a junior in high school we read & watched Into The Wild for my lang-comp class. Everyone seemed to think the music was lame or funny too. I was happily singing along, of course.

Lights Out Goodnight · July 2013

Justifiable homicide?

Cosmo · July 2013

I may be wrong, but isn't English Composition is a subjective class? I mean, is there a right answer to the questions... or doesn't the subject resolve his/her own perspective of the object, in this case, the literary work of 'Into the Wild'? Sort of like art... we can all look at the same painting, for example, Van Gogh's 'Starry Night' and come away with our own views of it. Some of those views may be, 'I don't like it because it's all blurry and not very realistic'. Is that view point wrong?
And what is the definative authority on what music is best? Who is the governing body that states whether Green Day or Pearl Jam is better? It's that like trying to rank a better painter, Van Gogh or Rembrandt?
You like Pearl Jam and he like Green Day. It's all subjective, isn't it? Why try to form him to your perspective, rather than letting him find his own?
...
I think that's what learning is all about... finding those things you like... to spur your interests.

HermanBloom · July 2013

Cosmo wrote:

I may be wrong, but isn't English Composition is a subjective class? I mean, is there a right answer to the questions... or doesn't the subject resolve his/her own perspective of the object, in this case, the literary work of 'Into the Wild'? Sort of like art... we can all look at the same painting, for example, Van Gogh's 'Starry Night' and come away with our own views of it. Some of those views may be, 'I don't like it because it's all blurry and not very realistic'. Is that view point wrong?
And what is the definative authority on what music is best? Who is the governing body that states whether Green Day or Pearl Jam is better? It's that like trying to rank a better painter, Van Gogh or Rembrandt?
You like Pearl Jam and he like Green Day. It's all subjective, isn't it? Why try to form him to your perspective, rather than letting him find his own?
...
I think that's what learning is all about... finding those things you like... to spur your interests.

You're taking it too seriously; of course it was all in jest and to each his own, but this is a pearl jam board and I thought many would get the kick out of it. But come on saying, PJ is just better than Nickleback is clearly wrong. Of course I don't care what he likes and dislikes; it won't affect my view of him as a person or student. But I still will argue there is such a thing as better art.

It's a subjective course to a point. Most of it is learning different writing styles and backing up your positions through solid evidence. He loved the book and the film, but just hated the music and the fact that Kristen Stewart was in the film.

LloydXmas · July 2013

Shitty movie. Good soundtrack

Cosmo · July 2013

HermanBloom wrote:

You're taking it too seriously; of course it was all in jest and to each his own, but this is a pearl jam board and I thought many would get the kick out of it. But come on saying, PJ is just better than Nickleback is clearly wrong. Of course I don't care what he likes and dislikes; it won't affect my view of him as a person or student. But I still will argue there is such a thing as better art.

It's a subjective course to a point. Most of it is learning different writing styles and backing up your positions through solid evidence. He loved the book and the film, but just hated the music and the fact that Kristen Stewart was in the film.

...
I didn't mean it to be an arguement... I just wanted some clarification as to what is the criteria that states which is better and which is worse. For example, on a Pearl Jam board, everyone says Pearl Jam is better. But, on a Green Day board, do the same results apply? There really isn't a clearly, unbiased objective method to come to one conclusion or another. Art is subjective... there is no rating system that clearly states what consttutes good art versus bad art. Art exists for Art's sake.
It was like my high school English teacher who loved James Taylor, Carole King and Simon and Garfunkel... clearly hated my love of David Bowie, Alice Cooper and Black Sabbath. He told me that the music of his choice will influence millions and live for generations while the music I like would fade away after graduation. He may have been right about the influence of Taylor, King and Simon... but, also wrong on his assessment of Bowie, Alice and Sabbath. James Taylor isn't better than David Bowie and vice versa. It all depends upon the person's personal preference.
...
Regarding the film version of 'Into The Wild'... probably not a good depiction because of the fact that the actors are tied to the characters... meaning Kristen Stewart and her 'Twilight' pop culture quagmire pollute the character she portrayed in the storyline. Sort of like the way people will refer to Gregory Peck in 'To Kill A Mockingbird', rather than Atticus Finch. He doesn't see Kristen Stewart's character... he see Kristen Stewart.
I think it's good that you make them read the book... rather than just watch the movie. The reader gets to create the image of the character.

Trying Not to Kill My Student Over Into the Wild

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