As one of my study breaks today, I decided to watch some television. Normally I will watch Food Network and pray that an episode of Cupcake Wars or Paula Deen is on. However today I decided to feed my inner child and watch some cartoons. Spongebob bores me so all that was left was Avatar: the last Air Bender or Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide. I chose Ned's Declassified thinking maybe I might learn something that I could apply to my overall college experience. The episode was pretty boring honestly. Ned's Declassified is about the main character named Ned Bigby and his overall experience in middle school. He has two friends, one named Cookie - I don't know his real name- and the other is named Mosley. Ned is like your average middle school student, Cookie is the extreme nerd of the bunch, and Mosley is the athletic all-around girl. On the show, they encounter cliche scenarios from when you have a crush on someone, to cliques, to bullies.
The episode that I watched dealt with popularity and teachers. On the popularity part I zoned out a bit, yet I put forth some interest in the teacher portion. Ned and the gang moved up another grade so they were nervous about their new teachers. Mosley especially was nervous about one particular teacher because she had heard many rumors about how mean she was. On the other hand, the teacher had heard several rumors about how smart Mosley was and the fact that she was very gifted in everything she does. So both the teacher and Mosley came into the class with their preconceived notions about the other person and it was a disaster. Each person ended up disliking the other, when they knew nothing about each other. However, in the end they finally addressed what they had heard about the other person and they resolved everything.
Now, I know the show is cheesy yet it had a good message about pre-judging people. I know sometimes I put my teachers in a box as if that is all they are capable of doing, is solely teaching. Its like when you first saw your high school teacher out at the mall. You didn't really want to say hello to them, yet your parents were always the first to point out, "Oh, isn't that...." My mother was a master at doing this to me and then I'd awkwardly stand and listen to my mother and my teacher converse. Why do we put teachers in these boxes? If we have put teachers in boxes, I'm sure that they have thought the same thing about us students. Its not like we mean to do this, but if everyone says Professor Brown is mean then most likely we will assume he/she is without forming an opinion for ourselves. Keeping an open mindset has been a juggle for me to keep while deciding on which classes to take. Course forum gives a pretty good description of professors, yet I need to make my own opinions as well. If only there was an individualized course forum on life would things be different.
Karis,
ReplyDeleteTelevision can be used for educational purposes. For example, the show House MD was a show that briefly educated viewers on diseases that can occur. House, M.D.: The Official Guide to the Hit Medical Drama by Ian Jackman is a book that explains the research that goes into making the show. The book was very detailed about what occurs behind the scenes. Jackman’s book truly has some interesting parts, but it also had a lot of dull parts as well. I think one distraction that was present and obvious throughout the book was the grammar errors that were present. Needless to say, I will most likely not read another book by this author again. I did learn a lot though. Like the Internet, television depends on what the user decides to view. If you want to view something that will educate you, you can. If not, then there are plenty of shows and/or websites that suit these needs as well. I personally love Food Network too. I learned that culinary arts are just that. It is an art. The shows on Food Network provided exposure to culinary arts that I just would not get in my normal, everyday life.
I think the episode of “Ned Declassified School Survival Guide” was very educational. You are right. We prejudge our professors all the time. Sometimes those expectations can interfere with our relationships with our professors and even our school performance. So, I think it is important to loosely base decisions on what you hear about a professor. Sometimes the toughest professors are the nicest ones or the ones we learn the most from.