Disney in the Classroom
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 Remember when you were in school and a vacation was just a week away? Chances are that the last thing on your mind was your school work; which those pesky teachers still wanted you to do. This pesky teacher has learned that an educational/entertainment compromise is the best choice for these pre-vacation weeks. So before our last vacation we began a study of the Civil Rights Movement and watched Remember the Titans .

The Titans at Gettysburg (see how well the movie relates to U.S. History ;o)

My students loved Remember the Titans when it was in theaters. They also enjoyed watching and discussing the movie when it came out on DVD. We haven’t watched Remember the Titans for the last two years since it was possible to discuss the movie without taking the time to watch it in class. The kids were not as familiar with the movie this year so I decided to watch it again. This turned out to be a good choice. Even though most of my students had seen the movie several times; they watched it closely and wanted to discuss how it had affected them. Remember the Titans may seem like a simple, even corny, movie. Yet, it is a movie that touches my students deeply.

The Summerville Bears

Perhaps this is because football plays an important role in the lives of Summerville High students. How we do in football sets the tone for the school year. Students attend the games in large numbers. Their mood on Monday morning is a reflection of our team’s performance on Friday night. This high level of interest gives football coaches great power over their players. Young men will change their behavior to become better football players. They will stop partying, do better in school, eat better, lift weights, run everyday, and will even learn to get along with people they don’t like.