{"content":{"sharePage":{"page":0,"digests":[{"id":"34401212","dateCreated":"1297950131","smartDate":"Feb 17, 2011","userCreated":{"username":"rachelwahl2","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/rachelwahl2","imageUrl":"https:\/\/ssl.wikicdn.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"},"monitored":false,"locked":false,"links":{"self":"https:\/\/moreorganizedlesscontrolled.wikispaces.com\/share\/view\/34401212"},"dateDigested":1532768706,"startDate":null,"sharedType":"discussion","title":"An Education ","description":"Please share your responses to the movie!","replyPages":[{"page":0,"digests":[{"id":"34728110","body":"In this movie the main character Jenny raises the question "why do we need education and why does education contribute so greatly to success and happiness in life?" These questions seem to be present in the minds of every high school and college student, yet they never seem to be answered. I believe there are two types of education. Classroom learning and experiencing life. In the movie "An Education," Jenny received both types of education in this movie. She spent the majority of her life in an all girls prep school studying subjects such as english and latin. She lives an extremely sheltered life with her future completely mapped out for her already. Yet, Jenny receives a different education yet equally as important. She learns that the adult life that she always thought of as care-free and glamorous is actually a lot more complicated than she thought. She discovers the troubles of adulthood such as not having enough money and that everyone she meets is not completely trust worthy. She puts her trust completely in David who in the end betrays her. Personally, I do believe that education contributes greatly to success. Yet, success requires the perfect amount of class room learning and real life experiences. Children go to school to learn the fundamentals of education yet they are not truly educated until they have lived in the real adult world where everything is not as a fair or easy as it is in a classroom. At the end of the movie, Jenny realizes that class room and university education is just a stepping stone on the way to her own success.","dateCreated":"1298492507","smartDate":"Feb 23, 2011","userCreated":{"username":"cterry614","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/cterry614","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/pic\/1296521576\/cterry614-lg.jpg"}},{"id":"34728120","body":"I thought the way the father views education for women is terrible. Doing all of that tedious, boring work just to get into college in order to catch the attention of a man is so bad. And then once you do all of that work, to just forget it all to settle down with a man is twisted. I'm not saying marriage is bad, but I don't see why a woman has to stay at home all of the time to raise a kid. Job on the side?
\nI loved the teacher. She seemed very capable of convincing girls to make the right choice, kind of even though she was super strict looking, although I'm 99% sure that if David hadn't been married with a kid, Jenny would have married him. I think she would have become so bored though. David didn't know anything about what Jenny did. The only people they hung out with was the other couple and the woman was an idiot.
\nIt was also suprising that David's wife knew that he had affairs but she didn't leave him. Clearly the 60s were a different time for women. They had to rely on men because they had no rights.","dateCreated":"1298492516","smartDate":"Feb 23, 2011","userCreated":{"username":"ksheridan2","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/ksheridan2","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/pic\/1296056657\/ksheridan2-lg.jpg"}},{"id":"34728242","body":"I like the part when Jenny was in the principals office and she asks the principle to tell her why they need an education. I thought this was a good question to ask at the time because Jenny thinks that she can get all that she needs just from a relationship with David. Jenny thinks that growing up does not come from schooling but from experiences. But by the end of the film Jenny has changed her mind and wants to grow up by going to school.
\nI really liked the movie because it brought up a lot of the topics we talked about in class and I thought it was a great way to compliment our discussions.","dateCreated":"1298492653","smartDate":"Feb 23, 2011","userCreated":{"username":"lydia.karlsson11","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/lydia.karlsson11","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/pic\/1298492904\/lydia.karlsson11-lg.jpg"}},{"id":"34826016","body":"Lone Scherfig\u2019s film masterpiece, An Education, is a fabulous coming of age tale of an intellectual girl, who, by the strike of fate, meets a mature man who alters her life indefinitely. Oxford bound Jenny Mellor is at the top in her class, an accomplished cello player and a model child. Jenny is fully knowledgeable of everything she has learned in school however is sheltered when it comes to real world experience. Yearning for a taste of culture, Jenny dreams of one day reaching her dream of reading English at Oxford University. When Jenny meets Mr. David Goldman, her education truly begins. The wealthy Goldman introduces Jenny to a new fascinating world, which she has never experienced. Jenny must deal with the scrutiny from the people around her as she becomes engulfed in her new, enriched life. Many disapprove of her involvement with David, however he represents everything, which Jenny so longed for. It is moving to watch, as Jenny must learn, first hand, great life lessons that many people never get to learn. This education is something completely converse to what she is normally used to and Jenny soaks everything up like a sponge.
\nThis film challenges the idea of what an education truly is and forced me to reflect on my own education and experiences. After watching the movie for a second time I asked myself if my so called \u201clife experiences\u201d actually attributed to shaping me into a more worldly person. I fully enjoyed every second of this movie and immediately felt a connection with the main character Jenny. I believe she represents the common teenage girl who is educated, empowered and curious of the world around her. Life is an education, the mistakes made and lessons learned all add to an over all life experience which shape us humans into the complex beings that we become over time.
\nMy personal opinion is that education, in and out of the classroom, is crucial to the make up of a person. As children grow and attend school, it is imperative that they are able to relate what they learn in the classroom with the real world. The information that is collected in the classroom supply the building blocks for what is experienced in the real world. Although some may say that street smarts and book smarts are two completely different things; personally I believe these two things coexist hand in hand. Without the background knowledge of history or cultures we would not be able and interact with others from different places without being rude or ignorant of other customs. With respect to the grand debate over classroom education verses real world education; personally I believe there is no debate, both are necessary for a fully functioning person to exist in our modern day society.","dateCreated":"1298604472","smartDate":"Feb 24, 2011","userCreated":{"username":"bernaburger","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/bernaburger","imageUrl":"https:\/\/ssl.wikicdn.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"}},{"id":"34828852","body":"In the movie, An Education, a young girl realizes being stuck behind a desk is not the way to live her life to the fullest. Jenny is a senior in high school. She is a star student, musically talented, and prepared to follow her father\u2019s plan for her to attend Oxford University. That is until she met David, a 30-something man who takes a special interest in her. He broadens her horizons of the culture and fulfillment of life beyond the classroom. David takes Jenny to Paris, dog races, and fancy restaurants. He exposes her to the feeling of love and adulthood. Jenny begins to question her future of college due to the happiness she feels traveling and living carefree with David. She quits school and decides to marry David, continuing the life of luxury. She soon realizes that it was all too good to be true when she realizes David betrayed her and that he is, in fact, married with children. She then understands the importance of her education and childhood and does everything she can to get back her previous life.
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\nI believe this movie taught a lot of great messages. The three I think were most prominent were: cherishing childhood, embracing culture, and not taking advantage of the education given to you. Jenny was quick to grow up. At the first chance she got, she rushed into adulthood. This movie teaches that you need to not grow up quicker than you have to. Embrace the time you have as a child, relying on parents, breaking curfew, and sleeping late on the weekends. Don\u2019t take childhood for granted \u2013 it will be over quicker than you think. I\u2019m especially realizing it this year. Since I was 10 I\u2019ve been eager to go to college. As senior year came and college became something really real and really soon, I\u2019ve been craving my childhood. I wish I could just stay like it is right now \u2013 senior year with my friends with no cares in the world. An Education really exemplifies this idea.
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\nAnother lesson it teaches is embracing culture. Although in the end Jenny\u2019s abandonment of her education to delve into the culture of the real world with David was seen as a mistake, I think it also shows you the importance of having that culture. Jenny wouldn\u2019t have abandoned her education if she were exposed to it in the first place. Everyone needs a balance between their work or education and doses of the real world and the culture around them. I believe a good example of this is in overprotective parents. Parents who keep their children in a bubble and don\u2019t let them go anywhere on the weekends without a million questions and making sure nothing will go wrong are actually doing their children a disservice. Without making mistakes and being exposed to other people making mistakes, when they grow up and are exposed to those types of things, they will not know how to handle it. They will either shy away from it for the rest of their lives or go crazy and not know how to control themselves.
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\nThe final important lesson in An Education is not taking advantage of the education provided for you. Like Jenny, our student body is extremely fortunate in our education. Our parents gave us the best education we could possibly get. The movie shows just how important that education is. Although at times it is hard work, and sometimes some of the work seems useless, the overall education shapes you as a person and is a great thing to have. We should never take it for granted despite some of the down sides it may have.
\nAn Education was a great movie and taught great lessons for people of all ages, but especially for teenagers still getting an education and starting to have experiences and make mistakes.","dateCreated":"1298608843","smartDate":"Feb 24, 2011","userCreated":{"username":"kbell5493","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/kbell5493","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/pic\/1296056690\/kbell5493-lg.jpg"}},{"id":"34848082","body":"I was not really a fan of the movie, An Education. I really enjoyed the setting in London with the \u201cclassic\u201d family that is very focused on their smart high school daughter. Although, I found that Jenny\u2019s new relationship with a much older man seemed unrealistic. I didn\u2019t like the fact that her new love, David, even convinced Jenny\u2019s strict parents to allow her to go places with him. Jenny was so young and innocent before she met David and I feel like he really took away her childhood. She was so focused on going to Oxford and this one guy stepped in her way and she fell for the trap.
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\nThis is a big topic for many teens in our society today. Should we constantly be working to get accepted to a great university and miss out on other things if life? Jenny was forced to choose between love and her education. For a young sixteen year old girl, they is a foggy area because love sounds much for interesting and exciting, especially if its love with an older man like David.
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\nOverall, the movie had a good story line and it definitely relates to our class theme of schooling. Is it really worth it? Why do our teachers and parents constantly guide us to the next step? Every since we enter Kindergarten, we are always \u201cgetting ready\u201d for the next big step in our lives? Jenny is a perfect example of the smart daughter with strict parents and she reminded me a lot of many Agnes Irwin girls. We are constantly swamped with schoolwork, sports, community service activities, and several other extracurriculars. Why do we do this? Because our society claims that these extra activities will gain us acceptance into very prestigious colleges. But who came up with this idea? What happened to the idea of working hard for yourself and not for your future college? This movie was an eye-opener for me and I hope that many people get the chance to watch it. I did not enjoy the film but I did like how the director shed light on the problems with our society regarding schooling.","dateCreated":"1298650352","smartDate":"Feb 25, 2011","userCreated":{"username":"kateyduffy","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/kateyduffy","imageUrl":"https:\/\/ssl.wikicdn.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"}},{"id":"35721138","body":"The film An Education was very realistic and relevant to this day even though it was set in the 1960s. Jenny was at the point in her life when she thought she deserved independence. As a senior in high school, her first major decision which she really had a say in was upon her: college. She aspired to go to Oxford, but she also wanted to have fun with her life. The real question is what makes someone intelligent. Do you think someone\u2019s smart because he\/she was valedictorian of his\/her high school or is a more culturally educated person more intelligent?
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\nI believe that one without the other is almost useless. What good is it to be able to write a ten page paper about Latin, a language not even spoken in today\u2019s world, when you don\u2019t know what the world is like outside of your own small town? Intelligence, wisdom, and even maturity come from experiences, a mixture of experience. Jenny was not very experienced when it came to things outside of school. She was introduced to a new way of as she watched David steal for a living, and accompanied him to many fancy parties and performances. However, she obviously did not understand that David wasn\u2019t right for her. She made an immature and unintelligent decision when she decided to drop out of school and accept David\u2019s proposal of marriage. After all the studying she had done, all the grades she worked for, she had been wasting her time because now, it all meant nothing. . A few days later Jenny found out that David was married and all of her plans were destroyed. Now she had no formal education and no one to teach her about life outside of the classroom. When Jenny realized she had lost it all, she blamed her father, saying that it was his fault for letting her drop out. Jenny\u2019s reaction showed her true immaturity. She was unwilling to take responsibility for her own poor decisions. After pushing away from her parents so much for her independence, she acted as though it was their fault and they should have protected her like a child.
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\nJenny not being able to take responsibility showed that neither her schooling thus far, nor the time she spent with David made her mature and grown up. It was satisfying to see that in the end she decided to redo her final year of secondary school and she got accepted into Oxford. I believe her decision to slow down her life was a wise one and showed that she had grown up since her involvement with David.","dateCreated":"1299859142","smartDate":"Mar 11, 2011","userCreated":{"username":"kittenmccollum","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/kittenmccollum","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/pic\/1296056649\/kittenmccollum-lg.jpg"}},{"id":"35920084","body":"Personally, I really enjoyed An Education. I first knew I would love the film, when I learned it was inspired by a true story. This film, based in the 1960\u2019s explores the meaning of education. It brings up a very important question, on whether a truly fulfilled education is formed through a classroom education or formed through an experiential education. Although, I believe Jenny\u2019s parents should have guided Jenny into continuing with her Catholic school education, I feel Jenny was right to question the motives of a classroom education verse an experiential education. So the real question is\u2026Was is right for Jenny to form a romantic relationship with David and leave her studies behind? Although, I am a strong believer in education, I respect Jenny for stepping away from education and wanting to explore the culture around her.
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\nIn the beginning of the film, David seemed like an intelligent, successful and sincere man. Because of these characteristics, I understand why Jenny enjoyed spending time with him. He treated her well, and exposed her to a whole new, exciting world. David exposed Jenny to everything she truly enjoyed. He took her to art shows, on luxury trips and to extravagant dinners. Personally I really liked David\u2019s personality in the beginning of the film, but I guess it\u2019s true when people say you can\u2019t trust anyone. Not only did David betray Jenny and her hopes for the future, but he also betrayed her parents. I was so happy to see Jenny back at Oxford at the end of the movie. Anyone watching the movie could tell that Jenny would have a very successful and fulfilled future. I love her quote at the end of the movie, \u201cOne of the boys I dated, and they were boys, suggested that we go to Paris and I said I'd always wanted to see Paris. As if I'd never been!\u201d I think it\u2019s wonderful that she put the past events in the past and was focused and enthusiastic about the future. Jenny learned from her mistake of trusting a man she barely knew, and probably lived the rest of her life choosing carefully who to trust.
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\nOverall, the film really got me thinking about what truly defines an education. Jenny and I, along with my classmates have been very privileged to have received a very professional education, which I truly believe has had in huge part in shaping who I am today. Although I feel I have learned a lot from experiences outside the classroom, the confidence I\u2019ve gained in the preparatory school atmosphere has now prepared me to experience the world and appreciate all the experiences I have to look forward to later in life. With the tools and concepts I have learned in high school, I have confidence that I will have a very successful and memorable college experience. I\u2019ve gained the social skills to interact and relate to people, which will help me form close relationships. Success comes with happiness, and happiness the most important thing in life. I\u2019m very confident with the person I\u2019ve become, and I know no matter what happens, I will always have faith in myself. At college I will meet many new, interesting people, which in itself will be a great outside the classroom experience.","dateCreated":"1300211329","smartDate":"Mar 15, 2011","userCreated":{"username":"rachelwahl2","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/rachelwahl2","imageUrl":"https:\/\/ssl.wikicdn.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"}},{"id":"35997548","body":"An Education...
\n From this movie it would seem it was synonymous with "an experience". I feel like it can be said that getting education is about expanding your mind, learning, growing in knowledge and maturity. I agree with this however I also believe that it can be in a classroom setting or in the real world. It all depends on what type of an education you want, need, or sometimes forced to have. This movie gave this girl a choice between those two educations and luckily for her she had a chance to try both. Nowadays I feel like the college experience is trying to be the mixture of our life experience and classroom learning experience. Personally I believe the type of education a person receives depends on that person and what they want to do with their life. Someone who considers them an intellectual defined by dictionary.com as \u201ca person who places a high value on or pursues things of interest to the intellect or more complex forms and fields of knowledge\u201d would want to experience all variations of education. And since I believe that everyone should aspire to be an intellectual both educations are necessary. To get the full benefits of a classroom education you have to have real life experience to apply and physically and visually experience a concept. Otherwise what is the point of information if Its just going to be in your head.
\n The girl in An Education goes from one extreme to the other. First she is solely concentrated on going to oxford just to go to oxford because it\u2019s a great school and it\u2019s what she is supposed to do. Because her education is so one dimensional she obviously gets bored with it and goes to the other extreme. She quits school to travel and party and live life with an older crowd. A life that is too good to be true. This life comes to an end and she has nothing to fall back on. This is a prime example of why you need both education. Its like book smarts and street smarts. You can excel on any tests but then go to look for a job and have no personality. You can be so charismatic but have no credentials. You need both to be \u201cwell-rounded\u201d.
\n As a side note I found the movie unrealistic and creepy. ^_^","dateCreated":"1300301225","smartDate":"Mar 16, 2011","userCreated":{"username":"awedderburn","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/awedderburn","imageUrl":"https:\/\/ssl.wikicdn.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"}}],"more":0}]}],"more":false},"comments":[]},"http":{"code":200,"status":"OK"},"redirectUrl":null,"javascript":null,"notices":{"warning":[],"error":[],"info":[],"success":[]}}