Hola a todos! This is my blog for this year. I hope to set a good example and make you all start your blogs in order to become reflective learners. Come on, make my day and leave a comment.
hi there my fellow students. My name is Greig and I am currently studying an Access course in Languages and Social Sciences, hoping to progress to Heriot Watt University. Good luck to tou all!
Last week in IT Skills, we watched a film called "Educating Rita". It was a good introduction for our course, as we are returning to education and are all looking to learn a bit more through studying, like Rita.
Rita is played by Julie Walters, it was her first film. She plays a mature student embarking on a university course.
I liked this film, and I felt that I could to a certain extent relate to her. I worked in an office when I left school, and then I did some volunteering in Quito, Ecuador for 6 months, after that I went back to working in an office for a year and a half.
I have been out of education for 3 years, and like Rita I was wanting to do something different.
When I went to Quito, I really enjoyed my time there. I found it very rewarding, and I think that's one of the few times I've done what I really wanted to do. I've always known I want to do something with languages, or if not that then history.
Most of my friends are in their third year of university, and so I've seen them go through the difficulties that university involves. One of them started off doing psychology and is now doing Italian and English Literature. She's changed courses 3 times. I feel I am ready to study again, I'm aware of some of the difficulties that uni can involve. I want to do a bit more with my life. Like it says at one point in the movie, there must be a better song to sing.
" There must be a better song to sing " is a quote by Rita from the film EDUCATING RITA. What Rita is trying to say is, there must be something better she can do with her life. She is in the situation where she is not expected to try better herself and live the same humdrum life like everyone else around her. In fact most people around her are telling her to forget about it. At the start Rita is well out of her depth and you think she is not going to last but she sticks at it and starts to really enjoy it. Her husband, who is dead set against her bettering herself, gives her an ultimatum its either him or her education. She loves her husband and gives up her studying, for a whole five minutes, until she realises she really wants to continue educating herself. after her husband burns all her books she finally leaves him, and starts a new life away from her humdrum past.
While Rita is educating herself and trying to better her life she, at the same time, losses the charm and innocence that she had that. These traits are what Michael Caine's character liked in her and he tried to warn her not to lose them.
This quote doesn't apply to me directly but i do know more than one person that it does. A few of my friends are from a background where their family and friends are happy to just leave school and get a job on a building site or in a factory, and the same was expected off them. after a few years of working in a various jobs they decided there must be something better in life, " there must be a better song to sign ", so they decided to go to college and get an education.
One of them is now an assistant manager at my local bank and another is in their last year at uni doing business management.
The feeling that there's always something better - a new beginning, a new life - is a strong theme within storytelling and in the movies, such as in the case of Lewis Gilbert's Educating Rita.
Willy Russell's play is largely autobiographical and reflects his attempts to leave his life of no prospects and future to be something else - a writer. To be a person he believed himself to be.
'Educating Rita' is both an account of his journey, and also evidence of the achievement he has made.
As a newly confirmed mature student and someone who wishes to journey onto a long wished for different path, the film has many parallels to my own.
Although my life isn't as nearly dramatic as the film's - in that, unlike Rita's character I do have a good career and skills to settle back on, along with a pretty good education - I do appreciate that sometimes in one's life we do feel a need to do something that is so forceful and personal within us that we act upon those instincts and chose the road less travelled.
In that respect, the story echoes my own, as does the line spoken by Rita's mother when she comments on the predictability of old routine: "There must be a better song to sing".
At times, the cynical comeback is that 'no', there isn't always a better song to sing; the grass isn't always greener on the other side. However, in my mind, I subscribe to the Lotto's view's on life and circumstance of 'You have to be in it to win it'.
If you never even try to sing that 'better song', or see if the grass is indeed greener on the other side, then how can one really be sure?
I admire people who has chosen another path in life. It takes courage to change the person you have been and in attempting something new. I wish all those people - like myself - goodwill on their journey.
For me, the travel rather than the destination is the most important thing - simply to attempt to know oneself has already made all the difference. That is an achievement in itself.
But let the journey commence and see where the path leads us.....it'll be interesting, I'm sure....
My study plan for this week involves practicing my French vocab. I need to look at some of the maths topics, and remind myself of what some of the topics mean. I also need to look at some more Spanish in terms of grammar. I did an hour of French last week, and an hour of Spanish, and then finished off some of the things for maths, that was half an hour.
I think the French vocab I'll need to look over for half an hour again until Wednesday. I will buy the history book on Tuesday pm. I will look at the stuff we did in Literature again tonight.
I also need to buy the history book at some point this week. There'll will probably be more stuff coming up in the week, so I will need to look at how the study plan is going to make sure that I prioritise correctly.
Hola! only just got the email about the blog....its really cool, i loved educating rita, its one of my fav films, very inspiring, and she is a very easy character to relate to as she is just like all of us, a very normal working class person wanting to better herself...for herself! Thanks for showing us it Dieca.
23 comments:
Hello, hello, hello!!!
Hey Dieca!
Nice blog, it seems quite interesting!!This blog is absolutely amazing!
hello!
Hello Dieca!
Nice blog!
Great blog, this changed my life.
!Hola Dieca!
You need to show us how to do those inverted exclaimation and question marks!
Dom
hola dieca,
barcelona number 1. lol
hi :-)
Hi Dieca!
Nice blog :)
Hola, Dieca!
I like your blog; it has a very minimalist feel to it.
Keep it up!
PS: Please upload more photos!
Hola,Dieca!
:)
Hello Dieca,
That's a good start! Will do my own blog too.
xx
hi there my fellow students. My name is Greig and I am currently studying an Access course in Languages and Social Sciences, hoping to progress to Heriot Watt University. Good luck to tou all!
Hello my fellow students
Last week in IT Skills, we watched a film called "Educating Rita". It was a good introduction for our course, as we are returning to education and are all looking to learn a bit more through studying, like Rita.
Rita is played by Julie Walters, it was her first film. She plays a mature student embarking on a university course.
I liked this film, and I felt that I could to a certain extent relate to her. I worked in an office when I left school, and then I did some volunteering in Quito, Ecuador for 6 months, after that I went back to working in an office for a year and a half.
I have been out of education for 3 years, and like Rita I was wanting to do something different.
When I went to Quito, I really enjoyed my time there. I found it very rewarding, and I think that's one of the few times I've done what I really wanted to do. I've always known I want to do something with languages, or if not that then history.
Most of my friends are in their third year of university, and so I've seen them go through the difficulties that university involves. One of them started off doing psychology and is now doing Italian and English Literature. She's changed courses 3 times. I feel I am ready to study again, I'm aware of some of the difficulties that uni can involve. I want to do a bit more with my life. Like it says at one point in the movie, there must be a better song to sing.
1!hola!
What a great idea Dieca, cant wait to get started.
" There must be a better song to sing " is a quote by Rita from the film EDUCATING RITA. What Rita is trying to say is, there must be something better she can do with her life. She is in the situation where she is not expected to try better herself and live the same humdrum life like everyone else around her. In fact most people around her are telling her to forget about it. At the start Rita is well out of her depth and you think she is not going to last but she sticks at it and starts to really enjoy it. Her husband, who is dead set against her bettering herself, gives her an ultimatum its either him or her education. She loves her husband and gives up her studying, for a whole five minutes, until she realises she really wants to continue educating herself. after her husband burns all her books she finally leaves him, and starts a new life away from her humdrum past.
While Rita is educating herself and trying to better her life she, at the same time, losses the charm and innocence that she had that. These traits are what Michael Caine's character liked in her and he tried to warn her not to lose them.
This quote doesn't apply to me directly but i do know more than one person that it does. A few of my friends are from a background where their family and friends are happy to just leave school and get a job on a building site or in a factory, and the same was expected off them. after a few years of working in a various jobs they decided there must be something better in life, " there must be a better song to sign ", so they decided to go to college and get an education.
One of them is now an assistant manager at my local bank and another is in their last year at uni doing business management.
"There must be a better song to sing"
The feeling that there's always something better - a new beginning, a new life - is a strong theme within storytelling and in the movies, such as in the case of Lewis Gilbert's Educating Rita.
Willy Russell's play is largely autobiographical and reflects his attempts to leave his life of no prospects and future to be something else - a writer. To be a person he believed himself to be.
'Educating Rita' is both an account of his journey, and also evidence of the achievement he has made.
As a newly confirmed mature student and someone who wishes to journey onto a long wished for different path, the film has many parallels to my own.
Although my life isn't as nearly dramatic as the film's - in that, unlike Rita's character I do have a good career and skills to settle back on, along with a pretty good education - I do appreciate that sometimes in one's life we do feel a need to do something that is so forceful and personal within us that we act upon those instincts and chose the road less travelled.
In that respect, the story echoes my own, as does the line spoken by Rita's mother when she comments on the predictability of old routine: "There must be a better song to sing".
At times, the cynical comeback is that 'no', there isn't always a better song to sing; the grass isn't always greener on the other side. However, in my mind, I subscribe to the Lotto's view's on life and circumstance of 'You have to be in it to win it'.
If you never even try to sing that 'better song', or see if the grass is indeed greener on the other side, then how can one really be sure?
I admire people who has chosen another path in life. It takes courage to change the person you have been and in attempting something new. I wish all those people - like myself - goodwill on their journey.
For me, the travel rather than the destination is the most important thing - simply to attempt to know oneself has already made all the difference. That is an achievement in itself.
But let the journey commence and see where the path leads us.....it'll be interesting, I'm sure....
My study plan for this week involves practicing my French vocab. I need to look at some of the maths topics, and remind myself of what some of the topics mean. I also need to look at some more Spanish in terms of grammar. I did an hour of French last week, and an hour of Spanish, and then finished off some of the things for maths, that was half an hour.
I think the French vocab I'll need to look over for half an hour again until Wednesday. I will buy the history book on Tuesday pm. I will look at the stuff we did in Literature again tonight.
I also need to buy the history book at some point this week. There'll will probably be more stuff coming up in the week, so I will need to look at how the study plan is going to make sure that I prioritise correctly.
Hola! only just got the email about the blog....its really cool, i loved educating rita, its one of my fav films, very inspiring, and she is a very easy character to relate to as she is just like all of us, a very normal working class person wanting to better herself...for herself! Thanks for showing us it Dieca.
Laura x
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