Life is Like a Box of Chocolates - You Never Know What You're Gonna Get

Its the end of the school year, grades have been submitted for most students and a lot of teachers are showing movies, especially now that all the CST Testing is done. I had a middle school class that only has a VHS player, so I brought in Forrest Gump. Initially I was worried. The flick is old, they have probably seen it before, and it doesn't have all the action that the students are usually raving about.

I was so wrong! What truly shocked me were the outbursts during the movie.

In one class a group of girls went off:

"Jenny is stupid! If a man loved me like that I would be with him!"
"Is she fucking crazy?"
"What a bitch!"

In another class of students who have been known to be violent and insolent, the guys reacted to the bullying scenes early in the movie.

"That's fucked up!"
"Why are they fucking with him?"
"He better fucking run!"
"I'd fuck them up!"

In every class that I have shown this film, the students have had strong emotional reactions in ways that I have not seen them react before. I was just happy to see them have a strong opinion about the film because they are so often jaded. We can work on impulse control and appropriate language at another time.

On another note: Forrest Gump is great for eighth students because it is full of U.S. History. You just need to fast forward through one sex scene.

Put a what in your mouth?

To the other loud-mouthed girl on the opposite side of the room, she screamed, "Shut the fuck up and put a vagina in your mouth!"

That is all.