Curation Experiment

Curation. 

Consider, please:

“Curation” is of course a buzzword, but its history is a great case study for where we’re at: an abundance of stuff, with a scarcity of context. - Alexandra Molotkow, Globe and Mail, 11/7/14 

What does it mean in the LTTA mentorship model for teachers? Year One. 

I believe it means the sharing of a piece of art within an arts disposition/discipline to 

• develop a greater understanding of the art form (context), 
• build a shared vocabulary, 
• move from what is known to what is not known. 

And...readers of this blogpost...I'm going to share an example with you. Isabelle P. is a grade 7 language arts and social studies teacher. She'd like to develop a deeper understanding of story and then relate that to media work. 

THEME: Transformation. 

Leaping off point: I asked Grade 7 teacher Isabella P. began her curation journey with me by sharing three favourite novels and movies of her that tell a coming-of-age story. 

• Divergent, by Veronica Roth
• Harry Potter, series by JK Rowling
• A Child Called It, by David Pelzer

“It is important for people to know that no matter what lies in their past, they can overcome the dark side and press on the a brighter world.” - David Pelzer

• The Breakfast Club, directed by John Hughes
• "Andrew: We're all pretty bizarre. Some of us are just better at hiding it, that's all."
• Freedom Writers, directed by Richard LaGravenese
• Mean Girls, by Mark Waters
• “That’s why her hair is so big. It’s full of secrets.”- Mark Waters

I also asked her, "What do you like about these novels and movies?"

"I like," she said, "how these ordinary people, kids really, do extraordinary things."

Isabella,

I'm going to take two of your choices and compare them through a lens of narrative structure (at least how I dissect narrative structure)...

My choices: 

• Breakfast Club
• Harry Potter 

Beginning: What three elements form the basis for our narrative?

Characters: 

Breakfast Club: The Nerd, the pretty girl, the jock, the freak and the rebel. The Rebel is the main character because he's the catalyst for change in all the other characters. Evidence: 

No Dad, What About You?

Harry Potter: Hermoine (the jock of the wizard world), Luna Lovegod (the freak), Ginny (the pretty girl), Neville (the nerd), Harry (rebel).
Harry is the main character because he's the catalyst for change in all the other characters. Evidence: Marauder's Map Scene 

Problem/Conflict or What the main character wants but he/she cannot buy:

John Bender (Judd Nelson's character): John wants love. (emotional closeness). Evidence: "No Dad, What about You?"

Harry Potter: Harry wants love. (in the form of parental guidance)

Evidence: Harry's Birthday. 

Setting: 

The Breakfast Club takes place strictly within the school grounds, narrowing the viewer's perspective of the characters. We only see the characters at the school and our view of them are limited to their interactions with each other. 

Evidence: Bender walks away.

Harry Potter's primary setting is the school grounds of Hogwarts. While the grounds are vast, again, our view of the characters is mostly limited to how we see them interact with each other. 
Evidence: Sorting Hat Scene. 

Middle. How does the character work to gain what he/she wants?

John is angry and demands love. A significant turning point is when he sacrifices himself for the rest of the group, getting himself into trouble with the principal, while they escape. The final turning point is when John pierces his ear with Molly Ringwald's diamond earring- showing his acceptance of her lifestyle. 
Evidence: Hall Chase Scene.

Harry tries to earn love. A significant turning point is when he sacrifices his own needs (in every movie at some point!) for the others. In the Deathly Hallows movie, he tries to stop them all from drinking poly juice to turn themselves into likenesses of him. He knows that this is dangerous for them. 
Deathly Hallows Scene.

End: Does the character gain what he/she wants? Or does he/she accept that he cannot have what he/she wants, but learns more about himself or the world? 

John walks away from the school and he's free- he has a more understanding view of the parts of society that he's always felt outcast from and...he finds love. Bender walks away. 

Harry and Ginny meet Ron and Hermoine at platform 9 3/4 as each of them drop off their children for Hogwarts. We see that the wizarding world is safe and Harry has now married and become a parent, therefore creating the happy family life he didn't have as a child. 
19 years later.

Your Homework: Take my favourite novel of all time, Charlotte's Web by EB White, and analyze the narrative structure. You can provide quotes or video clips as evidence of each of the pieces of your analysis. Questions for you to consider:

• Can you find similarities/differences within Charlotte's Web's characters and structure to the ones outlined?
• Are Fern's wants/needs similar to John Bender and Harry Potter? 
• Do the barnyard characters parallel the misfit structure?

Beginning: What three elements form the basis for our narrative?
Character. Who's story is this? Who changes the most through the story? 
Problem/Conflict or What the main character wants. 
Setting.

Middle. How does the character work to gain what he/she wants?

End: Does the character gain what he/she wants? Or does he/she accept that he cannot have what he/she wants, but learns more about himself or the world?