Clash

This play deals with the conflicts that appeared after Rita and Frank meet. They both come from completely different backgrounds and social status. They move around different social circles, Rita chats with colleagues at the hairdresser’s while Frank delivers Literature lessons at university. This is why at the beginning of the play Rita cannot understand why she cannot write her opinions directly in her essays. She is very clever. Yet, she also needs to learn how to adapt her linguistic forms according to the context in which we are immersed. Otherwise, she would not pass the exams. So Rita, as well as Frank, has to adapt to her new surroundings. For all this, Educating Rita can be considered a play about the clash of class and culture. But what I believe is that this clash turns out to be positive and enriching for both of them.

I chose, me

I’ve noticed a huge change in Rita’s attitude from the previous chapter to this one. I’m happy to see that Rita finally chooses herself. In the end, she realises what Frank was trying to teach her before, to be herself, to decide and to be responsible for those choices. Because after all, the important thing is to be free. All the knowledge Frank helped Rita to get has given her the tools to choose. Now she can confront life without shame and without pretending to be somebody else. For all this, Rita wants to thank Frank. I believe the end with Rita cutting Frank’s hair represents her acceptance of who she really is, a new Rita but at the same time the old Rita, both together merged into one. At this point, I would say she has become wise woman. This ending also symbolises all the things Rita also gave Frank throughout the novel and the fact that now she is aware of what she has done. So, I can say that both of them are teachers and students at the same time, and this is a model to follow for us teachers or future teachers: teaching is not connected with contents but with life experiences and sharing, it a double-way process.

Reciprocity

After Rita’s process of change, Frank feels she is leaving him behind, that she doesn’t need him anymore. Throughout Rita’s course of study, Frank developed strong feelings towards her and vice versa. He’s got used to her being around, consulting him about recognised authors, chatting about her feelings and conflicts with her family and job. He felt that somebody needed him, and he was more than happy to do so. But now that Rita’s grown more independent of his guidance, he feels miserable and alone. He realised that the need for guidance was reciprocal.

Who you are

As I pointed out on an earlier post, I wouldn’t say “the new Rita” is wiser than the old. Wisdom is not only related to how much “knowledge” we have about things such as Literature, Arts and Science, but also with how much knowledge we have about the world and how we learn from our experiences in life. I would say Rita was already a clever woman before starting the course with Frank as she was very skilful when dealing with every day situations. What I feel at this point, and what I believe Frank thinks as well, is that she is displacing her old knowledge of the world, replacing it with information about plays, books, authors and a bit snobbish trends. She seems to be ashamed of who she was. This is why she has changed her way of speaking, a strong symbol of her old identity. She wants to leave no trace of it. I believe this is not the right decision; internal growth involves not killing off our own identities so as to go back to square one and try again with another identity, but to build new knowledge and attitudes accepting who we are.

Life is change

The impact that Summer School had on Rita was incredibly significant. She came back fascinated, even more energetic than before, confident and proud of herself. I can imagine her faced shining with excitement while describing her marvellous visit to London to Frank. I think this period there helped her face new challenges and these in turn made her confront her fears and shames. For instance, Rita was able to ask questions in front of a wide audience and to resist the temptation to crack a joke to a tutor in a library, attitude she remarked proudly. I dare say she’s beginning to feel like the ones she called “proper students”. She wants to study outside on the grass with them. At the same time she feels the necessity to help Frank to overcome his fears by trying to transmit him her enthusiasm. I must say I love her idea of giving him an engraved pen as a gift saying: “Must only be used for poetry. By strictest order- Rita” So all in all, as we can see in this scene, Rita’s attitude changed completely, but she wants Frank’s life to give a turn as well and she is trying her best to make it happen.

Be Unique

Rita has a perfectly clear picture of the kind of person she wants to become. She does not want to be herself. She’s made this pretty clear by this point. And this is the main reason why she did not go to Frank’s dinner. She realised she has not actually changed yet, and thought she was not going to fit in with Frank’s friends. Rita peered through his window and saw the group talking seriously, confidently, wittily… Through that window she could take a brief look at all she has always wanted to be, and this vision had two effects on her. First, she freaked out and rushed to the pub where Denny and her mother were singing. But then, she plucked up courage and took this image she had seen at Frank’s as an ultimate goal to achieve, so she decided to start all over again. The sad aspect of this decision is that she wants to change everything about herself, ignoring her incredible uniqueness. She needs to be just like the rest of people, losing in that wish her precious identity.

Rita burst through the door out of breath...

Rita could not hold her excitement after having gone to the theatre, so as she abruptly entered the room she gasped: “I´ve gorra tell someone…” “I went to the theatre!” She does not reflect upon what her word choice is to express her thrill. Her words seem to burst out of her mouth like an uncontrollable flaw. “It was bleedin´ great, honest, ogh, it done me in, it was fantastic. I´m gonna do an essay on it.” Feelings and language are closely connected, the way we express what we feel is an echo of our identity, but we also need to learn how to adapt our linguistic forms according to the context in which we are immersed. For example, if Rita expressed her opinion about the play in an essay using the same register she used with Frank, the essay would be cosidered “incorrect.” Rita was never given the opportunity to learn this before, so the only way she knows to express her feelings towards anything is by using colloquial vocabulary.

“The key to success is often the ability to adapt”

Chase your Passion

“I´m busy enough findin´meself,…” “ I´ve begun to find me_an´ it´s great y´ know…” “It might sound selfish but all I want for the time bein´ is what I´m findin´ inside me.”

Without any doubt, this course is changing Rita´s life as it is helping her to find something within herself that she did not know for sure it existed, but I´ m sure that deep down her heart she sensed it was there. It is her other self, that part of her that she has always felt as missing.
Rita said: “Art and Literature… are providin´ me with life itself.” Wow! She must love studying Art and Literature. I can imagine her face expressions, her thrill, her passion when reading or writing something new, and I could see that passion and excitement when she was getting ready to leave for the theatre. I’ve always admired those people who do what their job or what they love with sheer passion, those are the ones who are always successful in life, this does not mean life it´s easy for them though! Passion gives you determination, self -satisfaction, strength and willpower. In my personal life, I try to do everything I like with passion and at the same time to enjoy what I am being given the opportunity to learn or teach. I don’t know if I am good or bad at what I do, but I constantly try to make the most of it and learn from everything, because after all… we will be learning something new until our last day on Earth.

In the book of life, the answers aren't in the back.

Why does Frank tell Rita the story of the theology student?

Frank pointed out the anecdote of the theology student to Rita to illustrate his remark: “…a clever answer is not necessarily the correct answer.” Rita had been witty when answering his previous question on her essay, but she failed to understand that in the context in which she was now immersed other parameters would be taken into consideration when deciding which mark her essay should be given. So, though her answer was not precisely incorrect, it would have meant a failure in her essay due to her not following the necessary “rules” when writing an academic paper. These rules are what Frank is going to teach her in the course of her studies since what Rita essentially needs is not content knowledge but guidance. I’m sure, she will discover the rest by herself… I found it interesting the way Frank tries to guide her train of thought, helping her to spot the connections so as to build a rich support for her essay. I must say he is very patient, and I am also sure he knows Rita has a big potential and that she has what’s needed to be an excellent student.

In between the doors of perception

What does she think about Frank´s room and about the “proper” students?

Rita, as I think everybody must have noticed by now, is an extremely perceptive woman. On one of her observations she pointed out what she thought about Frank’s room. She said the room was a perfect mess and that there was nothing phoney in it. I think she was trying to define Frank´s personality through his room as it were his own reflection. She believes he is honest and truthful as his name declares and as his room reveals. At the same time, she admitted she wanted to have a room like that.
Other of her observations was directed towards what she thinks a “proper” student is. She refers to them as the ones who had the chance to start studying right after finishing Secondary school. So she does not consider herself a “proper” student since she did not study when she thinks it was “supposed” to. What I think is that it really does not matter when you start studying, what is really valuable is the desire to become better in every aspect of our life, and for Rita studying is the way to achieve this.

Why does Rita want to study?

Rita is a young hairdresser who has apparently decided to become a student at the Open University. I believe she has taken this decision because she did not have the opportunity to do it when she finished secondary school and now she wants to learn to know more about everything. What I think she really wants is to open her eyes to new realities and experiences and enjoy all the things she cannot understand due to her ignorance such as the opera or the ballet. She said she wanted to see the opera on the telly but she got bored as she did not understand, so in the end she turned it off. I believe this is very valuable attitude since this energy and determination to want to be better is what I think make us grow as persons. Nevertheless, I also feel that we, humans, learn from all forms of experience and that is not always necessary to study at a university to become a wise person.

YOU LEARN // ALANIS MORISSETTE

I recommend getting your heart trampled on to anyone
I recommend walking around naked in your living room
Swallow it down (what a jagged little pill)
It feels so good (swimming in your stomach)
wait until the dust settles

You live you learn
You love you learn
You cry you learn
You lose you learn
You bleed you learn
You scream you learn
I recommend biting off more than you can chew to anyone
I certainly do
I recommend sticking your foot in your mouth at any time
Feel free
Throw it down (the caution blocks you from the wind)
Hold it up (to the rays)
You wait and see when the smoke clears

Wear it out (the way a three-year-old would do)
Melt it down (you're gonna have to eventually anyway)
The fire trucks are coming up around the bend

You grieve you learn
You choke you learn
You laugh you learn
You choose you learn
You pray you learn
You ask you learn
You live you learn

Que te vaya Bonito

What I believe Savater tries to point out in this chapter is the fact that even though the time passes and some features of our context change, the inherent essence of the human beings remains the same and this is with what Ethics deals. So the date shown by the calendar is not important when trying to reflect on what we want ourselves to be and to achieve in life as part of the humankind we all are. Of course, there are some differences or new issues to be discussed as far as Ethics is concerned, but the essential ingredients are always the same. As Savater wrote, “Vivir en rebaño es como vivir entre espejos…” we, human beings, in spite of all our differences, show the same basic characteristics that humans have shown throughout centuries.Throughout our lives we come across people we think are different from us and maybe, as a first reaction, we tend to reject them as we are all conditioned by stereotypes and so forth, but we need to overcome those prejudices and try to see beyond superficial differences so as to find the essence of the other which is, at the same time, our own human essence.

Don´t Be Afraid

I think one of the most important messages this book has given me is Don´t waste your life being afraid. Fear is the main obstacle we can come across with when trying to move ahead in life. Many times I find myself being afraid of thing I do not know, but I’ve learnt that I can not know how to do everything and to enjoy the opportunity to learn new things. In one occasion during a lecture on graphic design an important Brazilian designer told us she was never afraid of the things she did not know, on the contrary she said she usually took on jobs which required her to do things she did not know. She was happy to had come across those jobs as they made her learn a lot about the profession and about life itself. I think this was a good lesson for me, she taught me not to feel bad but to take the situation as a good challenge to learn from it.