Gettysburg Film Review

Emilie Spencer

History 101-Levesque

Paper 3-Film Review

Gettysburg Film Review

In 1993 the movie Gettysburg, written and directed by Ronald Maxwell, hit the big screen. This epic 254 minute film, was filmed on location in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and depicted the Battle of Gettysburg. Called the bloodiest battle of the Civil War because of the enormous casualties, 51,000 men died and there were over 20,000 men wounded. This film incorporated an all star cast featuring Martin Sheen as General Robert E. Lee, the Confederate General, Tom Berenger as Lt. General James Longstreet of the Confederacy, Jeff Daniels as Col. Joshua L. Chamberlain and Sam Elliott as Brigadier General John Buford, both of the Federal Army. The film also utilized Civil War reenactors to supply the extensive amount of extras needed to portray this colossal event.

Based on the novel The Killer Angels by Micheal Saara, Gettysburg portrays the three day battle from the view of both the South and the North. The movie is divided into two parts, the first, covers the day previous to the battle and the first and second day up to the conclusion of the battle for Little Round Top. The second half of the movie, covers the rest of the second day and the third and final day.

The film portrayed the event in dramatic fashion including using several monologues throughout. One monologue in the first half that was especially moving, it was given by Col. Chamberlain to the 125 detainees from the 2^nd Maine Brigade.; in his attempt to persuade the men to continue in their military service. Chamberlain reminds the men of the purpose of the war, that they are doing is something unique “We are an army out to set other men free.” (Daniels) He goes on to describe what America should be “America should be free ground. All of it. Not divided between slave state and free. All the way to the Pacific Ocean.” (Daniels) Chamberlain, a professor before the war, is particularly charismatic and resolute.

The film also addresses relationships, whether it is Col. Chamberlain and his conflict between being the leader and protector of his younger sibling, or between Gen. Lee and Lt. Gen. Longstreet and their endless debates over strategy. However the most thought provoking relationship is that of Brig. Gen. Armistead and his dear friend Gen. Hancock., two Mexican War veterans’ now common enemies, a friendship torn by civil war. Armistead in particular laments over a promise made to Hancock at the end of the Mexican War where he promised never to be on opposing sides. His internal struggle is evident throughout the film and is brought to a head when he gives Gen. Longstreet, also a Mexican War vet and dear friend, a package to be delivered to Gen. Hancock’s wife in the event of his death, a foreshadowing of the next days events.

Because the film is based on true events its portrayal relies on actual documentation of the war. As a companion to the film, the documentary The Battle of Gettysburg is an additional DVD feature. This short 30min Oscar nominee was filmed in 1955, at the Gettysburg National Military Park. It conveys facts about the Battle of Gettysburg, while panning over the actual battleground, incorporating sound of battle and dramatic pauses. (Nielsen)

Our textbook dedicates only one measly paragraph to this monumental episode in American history. The text depicts Gen Lee as a gambler, a man whose “greatest blunder” (Foner p.511) was in sending in his finest to be decimated on the third day of battle as they advanced on the center of the Union line, losing over half of the 14,000 men before they reached the trees. The film shows Lee as a man of resolve, determined to break the forces of the Federal Army. He is portrayed as a religious man, who prays for his men and for guidance. He repeatedly states that “It is in God’s hands.” (Sheen) Lee was a man of loyalty, knowledge and experience, and a commodity even the Union Army wanted to lead their forces. “A brilliant battlefield tactician, Lee had been offered a command in the Union army but chose to fight for the Confederacy because of his devotion to Virginia.” (Foner p.488)

While viewing the movie with my husband he mentioned that he felt that although Martin Sheen portrayed Gen Lee adequately, Robert Duvall’s depiction in the prequel Gods and Generals seemed to “catch the spirit of the man better”. We also felt that it failed to mentioned Maj. Gen. Jeb Stuart’s battle on the last day with soon to be famed Col. Custer. Stuart was portrayed as a floundering, glory hunter. In the end we both felt the film stayed close to the actual events of the war, was enjoyable to watch, and gave us a greater understanding of the significance of this historic moment in history.

Works Cited

Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2009.

Gettysburg. Dir. Robert F. Maxwell. Perf. Jeff Daniels. 1993.

Gettysburg. Dir. Robert F. Maxwell. Perf. Martin Sheen. 1993.

The Battle of Gettysburg. Dir. Herman Hoffman. Perf. Leslie Nielsen. 1955.

Tomorrowland: The future, of English Language Learners in American Education, is today

Emilie Spencer

Professor Thompson-Dunn

English 102

08 May 2011

Tomorrowland: The future, of English Language Learners in American Education, is today

Teachers all over the nation are inundated with federal regulations, state standards, parental concerns, modern technologies and the newest teaching strategies. Teachers are under increasing pressure to be deemed highly qualified, and produce competitive test scores. This can be difficult because of the influx of students who are English Language Learners (ELLs). Preparation of the educators of tomorrow must include specific strategies to cope with this expanding dynamic. When Walt Disney created Tomorrowland at the Disneyland Resort, he had a vision of creating a blueprint of the future. Disney’s tag line goes “In Tomorrowland, the future is today!” (Disney). The same is true in American classrooms, the future is today. Literacy is one of the key elements in academic achievement; because this is a critical component research has focused on this area. Creation of bilingual literacy blueprints requires more than just a little imagination; they require tailored techniques individually geared to the specific needs of the student.

Bilingual education, using more than one language for instruction, is not a new concept. As early as 1837 Pennsylvania State laws required bilingual education in their classrooms (Sadker and Zittleman p.68). Lau v. Nichols, the 1974 Supreme Court case where 1,800 Chinese students sued because of the language barriers in their school, is a more recent example of the need for bilingual education. “The Court unanimously affirmed that federally funded schools must ‘rectify the language deficiency’ of students. Teaching students in a language they did not understand was not an appropriate education” (Sadker and Zittleman p.67). This Court case prompted the U.S. Department of Education to institute the Lau Remedies, a series of guidelines to eliminate language barriers in schools. Current statistics show that “more than 5 million English Language Learners (ELLs) are enrolled in public elementary and secondary schools” (Sadker and Zittleman p.68). These numbers are not stagnant and are proceeding in an upward fashion (see Fig. 1).

Fig. 1. A graph demostrating ELL school enrollment growth from 1991-2006. (Sadker and Zittleman p.68)

Teachers face many challenges with regard to English Language Learners. “Most teachers have had little or no professional training in facilitating English learning and literacy development in ELLs” (Barone and Hong Xu p.2). Trying to incorporate cultural understanding, differentiate between social and academic language, and providing unique assessments can be overwhelming. Schools generally use one of three approaches when it comes to bilingual education. The first is, the immersion approach, where instruction is given only in English and “the goal is to assimilate the learners into the English language as quickly as possible” (Sadker and Zittleman). Second, the transitional approach is an approach where learning begins in the student’s native language and then transitions into English. And the Third, the maintenance approach, an approach where students are taught in both their native tongue and in English simultaneously; this is an example of true bilingual education.

Although Spanish-speaking students are the majority of ELLs in the U.S., teachers must adapt to many languages. For example in 2009-2010 the state of California reports enrollment of ELLs in over 57 different languages, the top ten being Spanish, Vietnamese, Filipino (Pilipino, or Tagalog), Cantonese, Hmong, Korean, Mandarin, Arabic, and Punjabi (Education and Demographics). ELLs are diverse and have different levels of comprehension and literacy acquisition. Some have a solid foundation in their native tongue, which quickens English-Literacy skills, some have little to no background, and some are in between. “The life experience of an ELL from a developed country is different from that of an ELL from a war torn poverty-stricken country. The diversity of ELLs presents an overwhelming set of challenges to teachers” (Hong Xu p.2-3).

Students categorized as ELLs also face many challenges. “Because reading and writing are not inevitable processes, even in a first language, it stands to reason that considerable energy and effort are needed to learn to do them in a new language.” (Lems, Miller and Soro p.4). Imagine a teacher at the front of the classroom speaking in a foreign language, students around you are busily writing things down and raising their hands. The teacher calls your name and asks you a question and you have no idea what she has just said, so you just smile.

Academic language, the language used in classrooms, in textbooks, and on tests is an essential skill ELLs struggle to develop:

It usually takes 5-7 years to fully develop academic language. Unlike their native English-speaking peers who have developed some knowledge of English Language during their early years, ELLs are pressured to develop both BICS [Basic Personal Communicative Language] and CALP [Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency] at school because school tasks require ELLs to be proficient in both areas. (Barone and Hong Xu p.141).

Social language, or BICS, the language used in halls and at the lunchroom in social situations, is picked up significantly faster. “It is not uncommon for an ELL to appear fluent in a second language, yet continue to use their native language to describe novel academic concepts.” (Blair, Brasfield and Crenshaw p.35).

Lori A. Helman, a professor of Literacy Education at the University of Minnesota, and Matthew K. Burns, an Education Psychology professor at the University of Minnesota recently conducted a research study of 43 second graders in three elementary schools that had an average of 53 percent of the population ELL. They concluded that if the general education teacher utilizes three techniques, he/she can support the acquisition of sight words with their ELL students, leading to academic achievement. First, differentiating instructional activities, for example providing shorter and more frequent reading sessions and introducing a few new words in each session. Second, incorporating language-development activities, such as, playing a matching game with words that have the same beginning or ending sounds. Third, encourage repetition of high–frequency words in reading, by creating personal readers for students with words they are learning, allowing time daily for reading, and choosing texts that are academically and culturally relevant, with a low ratio of unknown words:

Becoming proficient readers who not only decode but also understand what they are reading is a crucial goal for young ELL students. Developing a sight-word vocabulary that can be used in fluent reading is an important component of this proficiency. (Helman and Burns).

Teachers use several supports to teach reading and writing in their ELL students. One of these resources is the School Librarian. He/she supports the teacher in four ways, beginning with Instruction. Instruction supports the teacher by modeling, pairing students with a peer, using graphic organizers, creating vocabulary/concept inventories, and teaching in small groups. In Collection Development, the librarian acquires books in students’ native language, picture books, and multiple discipline books such as poetry, media such as DVDs, multicultural literature, and books written by students in their native tongue. Also the librarian uses Programming, such as book clubs, and family literacy nights. The librarian assists with Assessment, by providing picture books for baseline assessments, providing professional materials for teachers, and providing lists of library resources for ELL students (Blair, Brasfield and Crenshaw p.36).

Another support is the English as a Second Language Specialist (ESL). “English as a Second Language (ESL) supplements immersion programs by providing special pull-out classes for additional instruction in reading and writing English.” (Sadker and Zittleman p.69). ESL specialists can tailor programs that benefit the individual child. He/she does this by teaching language through literacy instruction, making English text comprehensible, bringing content to life, guiding reading instruction, and story retelling. In the article Promoting Literacy Development for Beginning English Learners, Juliana Arazi, a ESL teacher, exhibits reading techniques that she used with a third grader who is a Chinese immigrant. These techniques included, picture walks- giving names to pictures in a book, personalizing connections, creating a bilingual dictionary and verb bank (see Fig. 2), creating a physical connection to the story-planting a bean seed, creating sentences, interactive writing, choral reading, question coaching, and story retelling. These techniques were applied over a two month period, teaching the student Jack in the Beanstalk, a fairy tale that most students have familiarity with in their native language (Bouchereau Bauer and Arazi).

Verb Bank

Native Language (L1)	Present Tense	-ing form	Past tense
(Chinese for stop)	stop/stops	stopping	stopped
(Chinese for write)	write/writes	writing	wrote
(Chinese for take)	take/takes	taking	took

Fig.2. a representative example of the verb bank in Bouchereau Bauer and Arazi p.384.

The U.S. Department of Education advises ELL teachers to “screen for reading problems and monitor progress, provide intensive small group reading interventions, provide extensive and varied vocabulary instruction, develop academic English, and schedule regular peer assisted learning opportunities.” (Gersten, Baker and Shanahan p.6). They provided this advice in a report in 2007 after determining that there was significant emerging research in the teaching of English learners:

Districts and states have increasingly assessed progress of English learners in academic areas and in English language development. Despite the paucity of rigorous experimental research, we believe that the available evidence allows us to provide practical recommendations about aspects of instruction on which research has cast the sharpest light (Gersten, Baker and Shanahan p.4).

What teachers and school expect from the ELLs is also important to their literacy success. “If teachers and their school do not really believe that ELLs can be proficient literacy learners then ELL’s will mirror this belief-and the school and its teachers would have to own this result” (Barone and Hong Xu p.13). As teachers articulate high expectations, through the setting of objectives, monitoring progress and achieving goals, their students will rise to the occasion.

Looking to the future, teachers can expect their classrooms to become more and more diverse, with a significant increase in their students who are ELLs. Because of the changing demographics in Americas schools, research on how best to accommodate these extraordinary students will increase. Supplementary training for teachers and the need for ESL Specialists will multiply with the ELL population. And although teachers and ELL students face many challenges, by incorporating specific strategies, literacy acquisition can be rewarding for both student and teacher. We don’t need to visit Disneyland Resort to see Tomorrowland in schools, the future, of English Language Learners (ELLs) in American Education, is today!

Works Cited

Barone, Diane M. and Shelley Hong Xu. Literacy Instruction for English Language Learners

Pre-K-2. New York: Guilford Press, 2008.Print.

Blair, Catherine, et al. "School Librarians: Bridging the Language Gap for English Language

Learners." School Library Monthly March 2011: 34-37.Print.

Bouchereau Bauer, Eurydice and Juliana Arazi. "Promoting Literacy Development for Beginning

English Learners." The Reading Teacher Ferbuary 2011: 383-386.Print.

Disney. "Disneyland Resort:Tomorrowland." Disney. n.d. Web. 02 May 2011

<http://disneyland.disney.go.com/disneyland/tomorrowland/>.

Education, California Depatment of and Educational Demographics. "Statewide English

Learners by Language and Grade." Statistic. 2009-2010.Print.

Gersten, R., et al. Effective Literacy and English Language Instruction for English Language

Learners in Elementry Grades:A Practice Guide (NCEE 2007-4011). IES Practice Guide. Washington, D.C.: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, 2007.

Helman, Lori A. and Matthew K. Burns. "What Does Oral Language Have to Do With It?

Helping Young English-language Learners Acquire a Sight Word Vocabulary." The Reading Teacher September 2008: 14-19.Print.

Hong Xu, Shelley. Teaching English Language Learners. New York: Guilford Press, 2010.Print.

Lems, Kristin, Leah D. Miller and Tenena M. Soro. Teaching Reading to English Language

Learners. New York: Guilford Press, 2010.Print.

Sadker, David Miller and Karen R. Zittleman. Teachers, Schools, and Society. New York:

McGraw-Hill, 2009.Print.

Magnet Schools: Beyond Desegregation

Emilie Spencer

EDU 202- Asherian

May 15,2011

Magnet Schools: Beyond Desegregation

When you drive up to the Las Vegas Academy of International Studies Performing and Visual Arts, you immediately see that this is no ordinary High School. Las Vegas Academy (LVA) does not have the typical High School design, of one large building and a football field. LVA is comprised of many buildings (see Fig. 2), including three theatrical venues and two historical buildings, which have been in use since the 1930’s, when LVA was the original Las Vegas High School and not a football field in site, however they do have tennis courts and a grass field. As you walk through campus you may have to ask for directions because the campus encompasses an entire city block of the downtown Las Vegas area. LVA is a special school; not only is it one of Clark County School Districts eight Magnet Schools, it also is nationally acclaimed:

The Academy has received national, state, and local accolades, including those from the White House, Senators Reid, Bryan, and Ensign, former Governor Bob Miller and former Las Vegas Mayor Jan Jones. The Academy has received eight Grammy Signature School awards for excellence in music programs and has been recognized by the International Network of Performing and Visual Arts schools as a STAR school. In addition, in 2000, the U.S. Department of Education recognized the Academy as a New American High School. In 2002, the U.S. Department of Education honored the Academy as a U.S. Blue Ribbon School, making it one out of only 17 high schools in the country to have received both prestigious awards (Las Vegas Academy of International Studies Performing and Visual Arts, 2011).

Students take core academic courses such as Math, English, Science, Health, and Social Studies on campus as well as major in one of eight areas including “dance, vocal music, instrumental music, international studies, piano, theatre or theatre technology, and visual arts” (Las Vegas Academy of International Studies Performing and Visual Arts, 2011). Magnet schools, like LVA, not only desegregate schools but also provide educational choices for parents and students, extend the students ability by providing challenging curricula, and are an ensign of school innovation.

So what is a Magnet School? Sadker and Zittleman define Magnet School as “A specialized school open to all students in a district on a competitive or lottery basis” (Sadker & Zittleman, 2009). Because LVA is a Magnet School, students wishing to attend must pass an audition in order to be admitted, with the exception of International Studies majors. Students are regularly recruited at the many public middle schools between 7^th and 8^th grades. Magnet schools, like a magnet, draw students from all parts of the district. Students at LVA describe the recruitment process as their first glance of the school. Many of the students further describe their auditions as nerve racking but necessary and are proud of their auditions. Some students categorize International Study majors as the outsiders of the school, mostly because of the lack of an audition process and the lack of an outward display of talent (i.e. gallery showings, and performances). Research tells us that Magnet Schools have higher performance records in terms of “student achievement, student motivation and satisfaction with school, teacher motivation and morale, and parent satisfaction with the school of student achievement” (Flaxman, Guerrero, & Gretchen, 1999). I also observed excellent behavior, in the seven days that I observed LVA students, not once did I observe a disciplinary problem, or behavior correction by a teacher or an administrator. The students were anxiously engaged in their work in both the academic classroom and the specialized classroom. No classroom rules were posted in either of the classrooms I visited, with the exception of safety rules in the photo development area of the Photography class.

Magnet schools are an important option for parents and students. Originally in the 1970’s, Magnet schools were a tool used by districts to desegregate schools. Magnet schools provided an alternative to forced busing. These choice schools provided a way for students of many ethnic and racial backgrounds to come together and study specialized subjects. LVA’s student body is comprised of many ethnicities and races. In today’s world, the definition of Magnet school has expanded; to not only include a more diverse student body and specialized subjects, but also to provide a unique learning environment:

Today, school districts are using them, [Magnet Schools], to accomplish a range of important and related purposes: enhancing student learning and narrowing the achievement gap, giving public school parents more choice in their child’s education experience, and incubating innovative educational methods and practices that can raise the bar for all schools (Paige, Rees, Petrilli, Fiegel, & Brockhouse, 2004).

Magnet schools have changed over the last three decades, improving their vision. As parents and students research alternative public schooling, Magnet schools give them more choices providing a step ahead of the standard zoned school.

This was demonstrated in LVAs Honors English course, American Literature course and the Senior Photography course, all of which I was able to observe. Mrs. Rios, an exceptional English teacher, presented lesson plans that were well thought out, innovative, and challenging (see Fig.1). She presented classes that employed critical thinking, creativity, and enhanced learning. Her students contributed to complex discussions about the books they were studying, presented class presentations that were well coordinated and thought out, and followed through with homework expectations. Ms. Anderson, the Photography teacher, maintained a more student driven classroom. Where student expectations had been lined out at the beginning of the semester and students were able to freely go from station to station fulfilling their assignment obligations. While Ms. Anderson moved about the classroom providing input and grading work. Students were able to exercise creativity and subject selection, and utilized many photo techniques including: developing their own film, photo shopping images, creating image journals, and downloading and creating digital albums. Those who had completed assigned work were also able to work on outside course work. Both of these classes illustrate advanced and unique learning experiences.

English Honors Reading 15 min. Vocab.: Sardonic (adj.) cynical, scornfully mocking 1) SSR/Journal (Journal next class) ~ Prompt: What is your preferred form of escapism? Why this and how does it make you feel? 2) Continue F451 Discussion ~Utopia/Dystopia ~Review of 1st Part of Fahrenheit 451 ~Questions will be a great study guide for the test 3) Creative Imagery 1) Reread pg.94 2) Define “abstract concept” Due Mon. 3) Creative Imagery handout ~Brainstorming- Taste, touch, sight, sound ,smell

American Literature Turn in Sources/Notes for Research Paper Vocab.: Plummet (verb) Fall or drop straight down at high speed 1) H.F. groups 2) Review Research Paper ~requirements (packet) -Title –Thesis –Introduction –Outline -Citation Examples (CLC’s) -Quote helps -Topic sentences 3) Huckleberry Finn Presentation on Friday- 60 min *with your group, plan and implement a lesson plan designed to discuss the significance of your portion of H.F. to the class. Use thoughtful and meaningful activities to generate reader response from the class

Fig. 1. A representation of Mrs. Rios’ daily agenda, she posted on her white board at the front of the classroom.

As my observation came to a close, I had the opportunity to discuss the uniqueness of LVA with the principal Andre Long. Our conversation started with a discussion on pending district wide budget cuts and how that could affect Magnet schools that rely on specialized classes, which are generally the first to go in budget reduction plans. Mr. Long commented that LVA is especially unique, even among Magnet schools, by being able to self-sustain their programs through exhibition sales and theatrical ticket sales. We then went on to discuss LVAs dropout rate as compared with regular public schools. Mr. Long stated that currently LVA has a significantly lower percentage, at 4 percent. “In addition to increasing student motivation, career magnet high schools can encourage students to stay in school. Heebner (1995) found there was a lower dropout rate among lottery winners in medium and high reading-test-score groups in public career magnet high schools in a large city, but, importantly, not in the lowest” (Flaxman, Guerrero, & Gretchen, 1999). Mr. Long felt that from LVAs inception in 1993, the school has stood as an example of exceptional education, each year they adjust and set goals; by looking at their long list of accolades one can see that LVA is truly an institution of outstanding teachers and learners.

LVAs mission statement says: “Las Vegas Academy promotes an interdisciplinary foundation for life long learning by motivating, empowering, and challenging our diverse student body to be academic, artistic, and compassionate individuals” (Las Vegas Academy of International Studies Performing and Visual Arts, 2011). Throughout the four years they attend LVA, they have an opportunity to work toward these goals. The seniors that I observed were ready to take on the world, with knowledge and talent as their guide. I was able to observe one student both in her English class and in her Photography class, as we visited she expressed her gratitude for LVA and how it has prepared her for the career of her choice. As she was coming up on graduation, she was excited about a forth coming career in photography and graphic design. She also expressed her excitement over her younger sister attending LVA next fall. LVA has become a legacy of success for their family.

Magnet schools all over the nation are setting and achieving goals, eliminating racial isolation, creating high-academic expectations, and providing creative outlets for students. Parents and students experience a choice from their regular zoned high schools and participate in a tailored public education. As students leave Magnet schools, enter college and pursue their careers, they have confidence in their abilities and talents. They know they can do what ever they set their minds to; they can reach for the stars. Magnet schools in today’s society are going beyond desegregation, moving into a world of academic achievement through innovation. 

Fig. 2. Las Vegas Academy Campus Map

Works Cited

Flaxman, E., Guerrero, A., & Gretchen, D. (1999). The Educational Benefits of Magnet Schools.

Retrieved May 10, 2011, from National Center for Research in Vocational Schools, University of California, Berkley: http://vocserve.berkeley.edu/abstracts/MDS-803/MDS-803-THE.html

Las Vegas Academy of International Studies Performing and Visual Arts. (2011, May 04).

Retrieved May 10, 2011, from Clark County School District: http://schools.ccsd.net/lva/Home.html

Paige, R., Rees, N. S., Petrilli, M. J., Fiegel, J., & Brockhouse, S. (2004). Creating Successful

Magnet School Programs. Jessup: Education Publications Center, U.S. Department of Education.

Sadker, D. M., & Zittleman, K. R. (2009). Teachers, Schools, and Society.

New York: McGraw-Hill.