Mr. Darcy Saves the Day

[judifilksign]

 One of my English classes studying Pride and Prejudice is an all-guy class.  At the start of the class period, two boys squared off, ready to fight.  Coats were flung to the floor, hats were off, fists were raised, and the cuss words flying.  My staff were headed over to split up the boys, but they wouldn't be in time for the first swing.

"Gawd, guys, don't you want to see what Mr. Darcy does next?" asked one of my students to the squared-off combatants.  There was a long pause, and no one moved.

Then, as one, the two would-be fighters picked up their hats, coats and books, moved to opposite sides of the room, and faced the view screen seating themselves.

I quickly started the movie, and everyone watched, enthralled.  They guys all moaned in disappointment when we ended the story for the day, right before Lady Catherine pays Elizabeth a call...

You could have knocked me over with a feather to see all these guys so really into this movie.  Colin Frith as Darcy is someone with whom they really identify.  And the guys' class "gets" the nuances much better than the girls' class has, who've been much more into the "who's cuter" factor in coupling up.

Comments

[catsittingstill.livejournal.com]

Wow :-)

[peteralway.livejournal.com]

I had to smile at this one.

[smoooom.livejournal.com]

An all guy English class? We hear all the time how girls do better in math and science when there are no guys around. I'd never thought about how it might change the perception of a film shown in English class. Do these guys get other stuff in English better as well?

Either way that's a really cool way for a fight to get broken up.

[judifilksign.livejournal.com]

I was pleasantly surprised with how keen the guys are. I think that not havng the girls coo keeps their eye on the plot.

[trektone.livejournal.com]

Colin Firth - for the win!

[thnidu.livejournal.com]

Kudos for the guy who said those magic words!



(A tall, lean, pedantic chap -- with unruly light-colored hair, a great many pockets overflowing with markers, pens, and slips of paper, and a striped scarf that brushes the floor at both ends -- approaches thnidu and asks to take over the keyboard for a few moments.)

Excuse me, and I almost hate to say this here, but shouldn't it be "the guys' class" and "the girls' class"?

He bows and departs, leaving a card:
Dr. Whom
Consulting Linguist, Grammarian,
Orthoëpist, and Philological Busybody

[judifilksign.livejournal.com]

You are most correct. That will teach me to use LJ's spell checker, won't it?

[muddlewait.livejournal.com]

Oh, this is awesome. I'd forgetten how much Darcy really is a character even guys who cultivate a rough-and-tough self-image can appreciate.

Is this class all-guy by design or chance?

[judifilksign.livejournal.com]

The class is all-guy by chance, while the all-girl class is by design.

We finished today (Jan. 31) and the guys were high-fiving one another, and yelling "KISS her already!!!" at the screen.