The age of progress

Modern Times is a film that took place in 1936, where progress and modernity were considered the base of a new era. This movie tries to explain and show the consequences of Industrialism through the great depression that workers and familiy members lived. The most important consequence of this vulnerable period is reflected with workers’ strikes.

Charles Chaplin is the protagonist, who represents a factory worker forced to work hard, fast and productively as if he were a machine.

An evident example of the abuse suffered is when Chaplin was obligated to be the “guinea pig” for the new lunch machine. The machine had technical problems and he suffered the consequences. Unquestionably, his working conditions were awful. In addition, Chaplin looses his job and he is sent to jail where he get accustomed to live in better conditions. Anyway, he is free again. One day, walking down the streets he falls in love with a homeless girl. The girl has a relevant function in the film, because she is an example of the difficulties lived in those times.

Chaplin’s life is very hard like most of the workers in those times.

Im conclusion, I think that Modern Times is a film in which its director tries to show in a funny way what was happening with the majority of workers and families. As a result of the comical elements present in the film, the viewer gets involved completely, like in my case. It also demonstrates how people were able to cope with difficulties in order to have a better life.

Do you think modernity is a blessing or a curse? From workers point of view it is a curse in terms of the abuse suffered against them. They way in which they were treated was humiliating. In contrast, It is also recognized as a blessing for people who had the power in those times. They got benefit from workers’ sacrifices.

Do modernity and reforms make an influence in teaching?

Certainly, since the age of reform, it has always been a big influence in our lives. Most of the time the age of reform is identified as the beginning of a new era in the history of British, but not only there. On the contrary, many places in the world were affected by this period of time. That is why advanced industrial societies took the control of the way of living of people in those times. In addition, "they brought new material things with which their main purpose was to get technical achievements to take advantage of their power and get benefits from their workers" (Richard Hooker, 1996). Those advances in terms of modernity were not the most important during this period. You may ask why I affirm that. It is simple; there is something beyond the transition from rural to industrial landscape. So, like I know that there is a reality not mentioned that I would like to emphasize on it, in order to prove that in many aspects life changed not only in relation to machines. The most important is like future teachers there is a connection between those changes and the way in which we will teach English, our main objective.


First, it is necessary to explain what the term modernity means. It is simply "the sense or the idea that the present is discontinuous with the past, that through a process of social and cultural change (either through improvement, that is, progress, or through decline) life in the present is fundamentally different from life in the past". (Richard Hooker, 1996). As a result of these changes, our traditions, our ideals, our behaviour patterns suffer a transformation. In other words we acquire an innovative way of thinking that enables us to have another way of seeing the reality. The transition from the past to what we have now expands modern methods of raising productivity that is also called the industrial revolution because the eighteenth century shows a series of governmental and institutional reforms.
During this time the interest in education increased and schools were founded and most of them were supported by the church. Unfortunately in those times, education was a privilege only for aristocratic people. Students knew alphabet, were able to sing religious songs, to read Latin prayers and to read in English. Therefore education had a religious purpose; "teachers should be very strict and make students learn" (Education and educational system in Britain). The teachers’ image in the past was different. "There was considerable growth of public schools for the developing British Empire and elementary schools to provide basic skills required by the industrial revolution"(Education and educational system in Britain). "The education reforms were caused by the needs of industry and trade which demanded mass literacy for workers and better education for the managerial class"(Education and educational system in Britain) seeing education as a good deal.

“Teaching requires both sensibility and technical competence to play the appropriate role in teaching” (Donald Oliver). Nowadays, teachers’ role has suffered changes but even though there are some schools that have a wrong definition of teachers and use them as a way to impose their own believes, as I've seen in my experience. "English language is a wonderful tool for teachers to expand our culture" (Gershman,Oliver) most of the times not mention. Through language we can be able to motivate our students to learn something that will be useful for them.

In conclusion, a teacher should be aware of the progress in order to be innovative because this is a good way to get students’ attention. The use of technology has changed planification of classes to make them more dynamic, but anyway some schools relate modernity with money and they transform schools a great center of business. For teachers, our culture plays a fundamental role. It is good that teachers teach a foreign culture taking into consideration their student’s background that’s the way in which they can construct their own way of learning and learn cooperatively. Modernity and reforms influence the way educators teach in a negative aspect because the modern thinking makes teachers be focused on technology instead of being concerned about the learning process. Finally, teaching can be construed as a mechanic act in which teachers make students learn a predetermined kind of knowledge without students’ participation in class.

References:
Gershman, Katheleen.Oliver, Donald."Education.Modernity and fractured meaning".
http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/GLOSSARY/MODERN.HTM
http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=36354
http://schools.keldysh.ru/school1413/eng/egorova_ks/str6.html

E s s a y

Certainly, since the age of reform, it has always been a big influence in our lives. Most of the time identified as the beginning of a new era in the history of British, but not only there. On the contrary, many places in the world were affected by the age of reform. That is why advanced industrial societies took the control of the way of living of people in those times. In addition, they brought new material things with which their main purpose was to get technical achievements to take advantage of their power and get benefits from their workers. Those advances in terms of modernity were not the most important during this period. You may ask why I affirm that. It is simple; there is something beyond the transition from rural to industrial landscape. So, like I know that there is a reality not mentioned that I would like to emphasize in order to prove that in many aspects life has changed…

What is the real meaning of change?

Industrialism is the name of one of the most important periods in relation to our history. I think that when we want to talk about change and progress, this term provides characteristics to support these ideas (change and progress).

During this period , it is possible to observe new reforms which made an improvement in education, laws in order to avoid injustice and slavery, also reforms in a social context. In this context, people from town moved to big cities to work there.

Industrialism and the agre of reform are two key words useful to recognize that there was an improvement, a change in living conditions because at this time people were having a lot of problems.

The word change has been present among our history and how do I realize of that? It is simple, because history is the result of all what had made a difference. So, historical events are composed by change that make influence in our lives and in our way of seeing the reality.