By: Katie Noel, Victoria Scott, and Ari Seelinger
Speak
 Melinda experiences rape at a party.
 She becomes so traumatized that she cannot speak
 Melinda refuses to say anything to other students,
teachers, and her parents.
 Her art teacher, Mr. Freeman, encourages students to
be outspoken and free thinkers
 Using artwork, and with the help of Mr. Freeman,
Melinda begins to come to terms with what happened.
 Eventually, the artwork saves her life
Does this inspire you?
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rI3QYxlbYJs&featu
re=related
Good Will Hunting
-Will Hunting grows up an abused foster child
-He is a genious
-Blames himself for his miserable upbringing thus
loathing himself to the point where he sabotages his
professional and emotional lives.
-after a criminal act landing him in prison, he finds
himself in the hands of a therapist, The genie from
Aladdin… just kidding. Sean Maguire (played by Robin
Williams)
-Maguire confides in Will an important detail which
creates a relationship unlike any Will has ever had.
It’s not your fault
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtkST5- 
ZFHw&feature=related
Extremely Loud and Incredibly
Close
 The protagonist, Oskar Schell, loses his father in 9/11
 He finds a mysterious key in an envelope in his father’s




closet, so he pursues the lock that fits this key. There are
over a hundred million locks in NYC.
Oskar finds a man along his search called Mr. Black.
At age 103, Mr. Black helps Oskar with his journey,
providing guidance and wisdom.
Through Mr. Black, Oskar, without realizing it, meets his
grandfather.
Although, Oskar never knows that this new man is his
grandfather nor does he find the lock to the mysterious
key. Foer suggests that the introduction of this new
patriarch fulfills Oskar’s quest.
Foer talks extremely loud and
incredibly close
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBkvw6LGxSo 
Connecting the texts: common
themes
 Traumatized protagonists leading unhappy lives
 Trauma and how it effects learning
 Finding help from a someone without having sought
after it, sometimes even avoiding it.
 Coming to terms with their trauma and moving on.
 Unconventional educators
 Unacknowledged healing
Time to discuss the essays
 Victoria- An unconventional classroom setting and
teacher helping to overcome adversity.
 Ari- A traumatic experience can facilitate the learning
process.
 Katie- Figuring out how to teach someone who does
not want to be taught
Application to class discussions
 A teacher doesn’t have to be someone who hands out
assignments or grades your work. So how do we define
teacher? What makes one teacher better than
another?
 A teacher as a therapist or a therapist as a teacher?
 Learning can take place even when one does not
realize it
 Good Will Hunting is a really good movie. I just
watched it for the first time.
Questions, comments, or
concerns?
Good note to end on
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpP7b2lUxVE 