I’ve just watched I Not Stupid 2 on disc last night. All right, I know, I’m sort of outdated…but hey, it’s better late than never. And I didn’t regret staying up till about 2am to finish the two discs. In my opinion, it’s time well spent. And yes, all the media reports about the movie and the comments from movie and independent critics are right; the show really does make even hearts of metal tear. I myself use up four pieces of Kleenex, and I believe I’m not the extreme case. The movie does have its humorous side as well. Such as how Jerry’s mischievous friends tricked Jerry into believing that he got his female classmate pregnant. The scene featuring the adults speaking the lingo of the teenagers brought laughter as well. Just their tone and pronunciation can make one roll on the floor, laughing. But overall, I guess it is the messages that the movie sent to the audience that make it stand out from other mediocre, commercial movies. I don’t know about others; but for myself, I can pick up about three to four points/ messages from the movie.
The most obvious point is about how parents should discipline their children. In the movie, Tom’s parents are busy working to even enjoy dinner with their children, not to even mention teaching and communicating with them. To the parents, Tom is basically a good-for-nothing. Nothing that he does ever pleases them; not even when he won the championship for the national blogging competition. In addition, they often misunderstood his intentions, leading their already sour relation to worsen. I know every parent have their own method of disciplining their children, and it is thus not very fair to comment. But as far as I’m concern, I think that the least parents should do is to spend some time with their children. It’s not about quantity, rather, it is the quality of time that make the difference to the upbringing and behaviour of the child. If parents do not spend time with their children, children may turn to their friends for company. Should they fall prey to bad company, I don’t wish to imagine that scenario. So, that’s the part about disciplining the child as a parent.
Secondly, we shouldn’t blame the parents all the time. I think as children, we should also put ourselves in our parents’ shoes and think from their point of view. We always ask our parents to do and buy things for us and behave as if they owe us a living. But truth of the matter is that they don’t. Why not pause and think about what we can do for them? If we can do them proud by doing well in our exams, I don’t think our parents will be unhappy. If we can grow up and mature and not anger them, I don’t think they will nag and scold us. Take me for instance, I try not to anger my parents by not quarrelling with my brothers. I make them happy by putting my best efforts in every thing I do. Those who know me well will know that my present to mum and dad for Mothers’ and Fathers’ Day, their birthdays, Christmas, and what not, is what I work hard every year for; my exam results. So long as I put in my best efforts and do well, they will be happy, which is something that they always wanted from us. I guess, it is not that hard to please parents after all. In a sense, they are easier to please compared to us, don’t you think so?
Thirdly, it is about how schools and teachers should discipline their students? I am rather concerned about this point since I am going to teach in about four to five years time. In my own opinion, I don’t think I will be a teacher who will use violence and corporal punishment to punish the students. I would prefer to punish them constructively and use logic to reason with students. If they do not listen, I’ll have to resort to nagging and in the worst case scenario, I will approach my ‘saviour’; the discipline master. Hey, there is a reason for the existence of discipline masters/ mistresses in schools. But that is in the worst case scenario and I personally hope that I will develop my own methods of dealing with my students. Well, that’s something to worry about in four to five years time.
And lastly, I’ve also thought about how I would teach and discipline my children in the future. I know that future is not so near, but nevertheless, that taught did came to my mind. Would I be very strict with my children? In my opinion, it is very tiring to be strict with children. You’ve got to have loads of energy as you need to monitor and correct their behaviour, actions, speech, school work and other aspects. Would I bring up my children like how my parents brought me up? I always thought that my parents are not those types of strict parents who will force their children to study and study. On the contrary, my parents never force us to study, neither did they force us to learn things we don’t want to learn. In fact, sometimes, when they see me studying for five to six hours consecutively, they would tell me to take a break or something. I guess, how I’m going to bring up my children is something I will have to think about in the future.
All in all, this movie really brings across many points worth pondering over. It’s a movie worth watching and shedding your tears over. The four Kleenex has being put to good use. But seriously, when was the last time you praise someone?