No pain, No gain

In any process of learning is impossible not to suffer in the way to achieve it.

As a result of her education, Rita has learned that there are sacrifices to be made (changing jobs, leaving a husband, changing friends)to achieve a certain goal and "your inner drive" will lead you to make those sacrifices.

The question is: How much pf you are you willing to sacrifice to achieve your aim?

Putting it in scale, I would say that Rita gained more than what she suffered. When we see all she has gained in the end, we realize that those sacrifices Rita made were insignificant compared to the way she lives now.

Take a look at all she has gained!:

*Independence

*Freedom in her decision-making

* New exciting experiences

*New friends

*Self-confidence

Isn´t all of this worth it??

Programme of Study - Question 5

Culture Clash or Culture Mix?

It is obvious that Rita and Frank have different backgrounds. Although there were times of misunderstandings ("off me cake"; the TV programme, and so on) there were other times where both cultures complemented each other and helped to overcome their problems.

I believe Rita was the most concerned about this clash, she was the one who felt she wasn´t up to the level of "Frank´s people" to have a discussion or simply to talk "about things that matter".

She is the one that is not happy with the class she is in and with the culture that surrounds her while Frank is thrilled by the way she speaks, makes herself understood and doesn´t want Rita to loose this important part of her life.

I believe we should get to know more than one culture at a time and form one of our own. Choose and select the parts you like, the parts you feel comfortable with and go with what you feel and believe and create your way. That is, in my opinion, what Rita does in the end. She is so intoxicated by this new culture that she cannot see properly.

When she takes the time to think about her actions (during the test) she realizes that each and everyone of her experiences have helped her create her own culture. That is why Rita goes to Frank´s office, she wants to tell him that she now understands the meaning of that "be careful" he once told her.

Programme of Study - Question 10

Educating Frank?

Both Rita and Frank have learned a lot during the course of the play.

Rita has learned that anything you want can be accomplished as long as you are persevering and eager to study and work hard. She has also learned to be independent, to listen to her wished and do what her heart tells her to. She has become a very strong, self-confident woman who is thankful for all the help and tools Frank has given her and, although is hard to let go, she knows it is the wise thing to do. Each person has to follow his/her own path to reach his/her destiny. Rita learned that the path she was taking wasn´t the one to reach her goal. She has learned which her real path is and how to walk on it.

Frank has learned to be more co-dependant and he has learned to express his feelings towards a person and not just to his poetry. He has also learned to make more challenging decisions and his has opened his heart to let Rita in.

The play finishes with Rita cutting Frank´s hair as an explicit sign of Rita´s contribution into this relationship the two of them have developed.

I say EXPLICIT OR CONCRETE sign because throughout the play Rita has contributed the same or even more them Frank has contributed. He has given her books, guidance. She has given him new points of view, confidence to believe in himself, a reason to stop drinking (although that is tough to change) : many things that books cannot teach.

In conclusion, "Educating Frank" would have been just as well a title for this book.

"SOMETIMES STUDENTS END UP BEING THE BEST TEACHERS"

Act 2, Scene 6 & 7 - What do you think + Question 5

Frank: Jealous, envious?

Frank has gotten used to seeing Rita around and the bond that they have created has led Frank into caring a lot about Rita. He wants her well and wants to still guide her in her decision-making. She is very independent now and feels that she can do anything on her own.

Frank is a little bit jealous. Not only because of her new life, new friends, new job, etc but also because he is not the center of attention any more. Frank is not the 1st one to turn to now when Rita has a problem but Trish.

Also, Frank feels a little bit envious by this new life Rita is creating. She has started from scratch, turned a new leaf and it actually LIVING her LIFE. I think Frank would definitely like to do something like that but doesn´t have the guts to do it. Teaching her and learning from her was a new part of his life and now that Rita doesn´t go to his office very often , seems that his life is going back to she same it has always been: dull.

During this scene, it seems like Rita has forgotten everything Frank has dome for her (besides teaching!).

That is why, taking into account this scene, I feel more identified with Frank.

It is nice to be the center of attention, to be the one a person turns to when he/she has a problem. It is only natural to feel jealous or betrayed when that stops happening. You feel that you were not appreciated.

Act 2, Scene 4&5 - What do you think?

Rita´s odd accent

Rita changes her way of speaking because she wants to talk properly. Frank doesn´t like it at all, he wants her to be herself.

Frank and Rita have different views on what means to talk properly.

Rita thinks that talking properly means talking in a sophisticated way, using fancy language and posh accent (in my mind I believe that it would sound like that).

Frank thinks that talking properly means talking the way she usually did, with slung language, talking fast and without caring what others think of her.

This, among other changes, is what Frank has been fearing all along: how much of the new environment has Rita acquired and up to what extent should she do it.

Should she change completely?

Franks fears for her, he never wanted her to change (although in the previous scene, he was excited by these new changes). In this scene, we can see the side effects of the changes, so to speak.

Frank has given Rita so much freedom in her choosing that now he doesn´t know how to cope with the new Rita. A very defiant Rita , trying to show Frank that she is now a little innocent girl any more, that she can take care of herself now.

Act 2 - Scene 2 & 3, Question 1

Rita´s changes

There are different aspects as regards Rita´s changes:

-As regards her feelings:

*After Summer School, Rita has build up her confidence. Not only has she opened up to meeting new people but also to getting to know new books, new poetry. She is trying to expand her knowledge on these new matters.

* She doesn´t feel old any more as in the beginning of the story. She now feels like the rest of those boys and girls sitting on the Grass, outside. She feels young (even though she is). She doesn´t feel that is late for her to start learning.

* She tells Frank that she asked a lot of questions during classes, that means that she was not afraid of making them or making mistakes. I think that is definitely Frank´job: he has been working on with Rita during their sessions, don´t you think? Trying to loosen her up, to relax and not to be afraid of making a mistake.

*She is living with a flatmate. Now that she is single, she is trying to get her life back on track, the way she always wanted and she is no longer living by the rules of her husband.

-As regards her experiences at Summer School and what she has learned:
*Her way of answering back to someone is not the same, she doesn´t make jokes now by gives "clever" answers. I think that the word is not clever but honest and respectful answers.

* Rita has never topped working: essays and more essays. Even though it was hard work, she liked it very much. I believe she didn´t mind working so hard because the whole experience (getting to know other people, listening to tutors and teachers, getting to know London, etc) was worth it, including the fact that she had to work a lot.

* Rita already knows the author Frank wants to introduce her. She even knows it by heart and what should be studied when reading him. Rita has enter into the University system, as I mentioned in previous posts.

However, there are things that NEVER change:

* Rita´s intention to reform Frank as regards his drinking problem.

* Rita´s intention to get Frank back into writing poetry (with her "subtle" present).

Frank is excited to see a renovated Rita. One that has learned a lot during the summer yet deep down she is the same Rita that he never wanted to change: a person who takes care of others, who explores her new experiences in depth, and so on.

Frank is shocked by how well she is entering this world, even though he never doubted of Rita´s capability.

Renovated Rita is peppier than ever.

Act 2, Scene 1 - What do you think?

I CAN DO BETTER THAN THAT!

After Rita surrenders, she decides to forget about her dreams and go to the pub where her husband and mother are.

But when she sees her mother crying and saying " We could sing better songs than those" she is reminded of why she goes to Frank´s office, why she goes to see Macbeth and so on. She knows she can do better than that, she can do others things apart from drinking and hanging out in pubs. Her mother reminds her of her main objective: HER NEW LIFE AND CHANGE.

She remembers her main objective and the reason why she gives up many things (having a baby, agreeing with his husband, etc): she WANTS TO BE BETTER.

Her first hopes appear again, reminding her that by studying hard, and putting all her body and soul into it, she can achieve anything she wants.

I can even say that, maybe next time, she will have the guts to knock on Frank´s door.

Question 2 - Act 1, Scene 7 & 8 - Educating Rita

Share with your Students!

From the very beginning of the scene, we see a very caring and worried Frank who is 1st concerned about the way Rita enters his office (then he knows it was because of excitement), then he is concerned about her health and how she eats: "Look, how about a proper lunch?" he asks her.

This attitude of sharing, in this case the apple and the can of soda, between student and teacher is the one that called my attention.

In my opinion, this is a clear example that there is more to teaching than just delivering the lesson to the students but caring about them, asking them about their lives is also part of it.

In fact, Rita learns something in this "lesson": the difference between Tragedy and Tragic but what is important is the fact that Frank asks Rita about Denny, he invites her to his dinner party at his house, and so on.

HUMANIZE YOUR TEACHING!

THINK OF YOUR STUDENT AS A PERSON AND NOT MERELY AS A LEARNER!

Act 1 - Scene 6, Question 3

Rita´s Expressions

Rita uses a couple of expressions to emphasize how important the course is to her:

-"(I´m) Busy finding meself"

-" I´ve begun to find me"

-(to Frank) - " You give me room to breathe"

- " You just , like feed me without expectin´anythin´in return"

-(about Literature) " It´s providing me with life itself"

-" Coming here, doing this, it´s given me more life than I ´ve had in years, an´he (Denny) should be able to see that"

- " If it´s all in my head, he (Denny) can´t touch it"

What I loved about this Scene, is the fact that in this struggle for starting to work, the roles changed. In this scene, Frank is the one that wants to talk about personal problems, he wants to get involved in Rita´s life to find a way to help her. Contrary to what I may expect, Rita wants to start working right away, she doesn´t want to be affected by her situation, she doesn´t want to give Denny the satisfaction of having succeed in getting Rita distracted.

I like her last quote: " If it´s all in my head, he can´t touch it". It is dead true. Nobody can get into our mind but ourselves. Fortunately, our thoughts are ours only.

Act 1, Scene 5 - Question 1

University: Game with its specific rules

Frank tells Rita the story of the theology student so that she can realize that learning and going to University has its rules.

Unfortunately, you cannot do whatever you want(or write in this case); you have to stick to the rules that the professor imposes so that you can pass.

Sometimes you need the skill to "blend in" because that is what the professors, the University is asking for.

As Frank says, playing to be smart or clever is not the answer: that can get you into trouble.

I believe this story helps Rita to understand life a little bit more and not about just the fact of how to write an essay.

She learns that life has its rules and in some subjects is no good to break them.

In mi opinion, wanting to learn is absolutely key to start University, having that motivation is absolutely important but there are other things to take into account to start learning: TO KNOW THE SYSTEM.

If you understand how the system works, you can get into this game that is called LIFE.

Act 1, Scene 3&4 - Question 2

Frank´s room and the "Proper" Students

Rita loves Frank´s room. She thinks he has taste. She looks at it as her ideal room: full of knowledge, messy yet attractive. I believe she can smell when wisdom is around her and that turns her into somebody who is eager to learn.

When she sees this room, her mind starts to day-dream. She dreams about having a room like that one, having another life and fitting into the life of a "proper" student.

What´s a Proper Student? Well, in Rita´s terms, Proper students are responsible, nerd-like students who study all the time. She idealizes them and that is why she gets so upset when Frank implies that they are lazy or do not take education that seriously.

I believe that during this part of the play, Rita wanders if she could one day be at the same level of those proper students. She doesn´t want to miss the opportunity of being close to them, in fact, BEING ONE OF THEM is her ultimate goal.

Act 1, Scene 2 - Educating Rita

Why does Rita want to study?

Rita wants to know everything. She wants to learn things. She wants something more out of her life rather than getting stuck in a mediocre life. What she wants is a CHANGE.

For that, she decides to study; even though she implies that she doesn´t want to become one of those snobs/show-off women whom Frank, her tutor, is so well familiarized with.

I have to give Rita a lot of credit: she knows exactly what she wants and how she wants it. She is a determined woman who decides to take some risks in her life. Even though she is nervous and her husband does not support her much, she is persevering.

I have only read 1 chapter so far but I already feel identified with Rita. I think that she decides her change to be dramatic for her life to truly take a spin: she starts University, changes her name from Susan to Rita, so that she can feel renewed.

After my trip, I also feel renewed.

I have not changed my name yet (haha), but what I can say is that exploring, visting new places and learning and more learning changes your life and that is what Rita is looking for.

Act 1, Scene 1 - Educating Rita