December
7
ELA A10: Dec 7 “My Left Foot” discussion and questions…
- Friday, students used some class time to review for their Forensic’s exam. In exchange of that time (since they’ve become so adept at bargaining for reviews) they were given a story excerpt to read over the weekend and questions to answer. We reviewed the story together and I told them a bit more information about the author. There was a movie made from this autobiography of Christy Brown with Daniel Day Lewis playing the lead. Understanding the setting of this story, in Ireland shortly after the 1930’s when there was extreme poverty and very little medical awareness of the condition of Cerebral Palsey, makes a big difference in understanding the accomplishments of the author. He became a painter and writer, even though he was only ever able to control the movement of his “left foot”.
- Through our discussion of the reading, students were able to point out the significance of the fact that both of Christie’s parents were extremely faithful and positive that their son would be able to accomplish things. There were times when their faith waivered, but for the most part their determination to help their son develop was quite a challenge considering the fact that doctors at the time would have labelled him as mentally “retarded” – the term used at the time.
- We also had a fairly detailed conversation about Cerebral Palsey itself. I explained what the condition was and how someone is born with it. We talked a bit, as well, about the Robert Latimer case from Saskatchewan in 1993. Robert’s daughter, Tracey, was born with cerebral palsey after a disruption in her oxygen during birth. She was under constant pain and could not take medication to reduce it because it would conflict with her anti-seizure medication. Her father described her future medical procedures, including multiple surgeries, as being “mutilation and torture”, so he euthanized her using exhaust from his truck. The debate began, soon after, about the difference between “Quality of Life” and “Quantity of Life”, which we discussed and shared thoughts on for a short while.
- Overcoming physical obstacles is a great challenge, but not one restricted only to the individual but includes their family members as well.