Ichabod Rides Again
I showed the Sleepy Hollow part of Ichabod and Mr. Toad to two classes of first year students to-day. One class was pretty quiet for it but I was really pleased with some big laughs and gasps from the second class. I already knew they were a particularly congenial, rowdy bunch of kids and maybe it shouldn't surprise me they were more receptive to old fashioned, zany American cartoon humour than some other classes.
It does get me thinking what a strange thing American cartoons were. The kids were saying, "Sugoi" and "sugei" (amazing) when Ichabod was stuffing whole pies in his mouth or swiftly avoiding Brom Bones' punches. Yeah, I realised, these are superhuman feats. It's weird how we tend not to think of it.
I took the opportunity to explain some western superstitions before the film so they understood when Ichabod avoided walking under the ladder and guided the black cat out of his path.
I showed part of Alice in Wonderland to second year students last week, the part where Alice grows big in the White Rabbit's house. Having shown it to a few silent student audiences, I was pleased to hear a group of girls really get into it. One girl laughed at just the right moment when Alice opens the shutters to peer out the window in giant form. I've discovered this girl's English is very strong.
"Why are you so good at English?" I asked her.
She shrugged, "I don't know!"
I followed up with one of my standard questions; "What did you eat for breakfast this morning?"
"Yoghurt, a chocolate doughnut, and hot cocoa!"
I'm used to kids just saying, "Rice," or, "Bread". The more I talk to her, the more I think she's the right audience for Alice in Wonderland. She's also a natural leader, like River Phoenix in Stand by Me. The other girls look up to her and I saw her comforting a girl who was crying after a difficult test. I'm continually amazed by the students I meet on this job.