Glee!

[tubainty]

Hmmm.. Well I suppose that being 16 I am the target audience lol.... However I realize that Glee is nothing like reality, but the message the show tries to portray is why I watch.

[tubafatness]

This pretty much sums up my thoughts about the show, (important part is at 1:37)
http://www.hulu.com/watch/134327/commun ... s-p6-sr-i1

[Rev Rob]

During high school, my happiest moments occurred when I was in the pit, part of a musical theater ensemble for the musical Carousel. I have always been a Rogers & Hart, and Rogers and Hammerstein fan. An activity that encourages any music, or performing arts activity can't be all bad.

I appreciate Chuck Jackson's remarks about the student orchestra he conducts/instructs, but not all of us come from such high octane environments/schools. I was very fortunate to have had excellent instrumental and vocal instructors who were able to meet us where we were - a smallish rural Southeastern Minnesota community.

[ken k]

Where does Grease fit into your list Chuck?

Grease....let's see....a nice clen cut girl becomes a slut to get a loser, that pretty much sums up Grease.....

[k001k47]

Harry Potter is a more accurate depiction of high school than Glee. Yup.

[Chuck Jackson]

The most unrealistic thing about TV shows and movies that portray high school situations is the extensive "adult-ish/quasi-profound" dialog.

Just finishing up my 12th year as a teacher. This may be THE most accurate statement ever said about any portrayal of teenagers in movies/TV. The one thing I have noticed about the majority of kids I teach (I have everything from juvenile delinquents to Valedictorians) is how shallow their conversations are. I can count on one hand the times I have had an erudite conversation with a child and that particular child was home-schooled, incredibly well read (had a fascinating conversation on Herodutus' "Histories" the other day), and very insightful. I have met this child's parents and they are fascinating people. I have met parents that are poster children for Planned Parenthood. It's about the home life people. Most kids want to talk about clothes, boys/girls, video games, and social things, YET I am still amazed on a daily basis at how well they perform.

I view movies and TV shows that are teen-centric as a chance for adults to voice their own views, not the other way around.

I still LOVE teenagers. They are an endless source of energy.

Chuck

[TMurphy]

I still LOVE teenagers. They are an endless source of energy.

If only we had a more efficient way of burning them....

[roughrider]

As a retired teacher and administrator, I enjoyed reading your comments regarding the poor conversational skills and language usage of students. That you had an intellectual discussion with one of your students about classics is a wonderful thing. This child has had exposure to a wide breadth of knowledge and has been well taught by parents who are well educated themselves. Sadly, the vast majority of American and Canadian high school students do not have this advantage. They are being parented by folks who are working desperately hard to keep afloat financially and just do not have the time, money and education to do this. As well, our society values speed in communication above all else. This is why the conversational skills are so lacking in most of our students. Yes these students have energy, they also need to be able to communicate verbally in something that does not resemble a five second "sound bite"

[tubainty]

As an actual teenager I thought I would join this discussion. I must admit that most people of my age group lack maturity and conversation skills as several of you have pointed out. However I feel that there are still quite a few of us that are capable of having intelligent discussions and such (I like to think that I am part of this minority). I am of course not the "average" teenager, and I don't attend a "normal" high school so the actual day to day life of "normal" teens is somewhat a mystery to me. I spend a great deal of my time playing tuba, when I do actually hang out with friends they are usually other musicians and we just end up discussing music. My point being that not all teenagers are as immature and shallow as several of you have stated.

The reason I find the show Glee so appealing is not at all that I take it as an accurate representation of the life of an american teenager. It is rather the message that it is always ok to be yourself and to express yourself in the way that you choose (wether that be show choir or tuba in my case ). The characters in the show are all outcasts in some way and find refuge in their singing, I relate to this very much as I have never been "normal", as I stated earlier. Several of my serious musician friends (all teenagers mind you) are avid fans of glee for similar reasons. The characters in glee are actually quite dynamic, though the premise is rather ridiculous and the situations somewhat implausible the message is quite inspirational.

Just clarifying,
Davis