Jamie: So drawing outside the box, I don’t know why, but I started to think about those dumb self-help books because there’s always, like, a little bit of truth in them. Like, for example, the whole Secret-ing thing is so lame. I know. But I’m still envisualizing that check in my mailbox. And I started thinking, you know, maybe the kids could Secret things, like, you know, I don’t know, like…Like going to college. And they could picture themselves going there and walking on the campus and actually graduating. And I think that that would be good for them to see themselves that way. You think that’s dumb.
Nona: I think it’s a knockout.
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Olivia Lopez: Hearing in 10 days. You want it?
Nona: Yes, absolutely.
Olivia Lopez: Great. Now listen to me carefully. This board finds reasons to say no. Last year we killed a proposal from not having a proper index. So, I’s dotted, T’s crossed. And good luck and so forth.
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Michael: Look at this, did you see this? They’re goin’ up around the streets, all around school. It’s got my name on it.
Jamie: Big deal. Stick and stones.
Michael: It kind of is a big deal because I’m not anti-labor. I think you don’t really know what you’re asking.
Jamie: I don’t know what I’m asking? I’ve spent most of my life without job security. It’s awful.
《永不放棄》(Won’t Back Down)改編自真人真事,片中描述一個單親媽媽為了爭取孩子受教育的機會,而與整個體制對抗的歷程。為什麼到了現今社會,義務教育這麼普及的時代,受教權仍然需要受到保障?首先,教育是要因材施教的,有些特殊的孩子在一般學校中無法得到應有的關注,不但沒有學到東西,反而對學習失去興趣。更重要的一點,教育需要資源。即使義務教育實施於全國,城鄉的孩子所擁有的資源不同,久了以後反而拉開了差距。
潔美找到了對教學有熱誠的諾娜老師,在第一段對話中,她向諾娜形容她對這所新學校的想法。她說一切都是突發奇想(drawing outside of the box),box所指的是我們一般思考的框架,在box之外的自然是一些不受常規限制的想法。因此,當我們鼓勵他人有更多創新、多元的想法時,可以鼓勵他:「Think outside the box」。
潔美顯得不以為意,她說:「Stick and stones」,意思是我對這樣的指控免疫了。這句話是一大段話的縮簡版,原本的句子是「Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me」,直譯就是「棍子和石頭可以打斷我的骨頭,話語卻不行」。潔米已經面對這麼多的困難,包括眾多教師和家長的不諒解,教師工會的抹黑,董事會的阻撓,現在麥可提出的抗議對她來說不會造成傷害。她當然不是真的沒有受到傷害,但她無法像麥可一樣面面俱到。她只知道自己的孩子有學習障礙,這是不能等的。