Post by Galman Dewan 3B4 on May 21, 2010 7:00:18 GMT
‘Our Day Out’ by Willy Russel is a play about a group of school children, from Liverpool, who are going on a school trip to Wales. There are two main characters in the play. They are Mr Briggs and Mrs Kay. These are the two teachers who are basically the leaders of this trip. They are both school teachers, but there is a lot difference in between them. Mr Briggs is overly strict, while Mrs Kay is too much of a pushover. Russel contrasts these two throughout the play. Willy Russel shows us the difference between the two teachers when they give their rules to the class. Mrs Kay tells the pupils that
‘We want everyone to enjoy themselves. That’s the only rule we have today: think of yourselves, but think of others as well’.
The part that makes this a good rule is the line ‘but think of others as well’, as Kay is stating that they should also think of others, implying that they should also be sensible. The element that makes this a weak rule is the line ‘think of yourselves’, because this is encouraging the children to behave defectively, for example, stealing. It is also quite poor as she says ‘think of yourselves, but think of others as well’ because she is saying think of yourselves before thinking of others. Mr Briggs says that
‘But a lot of you haven’t been on a school trip before so you won’t know how to enjoy yourselves. So I’ll tell you’.
The positive piece about this rule is that Briggs is giving them the discipline which they need, but he has said this in a negative way. The bad part about this rule is that this may be the only day the children will have fun, but Briggs is denying them this opportunity, as he is asking them to have fun by just sitting in their seat and behaving. The best rule would be a mix of the two, as they should have fun, but at the same time they should also behave themselves and be disciplined.
The rules are put to test when the class visit the sweet shop. During the children’s break they visit a sweet shop, after they are set free by Mr Briggs and Mrs Kay. During there time at the sweet shop they behave very poorly and steal sweets, they clear the shops shelves. Mrs Kay’s reaction to this was very deprived, as she turned a blind eye to this and let the situation slip. Mr Briggs reaction to this is the total opposite as he starts yelling randomly at pupils. He says
‘Stop! Slater, walk … walk! You boy …. Come here. Now stop. All of you, stop!
Mr Briggs is not effective at all here, as the elypsis shows that he is not confident, and the repetition of ‘stops’ shows that his commands aren’t working at all. Neither of the teachers rules have worked here, although, in a way Mrs Kay’s rule has, as the children have thought of themselves before thinking for others. Mr Briggs is not right not to trust the pupils, as when he trusted them they didn’t live up to his expectations.
When the pupils go to the castle, the teachers have an argument in relation to what the trip is really about. Mrs Kay believes the whole point of the trip is to let the pupils have fun. While having the argument, Mrs Kay says that
‘Do you really think you could educate these kids? Because you’re a fool if you do!’
She believes that they should have fun as she believes they do not have they ability or potential to learn and become a successful person when they are older. However, Mr Briggs says
‘Well that’s a fine attitude for a member of the teaching profession to have’.
Mr Briggs takes this trip very seriously, as the word ‘profession’ stands out, but he also wants to help the class, as he told them facts about the castle. He also doesn’t simplify his words for them, he talks to them as he would talk to a normal person, and he treats the children equally. Mr Briggs has the best attitude towards the progress class, as he hasn’t given up hope on the kids, but on the other hand Mrs Kay has. He is trying to help them and give them a good education.
In the scene set on the cliff, we see Mr Briggs being very successful in helping Carol down to safety. At first, Briggs tried to get Carol down by shouting and yelling because he is used to treating pupils like that, and to be fair, it does work most of the time. But here, this does not work as he isn’t showing Carol any respect, so Carol decides not to show any respect back. It also doesn’t work as Carol doesn’t really care about Briggs, she only cares about people she likes, for example, Mrs Kay. Briggs then brings in a bit of Mrs Kay’s personality into him, to bring Carol down because she is threatening to commit suicide. Briggs shows he cares about her by taking this action and it also came to his understanding that Carol will only come down if he is being nice to her. He also starts having a friendly conversation with her. This is successful as she sees him as a good human being, therefore, she starts respecting him.
In conclusion, there can be no doubt that a combination of Mrs Kay and Mr Briggs would be best for the progress class. Mrs Kay’s character is very nice or too nice, she can be too much of a pushover, she is patronising and she doesn’t really treat everyone equally, as she has favourites. However, Mr Briggs is too strict and direct with the children, but he treats all of them equally and wants to help them. A combination of the two teachers would be best for the class, as the pupils would have someone to converse with, but they will also get that degree of strictness that they need in life.
‘We want everyone to enjoy themselves. That’s the only rule we have today: think of yourselves, but think of others as well’.
The part that makes this a good rule is the line ‘but think of others as well’, as Kay is stating that they should also think of others, implying that they should also be sensible. The element that makes this a weak rule is the line ‘think of yourselves’, because this is encouraging the children to behave defectively, for example, stealing. It is also quite poor as she says ‘think of yourselves, but think of others as well’ because she is saying think of yourselves before thinking of others. Mr Briggs says that
‘But a lot of you haven’t been on a school trip before so you won’t know how to enjoy yourselves. So I’ll tell you’.
The positive piece about this rule is that Briggs is giving them the discipline which they need, but he has said this in a negative way. The bad part about this rule is that this may be the only day the children will have fun, but Briggs is denying them this opportunity, as he is asking them to have fun by just sitting in their seat and behaving. The best rule would be a mix of the two, as they should have fun, but at the same time they should also behave themselves and be disciplined.
The rules are put to test when the class visit the sweet shop. During the children’s break they visit a sweet shop, after they are set free by Mr Briggs and Mrs Kay. During there time at the sweet shop they behave very poorly and steal sweets, they clear the shops shelves. Mrs Kay’s reaction to this was very deprived, as she turned a blind eye to this and let the situation slip. Mr Briggs reaction to this is the total opposite as he starts yelling randomly at pupils. He says
‘Stop! Slater, walk … walk! You boy …. Come here. Now stop. All of you, stop!
Mr Briggs is not effective at all here, as the elypsis shows that he is not confident, and the repetition of ‘stops’ shows that his commands aren’t working at all. Neither of the teachers rules have worked here, although, in a way Mrs Kay’s rule has, as the children have thought of themselves before thinking for others. Mr Briggs is not right not to trust the pupils, as when he trusted them they didn’t live up to his expectations.
When the pupils go to the castle, the teachers have an argument in relation to what the trip is really about. Mrs Kay believes the whole point of the trip is to let the pupils have fun. While having the argument, Mrs Kay says that
‘Do you really think you could educate these kids? Because you’re a fool if you do!’
She believes that they should have fun as she believes they do not have they ability or potential to learn and become a successful person when they are older. However, Mr Briggs says
‘Well that’s a fine attitude for a member of the teaching profession to have’.
Mr Briggs takes this trip very seriously, as the word ‘profession’ stands out, but he also wants to help the class, as he told them facts about the castle. He also doesn’t simplify his words for them, he talks to them as he would talk to a normal person, and he treats the children equally. Mr Briggs has the best attitude towards the progress class, as he hasn’t given up hope on the kids, but on the other hand Mrs Kay has. He is trying to help them and give them a good education.
In the scene set on the cliff, we see Mr Briggs being very successful in helping Carol down to safety. At first, Briggs tried to get Carol down by shouting and yelling because he is used to treating pupils like that, and to be fair, it does work most of the time. But here, this does not work as he isn’t showing Carol any respect, so Carol decides not to show any respect back. It also doesn’t work as Carol doesn’t really care about Briggs, she only cares about people she likes, for example, Mrs Kay. Briggs then brings in a bit of Mrs Kay’s personality into him, to bring Carol down because she is threatening to commit suicide. Briggs shows he cares about her by taking this action and it also came to his understanding that Carol will only come down if he is being nice to her. He also starts having a friendly conversation with her. This is successful as she sees him as a good human being, therefore, she starts respecting him.
In conclusion, there can be no doubt that a combination of Mrs Kay and Mr Briggs would be best for the progress class. Mrs Kay’s character is very nice or too nice, she can be too much of a pushover, she is patronising and she doesn’t really treat everyone equally, as she has favourites. However, Mr Briggs is too strict and direct with the children, but he treats all of them equally and wants to help them. A combination of the two teachers would be best for the class, as the pupils would have someone to converse with, but they will also get that degree of strictness that they need in life.