Students may see movies as a way to doze off in class, but they provide more benefits than meets the eye.
Watching movies promotes mental health and relaxation while providing mood-boosting and stress-relieving properties, according to psychcentral.com.
Movies also supply an atmosphere for students to bond and make memories with each other.
Watching movies based on books can help students better understand and comprehend the literature, according to teachersoncall.ca.
“It is like a break from the teacher teaching, and you get a real-world example or you get to see what you’re learning in actual context,” said junior Nupur Mehta.
If a teacher combines watching a movie with reading a book, students are more likely to remember the story and glean its hidden message.
This year, MSA English teacher Ashley Adams’ class watched and read “The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet,” a Shakespeare classic.
“It was written so long ago; it is important for the students to read the play and act it out, but I also think it is important for the students to visualize it,” said Adams.
One of Adams’ students, freshman Robert Hunt, enjoyed both the story and drama of Romeo and Juliet’s tale.
“ [The movie] helped me experience the play,” said Robert. “Seeing the play versus reading it in a textbook is much more immersive.”
When diving into tough topics such as tragedies, war and disease, movies aid in conveying the drastic impact they had on the world.
“We learned about about genocide in AP Human, and we watched Hotel Rwanda,” said Nupur. “It gave us an actual example of what we were learning.”
It can be very disappointing for teachers to see their students use movies as nap time, but they have found a way to make sure students remain awake by assigning watching guides. These assignments, however, can ruin the value of soaking in the message of the movie.
Nupur agrees and believes that the whole point of a movie is to watch it and enjoy it, not take notes and work on paper.
Students learn more about different cultures and ways of life through watching movies, according to teachingelawithjoy.com.
“I think [movies] help the students understand which is the ultimate goal,” said Adams.
