Music to Think By

After a week of madly watching Glee every night (we had the disks from the library for just a week and it is a looonngg waiting list to sign it out again) we are done season 1. And I am in a Glee-induced funk.

It is a great show. The music is exceptionally well produced and performed. The cast has a fabulous dynamic. The characters are easy to like and very human in their weakness. The comedy is funny - we laughed out loud often. And did I mention that I REALLY love the music?

BUT I am having a really hard time with the dynamic between Wil and Sue. I hate bullies. Hate them with a soul-searing passion. And Sue is such a bully. I am frustrated by the fact that we (teachers) spend so much time and energy trying to teach our students that bullying is not acceptable in society. We work to inspire them to be better than that. And it feels like, to me, the hierarchy of adult life is steeped in might is right. Blackmail and intimidation and influence have more power than integrity and encouragement and hard work.

It discourages me.

I know that isn't true everywhere. But there is just too much of it in real life. And it permeats the adult dynamics on Glee.

Then, on the way home from town yesterday LK, who had been very patient with my blues all day, said that maybe the success of the Glee club was born out of the adversity. They would have never made it so far without the nemesis of Sue looming over their heads all year. He had a point. But I still don't like it.

How much is just the right amount of adversity to inspire great things without squashing the soul? Can an environment of positive support and encouragement be detrimental? Have we become to namby-pamby politically correct and are our students suffering from it?

Hmmm....