"The Myth of the Super Teacher" (alternate title: "Teachers Are Human")

 Photo from Wikipedia

Probably anyone and everyone who has ever been a teacher can relate to Roxanna Elden's message in the video below (including myself).  Everyone who enters the teaching profession has an image in their mind of what the job will entail.  Every new teacher thinks they are going to step right in, reach every single student, and change the world.  It doesn't matter how big the classrooms are, or what type of home life these students have.  Every lesson will be perfect, every student will like us and WANT to learn, and will behave properly.  While Michelle Pfeiffer in Dangerous Minds may not come to everyone's minds, they do have that image in their head of the super teacher.  We all tell ourselves "By God, I am going to be that super teacher."

Then, of course, we start teaching, and realize that we are human, and this is not the movies.  The job entails longer hours than you can imagine, lesson plans with potential holes (holes that are often exposed during that first year of teaching), and students who could care less about what a fantastic lesson you have worked hard on (no matter how "interesting" the lesson is).  Oh, and what you have always heard about teacher pay is true.  That paycheck you bring in seems pretty miniscule given the amount of hours you put in and stress that comes out.  There are numerous reasons why nearly half of all teachers leave the profession by their fifth year.

But most of us who do stay in do not give up.  We love what we do, and we still want to make a difference in EVERY student's life.  I don't want education students to think that teaching is a hopeless, thankless profession (although it may feel like that some days).  By all means, it is a wonderful profession, and I am grateful everyday that I chose it.  But experience does bring in a more realistic view of what being a school teacher entails.  Just know that you can be a great teacher, but you are human, and there will be days the job will suck.  I am generally a strong defender of traditional teacher training programs as a whole, but it is true that there are things that NO education course can teach you.

Please enjoy this video!
The Myth of the Super Teacher from EdWriters on Vimeo.

Happy Birthday, Helen Keller

 

Photo from Wikipedia

This amazing woman was born today 132 years ago.  She is most famous as being the deaf and blind girl that learned how to communicate when she was taught by Annie Sullivan (also an amazing woman, and one of my inspirations as a special education teacher).  This was story was famously depicted in the play and movie, The Miracle Worker.  Keller went on to college, and would eventually become the first deaf and blind person to receive a Bachelor of Arts degree.

Picture of Keller (left) and Annie Sullivan (right) from Spartacus Educational

As amazing as her story is, it is only part of the story.  Historically, she is simply by most known as a deaf and blind woman who could talk and become educated.  What most people don't know is that throughout her adult life, she spent her time traveling the globe as an activist.  Among other things, she campaigned in for Women's Suffrage, Labor Rights, and was member of the anti-war movement in the lead up to World War I.  She was even a member of the Socialist Party of America.  That's right: Helen Keller was a Socialist.

Photo from Huffington Post

As Education Professor Ruth Shagoury points out in a recent piece on Huffington Post, most people don't know the real history of Helen Keller (but should):

If I were creating Hero trading cards for Helen Keller, I would include her passionate work for women's voting rights, and against war and corporate domination. And I'd include her courageous quotes where she asks tough and impolite questions: "Why in this land of great wealth is there great poverty?" she wrote in 1912. "Why [do] children toil in the mills while thousands of men cannot get work, why [do] women who do nothing have thousands of dollars to spend?"

Sounds to me like the mother of today's Occupy Movement.

From publishers like Scholastic Teaching Resources -- which uses her life events to "give children practice reading a timetable" by asking insipid questions such: "How can you use the first two dates to figure out Helen's age at the time she got sick?" -- to St. Aidan's Home School pages, which encourages teachers to show "the Disney version of the The Miracle Worker," the information on-line portrays the same individualistic and socially empty Helen Keller myth.

It takes a little more digging, but I encourage parents and educators to turn to resources like the small press book Helen Keller from Ocean Press's series Rebel Lives, which includes excerpts from her writings on disability and class, socialism, women, and war, or the fine young adult biography Helen Keller: Rebellious Spirit by Laurie Lawlor. It's time to share with children Helen Keller's remarkable adult life. As a defiant rebel, she could be a true hero for 21st century activists.

Indeed, schools should teach about Ms. Keller (her whole biography).  She is an excellent role model for all students: girls, boys, disabled and non-disabled.  Helen Keller is a truly remarkable figure, both for overcoming her adversity, as well as her dedication to social justice.

A Video for Sunday

 Photo from The Urban Daily

Recently, I have been listening to the late Manning Marable's biography of Malcolm X on audiobook, Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention.  So far, it is a fascinating book, and I am learning a lot about Malcolm that I never knew (and some things I am sure he didn't want people to know).  As I listen to it, I keep thinking back to Spike Lee's classic film, Malcolm X based partially upon Malcolm's famous autobiography. 

 Photo from Rotten Tomatoes

It is a film that is about as good as any biopic I have ever seen.  It is also a film that, as a white person, helps me understand the significance of what Malcolm truly meant to African-Americans, despite the racially-charged language he used in his time as a member of the Nation of Islam.  I feel a good clip for a Sunday is the scene where Malcolm (played masterfully by Denzel Washington) is still in prison (after recently converting to Islam), and he challenges the prison chaplain on the race of Jesus.

Unfortunately, I cannot embed the clip to my blog.  But you can view it here.

Movie Review: Super 8

Photo from Rotten Tomatoes

Rating: *** out of 4

The title of this movie is Super 8, but the subtitle for the film could easily be "An homage to early Spielberg".  Many directors have been influenced by Steven Spielberg films such as Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and E.T. (for good reason), and have tried to make films just like his.  Without Spielberg (and George Lucas), the big-budget, action-adventure summer flick probably wouldn't exist.  But J.J. Abram's latest film goes to new levels of adulation.

Super 8 is about a group of boys, plus 1 girl, working on an amateur zombie, horror film in a late 1970s small town.  They plan on submitting their masterpiece to a amateur film contest in Cleveland.  One of the boys, Joel (played by Joe Lamb) is the main character of the story, and is trying overcome the recent death of his mother, who died in an accident while working at the local mill factory.  He is now under the lone care of his father and a local deputy, Jackson (played by Friday Night Light's Kyle Chandler).  It is apparent early on in the film that Jackson does not know have the strongest relationship with his son, nor can relate to his son's hobbies and interests like horror films.

The girl from the group is Alice (played by Elle Fanning), is the daughter of the town "troublemaker", for lack of a better term.  Louis (played by Ron Elard) also works at the mill plant.  Jackson hates Louis, Louis hates Jackson, and neither one wants their child hanging out with other one's child.  Jackson, for reasons that were never explained, even arrests Louis when he shows up at their house for the funeral reception of Joel's mother.  Later in the movie, we find out the feud between the two men is not because one man is law enforcement, and the other a repeat criminal.

Joel, Louis, and the other group of young people sneak out of their homes one night, and go to the local train station to film part of their zombie film.  While shooting, the boys witnesses a pickup truck drive onto the track and collide with an incoming train.  A massive train wreck with lots of special effects ensues, and the gang find the man in the pickup truck to still be alive.  It turns out he is an old science teacher from their school, who points a gun at the kids and tells them to run away and never speak of what they saw (unless they want to be killed, along with their family).  Once the kids make their escape, the train wreck (and soon the whole town) is taken over by the military, and strange things start to happen.  People start to either disappear or get killed, car batteries disappear and there are constant power outages.  Clearly, the somethings bad was released into the town as a result of the train wreck.

In many big-budget, action films, (too many, in fact) the characters of the film are so uninteresting that the real stars are the special effects themselves.  Fortunately for Super 8, the group of young boys are definitely the most stars.  They are like many entourage of young boys that exist on the silver screen that are on an adventure or quest (like Stand By Me, The Sandlot, and of course, ET).  Except, these boys are a lot funnier.  Each boy is their own unique character, and provides their own moments of laugh-out-loud, comic relief.

Joel, as already discussed, is the main protagonist of the story, and provides more serious moments.  Then there is Charles (played by Riley Griffiths) who is the ringleader of the group, the lead director of the zombie film and definitely the biggest potty-mouth.  Cary (played by Ryan Lee) is the apparent pyro of the gang, who always has plenty of fire-crackers on hand to ignite.  And Martin (played Gabriel Basso) is the group's more serious-minded, nerdy character (as established by the pair of glasses he wears) who will throw up anytime there is trouble.  And yes, he throws up a lot in this movie.

As for the special effects Super 8, and there are plenty of them, they not anything to boast given how prevalence of CGI already is.  The moments of action and suspense are neither that action-packed, nor suspenseful.  And the storyline of the movie takes too many predictable turns, including the ending of the film.  Indeed, Abrams was trying too much to make an homage to Close Encounters and ET that there wasn't much of his own, personal touch in the film (with the exception of the boys and their efforts to make the zombie film).

Still, this film is enjoyable to watch, and much better than most big-budget films that Hollywood craps out every summer.  Enjoy this film if you want a fun time, and if you do see this movie, wait a minute at the end when the credits start rolling it.  Trust me!

Movie Review: Hugo

Poster from Rotten Tomatoes

Rating:**** out of 4

When I first saw that Hugo would be the new Martin Scorsese movie, I had two reactions.  Naturally, the first was to be excited because the great Scorsese was coming out with another movie.  But also, I was a bit skeptical about how good the film would actually be.  It is Scorsese, so I knew the film wouldn't be bad, but he has never done a children's film before (not even close).  But could he pull off the caliber of film that he has made with so many of his other classics with Hugo?  The answer to that is a resounding yes.

The film is about a boy named Hugo (of course) who lives alone, inside the clock tower of the train station in Paris, France.  He is able to survive day-to-day by stealing food, along with other materials which I will discuss in a moment.  Hugo (played by Asa Butterfield) also maintains and runs the clocks of the train station, which he has been doing since his alcoholic uncle (played by Ray Winstone) who had been taking care of him, ran away.  He hopes to keep up the facade that his Uncle is actually running the clocks so he is not taken to an orphanage.  Why is Hugo being raised by his Uncle to begin with?  More on that in a minute as well.

One of the places Hugo steals from inside the station is a toy and gadget store run by an older man named George Melies (played by Ben Kingsley).  He has apparently been doing this for a while, and one day, is caught red handed stealing gadget parts by Melies.  In addition to confiscating the parts he stole, Melies also confiscates a sketch book that Hugo has mechanical with drawings to some kind of robot.  This, of course, is why Hugo is stealing the gadget parts.  But why is he building a robot?  And just as important, why is Melies so shocked and insistent on keeping the notebook after Hugo has repeatedly begged him to give the notebook back?

 The movie soon reveals that Hugo actually is building a robot, specifically a small robot called an automaton (which are real, by the way).  It was the something that his father, a clock builder and gadget repairman (played by Jude Law) was working on fixing.  Hugo's father, who appears only briefly in the film, found the automaton in a burnt-up museum.  He doesn't get to work on it very long, as he is killed in a building fire, and thus, forces Hugo to move into the train station with his drunk Uncle (without the dignity to even process this news properly).  Without moving in with his Uncle, he risks being sent off to an orphanage.  Hugo then dedicates his life to fixing the automaton that his father did not fix.  In addition to the need to finish what his father started, he feels there is some bigger meaning that will reveal itself by fixing it.

As to why the drawings of this robot are so important to Melies, I will let movie fell in that detail, along with telling the rest of his story.  Melies was a real person, and you may look him up if you like.  Students of classic cinema already know who he is, and revealing his story will not necessarily spoil the twists and turns in the film, although I would prefer to not do so during this review.  However, I will offer this picture as a hint.  It is also a picture that is very relevant to the storyline of the film:

Photo from Wikipedia

  

This is one of those family films that adults and children can  watch together, and both will actually enjoy.  Although it may not be appropriate for small children (7 and under probably), Hugo is a film that is fun, adventurous, and quite friendly to younger viewers.   An example of this includes a chase scene through the station in the first few minutes of the film where Hugo is being hunted down by the Station Inspector (played by Sacha Baron Cohen), and his faithful sidekick, Maximilianus the Rottweiler.  By the end of the scene, your child will be probably be laughing out loud (you may be too) as Hugo makes his escape.

It should be noted that the Station Inspector, who is obsessed with tracking down thieving children and sending them off to the orphanage, comes off as the stereotypical children's story villain at first.  By this, I mean he is mean, unnecessarily authoritative, and seems to take at least some pleasure in making the lives of the young miserable (think of a villain from a Dickens novel).  The Station Inspector also has a leg brace, which come off as part of the joke in the opening chase scene and several proceeding scenes.  He even struggles to chase after Hugo due to his leg and the inconvenience of the brace.  

But as the film progresses, we learn that he is disabled because of any injury from "the war" (World War I), and he will never be healed again.  Here, we learn a lot about who the Station Inspector really is, and we begin to feel sympathy towards.  While it doesn't excuse the cruelty he gives towards young children, it at least explains it to a point.  Scorsese, through the Station Inspector, also seems to provide some important lessons to younger viewers on the disabled, as well as the true nature of people who act "bad" or "mean".  This may or may not be intentional, but kudos nonetheless, sir!

There are several different themes to this film which are quite relevant to the human condition that adults, and children to some extent, will be able to relate to.  One theme is human isolation, and the need for human connection.  Different individuals in the film, including Hugo, struggle with the desire to connect with someone else.  Hugo is able to fill the need for connection when he befriends Isabelle, who is also George Meile's Goddaughter.  Chloe (played by Chloe Moritz), is a perky young girl who relishes the fun and excitement she reads in the adventure novels she borrows from the train station library.  She offers to help Hugo out with his quest to retrieve the notebook, repair the automaton, and discover the secret behind her Godfather.  Through Hugo, she also finds friendship, as well as a fulfillment of her own desire to be adventurous.

Another important theme to the movie is the need to fulfill one's purpose, and the sorrow one feels when they are "broken", and cannot do this anymore.  It is similar to an athlete who is severely injured and can no longer play their sport, or musician who had broken his or her instrument and cannot afford a new one.  Like the automaton that Hugo is trying to fix, Melies is certainly broken and cannot fulfill his own purpose (I will not reveal what that purpose is in this review).  At one point, Hugo states something very important to this theme of when referring to the majesty and harmony of clocks and other gadgets:

I'd imagine the whole world was one big machine. Machines never come with any extra parts, you know. They always come with the exact amount they need. So I figured, if the entire world was one big machine, I couldn't be an extra part. I had to be here for some reason.

Those who are more spiritually minded will no doubt see religion and the purpose a person has bestowed upon them by a higher power.  Indeed, Scorsese is a devout Catholic, and such beliefs may or may not have gone into this part of the film.  Fair enough.  For those who are more skeptical of spiritual beliefs, such as myself, they should not fear this concept being brought up.  Even if you don't believe any God gave you a purpose, does it not stand to reason that it is human nature for one to feel they have something in life they feel skilled at and can use to help the greater good (for me, it is teaching and writing).  I will now digress from this topic before I delve further into a philosophical wormhole that I cannot escape.

Going back to the film, Hugo is exciting, emotionally-driven and slightly thought-provoking all at once.  This film is already receiving massive amounts of Oscar buzz, as it should.  The movie is well-acted (Kingsley and Butterfield both deserve consideration by the Academy for nominations), well-written (excellent story by John Logan and Brian Selznick) and well-directed, of course.  Martin Scorsese is capable of making a fabulous children's movie, which convinces me there probably isn't any type of film he couldn't make.  Perhaps next time Hollywood has a script for the next "out of this world" Sci-Fi flick, or that next big Romantic Comedy, someone should give Marty a call.

Movie Review: Midnight in Paris

Poster from Rotten Tomatoes

Rating: **** out of 4 stars

Woody Allen's most recent film is a romantic comedy that looks at the idea of nostalgia, and the fun possibilities of reliving a supposed golden age that one's choice.  For some, it might be going back to the 1950's post-war Eisenhower's America, where Rock N' Roll was in it's infancy, and Elvis roamed supreme.  For others, it might be all the way back to the Renaissance, being able to talk art with Leonardo da Vinci, or Michelangelo.  I myself don't see a definitive "golden age" to look upon, but I do have a few nominees that I would gladly consider (France during the Enlightenment, early 1800's New England, 1960's San Francisco just to name a few).  For Owen Wilson's character, Gil, it is the 1920s in Paris.

Like so many of Allen's other films, this film is absolutely charming and witty.  And like so many of his other films, the dialogue and subject matter, one could argue, borders on elitism and pretension.  But then again, intelligent dialogue and subject matters are some of the things that makes his films so memorable to begin with.  This film may not be for everyone, but as Roger Ebert put it when reviewing this film, 

There is nothing to dislike about it. Either you connect with it or not. I'm wearying of movies that are for "everybody" – which means, nobody in particular. Midnight in Paris is for me, in particular, and that's just fine with moi.

In other words, if you want high octane action and simple-to-understand dialoge, go rent Transformers.

And just as so many of Allen's films appear to be part love letters to New York City, this film appears to be his love letter to Paris.  For instance, the first few minutes of the film features different locations (some famous, some not) of the city of Paris, and which appear to be sequentially displayed from sunrise to sunset.  It is as if he is trying to show the audience the grace and beauty of Paris all in a brief day before we really delve into the heart of the story.  It is very similar to the opening of Allen's Manhattan, although it doesn't come close to the beauty of that opening sequence, with black and white shots of New York City as Gershwin plays "Rhapsody in Blue".  Very few opening sequences in the history of movies do.

One thing that does help to make the film easier to watch is having some knowledge of famous artists, musicians, and writers during the 1920s, specifically those that perused the streets of Paris.  Notable figures to make appearances during the movie include Gertrude Stein, Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, and Ernest Hemingway.

Some of the most memorable moments in the movie are when Hemingway, acted perfectly by Corey Stoll, is behaving exactly the way one would expect Hemingway to behave (and then some).   One minute, he is talking about the honor and horrors of war, and proclaiming the immortality a man feels when "you are making love to a woman of true greatness".  The next minute, he is taking a swig of booze and yelling "who wants to fight?"  In arguably the funniest scene of the film, Adrian Brody does a masterful job of portraying the odd but passionate Salvador Dali, as he obsesses over the majestic nature (and mating habits) of rhinoceroses. 

There is also the love story that Owen Wilson's character, Gil, has in the movie.  He has a fiance (played by Rachel McAdams) who, while she loves Gil, does not really seem to feel that his romantic aspirations to be a serious novelist (rather than the marginal screen writer actually he is) will really pan out.  Then, once Gil starts magically going back to the past of the 1920s late night Paris, he meets Adriana (played by the stunning and incomparable Marion Cotillard).  Adriana is the mistress of Pablo Picasso when Gil first meets her, and a girl who probably never existed to begin with (unlike so many of the other characters in the film).  They soon fall for each other, and Gil is left with a dilemma. Should he be with his fiance, who he has clear disagreements with over what the future holds for the two of them? Or, should he be with Adriana, who he has quickly fallen in love with, but only exists when the clock strikes midnight in Paris, and then only for a few hours afterwards?

Some might feel less sympathetic towards Gil based upon the behavior he displays during his flirtations.  Besides falling in love with another woman, there is a scene in the movie where Gil attempts to obtain a present for Adrianna by stealing a pair of his fiance's earrings.  Despicable as that is, Gil's character is no less an example that exists in many romantic comedies where the protagonist's heart is torn between two loves (although that won't stop some from seeing Gil as a lying pig and a bastard). 

Without giving anything away, the film's ending is very anti-climactic, which might displease the casual movie-goer.  But as I mentioned earlier, this film is not necessarily for the casual, movie-goer.  The journey that Gil has during the film is so pleasant and unique, that one is not so concerned that there isn't more of an ending to the film than there is.

And also without really giving anything away, Allen seems to suggest that nostalgia and reliving a "golden time" in history may seem fun for a while.  However, there is never really a "golden time" that has existed, or will exist, especially when you ask those who actually lived through it.  The year 2011 in America might seem like a tough time now to many who live in it.  But who isn't to say that 20, 50, 100 years from now, others won't look upon our time as "golden" for one reason or another.  As the pretentious and snobby Paul (played by Michael Sheen) says at one point in the film:

Nostalgia is denial - denial of the painful present... the name for this denial is golden age thinking - the erroneous notion that a different time period is better than the one ones living in - its a flaw in the romantic imagination of those people who find it difficult to cope with the present.

Oh, and how does Gil travel back to 1920s Paris? Who cares?  Just enjoy the movie.

Happy Birthday, Carl Sagan

A Video for Sunday

With the passing of the great Elizabeth Taylor this past week, I wanted to showcase some of her talent.  Here is a scene from Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, for which she earned a Best Actress Academy Award.

Movies 2010

Picture from iStockphoto

Tonight is the Oscars, and being a complete film buff (some would say movie snob), I have decided to look back at the films of 2010 with this post.  You may be wondering a few things.  First, most people do their film review of 2010 at the end of 2010, and it is almost March 2011.  Very true, but I don't get to see some of the previous year until the early into the next year.  Often times, it takes award shows that come after the new year for a film that is worth watching to get known.  Also, it is often the case that when a film comes out, it is in limited release and doesn't open at the local theater until January or February.  I allow myself some time to catch up on what I can and then give my favorites. 

By the way, I haven't seen every film of 2010.  Not even close.  I am a teacher, so I don't have the time to go out and see every film.  Therefore, what I discuss here is based on the 30-40 or so films I saw last year. 

Finally, I realize this is generally an education and current events blog.  But there is more to my interests in life than that, and I have never set out to put limitations in what I would discuss on this blog.  Films are a real passion of mine, and I don't mind using this blog to discuss them (it's my blog, and I'll do what I wanna).  I have even thought about doing my own film reviews on this blog, and I still haven't ruled that out yet.

In any case, directly below are my Top 10 films of 2010.  As I said, there are many films I did not see in 2010, so that may be why certain movies did not make the less.  Nonetheless, here is the list of the best movies I did see:

 

Picture from Screen Rant

1) The Social Network
2) Black Swan
3) The King’s Speech
4) Inception
5) Shutter Island
6) The Town
7) Winter's Bone
8) Restrepo
9) Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
10) Dinner For Schmucks

Picture fromDigital Daily

Next, here is the list of who I think SHOULD win Oscars tonight, not my prediction who will win.  As far as best picture goes, I have no idea who it will go to (it will, of course, be between The Social Network and The King's Speech).  In any case, here are my personal picks:


Best Picture: The Social Network
Best Actor: Colin Firth, The King's Speech
Best Actress: Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale, The Fighter
Best Supporting Actress: Melissa Leo, The Fighter
Best Director: Darren Aronoksfy, Black Swan (Won't Win Though)
Adapted Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network
Original Screenplay: David Seidler, The King's Speech
Best Documentary: Restrepo
Most Deserving Production Category Nominee: Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, The Social Network (Music-Original Score)

Finally, here is a list of miscellaneous awards of my own.
 
Worst Movie: Alice in Wonderland
Funniest Movie: (Tie) Dinner For Schmucks/Hot Tub Time Machine
Best Action Movie: Inception
Best Drama: The Social Network
Saddest Movie: Restrepo
Best Action Sequence: Fight scene in the dream hotel, Inception
Best Suspense Film: Inception
WTF Movie of the Year: Black Swan
Best Love Scene: Natalie Porman and Mila Kunis, Black Swan
Funniest Scene: Hotel room, drug-induced fight scene, Get Him To The Greek
Best Romantic Comedy: Scott Pilgrim vs The World (hey, technically, it is a romantic comedy)
Best 3D Movie: Jackass 3D (OK, this was the only 3D movie I watched this year)
Biggest Oscar Snub: Emma Stone, Easy A (Best Actress Category)
Honorary Mention:  Winter's Bone.  I mention it because I come from rural Missouri, where this film is shot and takes place.  Now, I do come from central Missouri, and the film takes place in southern Missouri in the Ozarks.  Still, I am familiar enough with the life and culture of the area, and am quite impressed how authentic it looks.  In addition, one of the major roles in the film was given to a local wire-cutter in one of the towns near-by.  Kudos to Hollywood on this one!

A Video for Sunday

Since the Oscars are tonight, I wanted to find a good speech or moment from a movie for this week's clip.  This seemed like a pretty good choice.  Here is the great Charlie Chaplin way ahead of his time in The Great Dictator which parodies Adolph Hitler.  At the time of release (1940), the United States had not entered World War II yet, and was still at peace with Nazi Germany.  Chaplin knew what Hitler and Fascism were really about, and made this movie at a time when the rest of the world outside of Europe was only starting to realize what evil he stood for.  The speech is quite inspirational, and I feel its words are still appropriate in today's world. 

A Video for Sunday

A classic from Carl Sagan which also highlights the insignificance of mankind and our planet in the greater scheme of the universe.