Nine-Year Olds, Meet Monet Reflection

During this first month of school we've read several different essays. I'd like you to choose one of these essays and post a response to it on your blog. Your response should include your opinions on the essay including whether you liked it or hated it and why. Perhaps you have some questions about the subject of the essay or about the author's central ideas - this would be an ideal place to post these questions so that those reading your blog can post responses.



Nine Year Olds, Meet Monet written by Ellen Goodman is an essay about nine-year olds meeting the famous artist Claude Monet. The essay is written from Goodman's point of view. I personally enjoyed the essay from her point of view, it gave it more feeling and made it seem more interesting to me. Goodman is very passionate about her essay and it gives me a sense of reality about how everyone doesn't always conform to society.

Goodman covers topics like conformity and individuality. The topic of individuality I think is a very important topic since many people are losing themselves because they want to follow others. Conforming to society is a very important topic because people are seen as outcasts or losers if they express themselves different than society expects them to. Art is a form of expression and individuality however many artists are seen as crazy or anti-social when in reality sometimes their art is what makes history. Non-conformists give a lot to society like their art, books and literature.

Goodman also wrote about the school system. I agree with her that students should be marked on more than just their grades since future jobs required more skills than just grades on paper show. She also believes that children start out with a lot of imagination but as their schooling continues their imagination dwindles. I agree with this since I use to love playing house and other imaginative games, but as I got older and more wise I realized that nowadays you need less imagination in many jobs and more facts and numbers. Society trains the kids starting young, so that they can conform to what society wants in the future. When I was little I wanted to be a teacher, but as I grew older the need for teachers decreased. Nowadays doctors and nurses are needed so you see a lot of universities starting medical programs, which makes students feel that they can get into a medical program easier and therefore people want to become doctors.

Overall, I really liked this essay. It was a good choice for our class to read since it provoked a lot of conversation since it is easy to talk about. I would like similiar essays for future readings.