The Real Lives of Teenage Boys

I just had to post this snippet of real life from my classroom today. On an impulse, I decided to show Bright Star to lead into Romantic poetry with my seniors. Quite a few students were out today for a senior trip, so it seemed like a good day for such a treat. In case you aren't familiar with this film, it focuses on the love story of the poet John Keats and Fanny Brawne, to whom he wrote or dedicated some of his poems. I was thinking probably the girls would love the film and the boys might tolerate it. Not so. It seems my male students are harboring romance in their teenage hearts. A few of them were actually riveted, and most seemed to find the film very engaging, despite what one student deemed "the most ridiculous hats in the universe."

Here is some actual dialogue. Two guys, sitting front and center, their body language conveying rapt attention. I hear one say "What ever happened to chivalry?" A few minutes later, a non sequitur: "Where do you get a suit like that?" I love it.