What a witch! The way she handled those kids and her little comments here and there. My Lord, I was sorta turned off at times. LOL.
shareI liked it.... no, not like that, I'm not a lesbian.... Meryl (Streep) did a wonderful job. She was a little harsh.
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Johnny Depp+Ed Harris+Jim Carrey+toast= sexy
Naw, she was just straight and honest with the kids. That's a good thing
Jack Sparrow: But why is the rum gone?
I guess Roberta might come off as mean to some, but as someone who spent 11 years taking piano lessons and 6 years taking voice lessons, I didn't see Roberta do or say anything that I hadn't experienced before, either directly or as a witness to another student.
shareSo true isaac, after 8 yrs of music lessons (I quit 8 yrs ago) my worst (she was just plain mean) music teacher (Oh the snide remarks), is actually the only one of the 5 that I had who brought out the very best in me. Even though I was her only student in the 12th grade, she was STILL horrible, if not worse than when there were other students before. When I left high school though, I was devastated, she's one of the very few teachers I STILL miss.
I'd give my right arm to be ambidextrous
Yeah, I took classical piano lessons for 6 years and I've taken southern gospel convention style lessons for 3 years, AND I'm now GIVING piano lessons, so I can see where Roberta was coming from. Sometimes you have to be STRAIGHT TO THE POINT with little kids or they just won't get it.
Missy
Let us hope we are all preceeded in life by a love story...
Did you miss the part where the spoiled little girl complained to her over-protective mother about Roberta's comments? In case you did, in the next scene, she acted all nice and the kids asked what was wrong with her. They knew the "mean" Roberta was more genuine and a better teacher.
...a signature to be named later.
My trumpet teacher acted the same way that Roberta does in the movie.
My trumpet teacher also kinda looks like Meryl Streep (same cheekbones and mouth). It was kinda weird the first time I saw this movie.
Roberta was a teacher who wanted the best from and for these kids!
She was warm and loving to them as well.
If you felt she was mean, I think you didn't watch the movie that good!!
But it's the way violin has to be taught. Meryl said it herself, that's how it is. But it's a difficult instrument so it means being focused and on task, and all she wanted to do was teach these children who were very fortunate and lucky to have her.
shareActually Roberta was a really mean person, a good teacher but she yelled a lot. I know i told my mother that she yelled but I begged her not to say anything, nut it really is unsettling to have an adult yell at you when your 7. Which was how old I was. The movie made you sympathize with her but she was just a bitter person, who did a real great thing...
The Geek Princess
Old friends are great, they just can't remember you.
I didnt think she was mean at all, how would a sports coach be talking to children to try to get the best out of them? If you are passionate about music and passing on that passion and the discipline it takes to learn it then it makes sense she would be tough on the kids. She visited that boy when the other boy justin died to tell him it wasnt his fault and to let him cry, I think she was tough but fair.
shareok, well she is my mother...and im going to defend her.
children need discipline.... or they grow up without consequences. my mothers students have gotten into some of the best colleges and highschools for those who were younger. so back off.
"The movie made you sympathize with her but she was just a bitter person, who did a real great thing."
I don't think Roberta was bitter at all. That implies that someone's resentful or cynical. On the contrary, Roberta was using an old form of discipline called "tough love," in order to foster responsibility in her students. If you watch the documentary which inspired the film "Small Wonders," several children talk about how Roberta could sound mean but they appreciated her pushing them or else they'd slack off. In the doc there are even instances when she praises the kids and shares a laugh with them. So it's not like she was a mean old harpie.
She wasn't mean, she was harsh and strict, there's a difference. "Mean" has to do with one's morality and character, "harsh" is related to the way you behave towards people. You can be harsh and kind but you cannot be mean and nice.
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