1. Mr. Hundert's quote is completely accurate in my eyes. Stupidity is a common enough disease among people, and sadly it is something that can never be cured. If a person cannot open their minds to new ideas and experiences, they will be forever ignorant. That type of thinking is counterintuitive and as ancient and outdated as chiseled word on stone.
2. Sedgewick Bell is a very manipulative and intelligent con artist. He has Mr. Hundert believing in him and then betrays his trust. Hundert is hurt and shaken by the experience because he truly saw himself in Sedgewick and believed he could overcome his bad upbringings. Through this experience Hundert's view on the world is tinged and he is unable to realize what great accomplishments as a person he has achieved.
3. Once bad behavior is introduced into the classroom, several of the boys follow suit. Sedgewick introduces his bad behavior and laughs about it, and the other boys laugh as well. Discipline becomes a joke and some of the boys break campus rules and even neglect studying because of the bad role model Sedgewick provides. This trend is described by Hundert as a type of "hypnosis" because they are all amazed by Sedgewick's boldness.
4. Hundert is torn between allowing Martin, the rightful 3rd place, or allowing Sedgewick who has worked so hard to get to this point to compete. While Martin actually made the mark, Hundert decides to bump up Sedgewick's final essay grade to allow him place 3rd and compete in the competition. Martin is devastated by this because of his father's history in winning the competition.
5. While at the contest Hundert notices that Sedgewick is cheating and is faced with the dilemma of calling him out or doing as the dean says and ignoring it. While Sedgewick's father is a major donor to the school, Hundert cannot allow this betrayal bear fruit. Hundert asks a question that was not in the reading and stumps Sedgewick, allowing the other student who had done extra reading to be the victor.
6. Hundert agrees to participate in the rematch of the contest because Sedgewick promises to make a huge donation to the school if he does. Hundert hopes that through time his student has matured and grown above his cheating ways. Sadly at the contest Sedgewick attempts to win through cheating again and Hundert stumps him with question everyone but Sedgewick knew. While saddened that he could not make a difference in Sedgewick's life, Hundert's hope is renewed when all his other students (Even Martin) award him with a plaque telling him how much he has made a difference in all their lives.
7. There is an immense amount of tension between Hundert and Sedgewick in that bathroom scene. One can literally see the fury emanating from Sedgewick as he tramples all over Hundert's concepts of morality. Fortunately ( or unfortunately for Sedgewick) his son emerges from the bathroom stall, clearly shaken and disturbed by his father's admission of being a complete ...jerk. This does not change Sedgewick in the least though, because he is too settled into the idea of being a liar and a cheat the rest of his life.
8. Mr. Hundert's hopes are renewed for the future by his former students praise. He believes that he can make a difference in their lives and hopes to mold character for future generations to come. Martin's son walks in late the very first day he comes back. This is a surprise because of Hundert's formal betrayal of Martin, but this forms as a sort of recognition of apologies.
9. Hundert uses many types of problem-posing aspects in his classroom. He asks the students to relate why Emperors were good or bad. By wearing togas he also helps his students to connect more to the subject matter at hand. Hundert also asks his students to question why things happened the way they did, instead of having them memorize dates.
10. All of Hundert's students went on to be successful men in a variety of fields. The winner of the Julius Caesar conquest went on to become a scholar. The fact that students went on to do so many different types of things is proof of how much Hunderts' teachings affected his students.
"Martin's son walks in late the very first day he comes back. This is a surprise because of Hundert's formal betrayal of Martin, but this forms as a sort of recognition of apologies." Yes, I agree with you here (and throughout your assessments on this worksheet and film). You obviously enjoyed the film and took some significant moments away from it to ponder.
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