John Bender
Age: 16
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| A dorky avatar of Bender that really doesn't do him any justice in the badass department, but that beautiful hair though... :) |
Youtube clip:
Eat My Shorts - The Breakfast Club (3/8) Movie CLIP (1985) HD
Personality & Interests
After watching that clip, it seems kind of obvious that Bender is an attention seeking, rule-breaker who gives no care to authority and does what he wants. However, throughout the movie it grows evident that Bender is not as tough as he appears. He doesn't really want to be mean and hurtful to others, and does not want to end up like his homeless, abusive father, leading him to use his attitude as a mask. He likes to break the rules, smoke marijuana and even seems to enjoy basketball.Cognitive Development
Although Bender is struggling at school, I believe that he
is functioning at the earlier stage of the formal operational stage in Piaget’s
cognitive development theory (Piaget, 1964). This stage consists of the subject
being able to have abstract thought, metacognition and problem solving skills.
Bender displays abstract thought when he correctly refers to the term anarchy. Anarchy
is a term that requires a deeper understanding on what authority and public
order is, and how a blatant disregard for rules results in disorder. By
displaying that he understands such concepts alludes to him being in the formal
operational stage. He would have most likely developed to this stage through
the education system.
According to Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences (1993),
Bender is likely to be centred on a kinaesthetic intelligence. He displays this
through his ability to climb all over the library and through the celling ducts
to navigate his way around the school.His problem solving skills must also be quite developed, as evident in his idea to unscrew the door hinges or distract Mr Vernon to allow the others to get back to safety. He also seems to be intrapersonal as he
has strong opinions and goals, however, it is seen later on in the movie that
he may also be interpersonal, as he opens up and empathises with the others. His
intrapersonal intelligence is most likely the result of a neglecting family
which meant he had to fend for himself, whilst his interpersonal intelligence
could have come from that, as he may have sought after empathy for himself
through others.
Emotional & Social Development
During the film we learn that Bender’s father is an
alcoholic and abusive, and has been subject to punches, cigarette burns and insults.
The nuclear household has resulted in Benders rejection of authoritative
figures and avoidance of intimacy.
When dealing with authority, Bender tends to ignore rules
that have been set out in front of him as a way to stand up for himself. For
example, he treats Mr Vernon, an authoritative male figure, with extreme disrespect.
Mr Vernon represents Bender’s father, and when Bender answers back, it is as if
he is fighting back his own father. Bender does not follow the societal norms
of following all the rules as it gives him a false sense of power over people
who, in reality, have power over him.
Bender also seems to distance himself from people and avoid
intimate relationships. For example, it is clear that Bender is attracted to
Claire throughout the movie, however his initial advances towards her are
sexual and unemotional; he sticks his head between her legs without any
warning. He also carries around a wallet full of pictures of “his girls”,
signifying them as some sort of collection of trophies, rather than people he
cares about. Bender’s avoidance of intimacy and genuine emotions is the barrier
between him and the possibility of a relationship filled with abuse. Intimate relationships
to children like Bender correlates with being vulnerable and out of control.
(James, 1994)
Teaching strategies
One strategy I would incorporate into classes for Bender
would be giving random positive teacher attention. As Wright points out (2015),
some students seek the attention of teachers, regardless of the positive or
negative nature of the attention. He
suggests utilising random moments of positive attention on a student that do not necessarily relate with misbehaviour. Such positive
attention would include words of encouragement or praise, making eye contact and
smiling, or even conversing briefly with the student. Similar to a behavioural
approach to learning, this requires the teacher to display positive behaviour
to entice positive behaviour from the disruptive student. Since Bender lacks attention
at home, it is clear through his interactions with Mr Vernon, that he only
really wants attention from an adult figure, and is not acting how he is to
impress other people. It is important to incorporate some sort of positive
disciplinary strategy for a student like Bender, who faces negativity at home,
to create a positive learning environment in which he would be comfortable in.
Although this strategy may not be about the learning process itself, it is crucial
for a disruptive student like Bender to be placed in some sort of disciplinary
action. Without a disciplined approach, the student could lose all interest in
learning, making the most advanced and effective teaching strategy useless.
Another strategy I believe would be fit for Bender is to utilise more hands on or visual activites that may incorporate problem solving. Bender is strong in his kinaesthetic intelligence. Therefore, activites that would require him to use his hands could be beneficial to him. Even visual puzzles and diagrams would appeal to Bender, especially ones that would require him to problem solve. Due to his intrapersonal intelligence, Bender would not do well in group work as he would most likely offload his work onto others. This is why problem solving puzzles and hands on activities would be beneficial for him, as it does not necessarily require the interaction with others. Copying down words would be the least appealing to Bender, however class discussions and debates may be especially appealing, as he would most likely enjoy putting forth his own opinions. Finding topics that appeal to him will challenge him to deepen his understanding of the topic through other people.
Get Schooled offers numerous different links to article, videos, photo albums and polls about numerous areas to learning. This website would be appropriate for Bender as it has a variety of topics for him to choose from. The easy to navigate interface is also beneficial which a more visual person like Bender would appreciate. It also has a few advixe articles involving issues like bullying and family issues that could also be extremely beneficial for Bender's wellbeing.
Websites
Get Schooled
https://getschooled.com/dashboardGet Schooled offers numerous different links to article, videos, photo albums and polls about numerous areas to learning. This website would be appropriate for Bender as it has a variety of topics for him to choose from. The easy to navigate interface is also beneficial which a more visual person like Bender would appreciate. It also has a few advixe articles involving issues like bullying and family issues that could also be extremely beneficial for Bender's wellbeing.
TED
TED is a website that features videos of people giving talks about numerous subjects. The variety of subjects may be appealing to Bender, as it would allow him to pick and choose which topics he would be interested in learning about. Since they are videos, it will also appeal to Bender's more visual intelligence. The videos also tend to address more higher order levels of thinking, which may challenege Bender into improving his thinking skills.
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