Report of Frank´s teaching

This is a kind of report that a superviser made after having observed Frank´s job with Rita...

“I have been observing the job that you have done so far in this course and I could clearly see some good points that you worked on.
The way you have been teaching was quite good. That is, the class has shown some challenge to respond to your requirements, homework, and texts to read and debate. I could see that you improved very much since last year where there was not any kind of discussion related to the material presented.
However, I did not see if you have tried some extra activities to reinforce the learning of this student. What about going to the theatre or to another cultural event? This might have helped more to see that literature is not just a subject but something that can be related to our lives… It would be great if you try this new experiences with the class for a next time, would you Frank?
On the other hand, the student’s papers have shown me that you worked with material quite think-provoking. Although in the beginning of this course, she just wrote few words as an answer to your questions, and then I could see that she has improved gradually as regards the topics she developed and even her vocabulary and the way she put her ideas together showed how much she has improved.”

PRoGrAmMe Of sTuDy

During all the play Rita has experienced some changes in her life as a result of her education. What is more, she has gained and simultaneously she has suffered different things.
She has gained confidence in herself as well as new experiences and the “power” to take her own choices.
I think that this self-confidence can be seen when she comes back from the summer school. Since then she considers herself as one of the “proper students” because she is more acquainted of the things she has learned and she is not afraid of showing what she knows. Because of all this (her self-confidence) as a consequence she has also gained new experiences. That is, she is now open to new things and to new challenges.
As regards taking her own choices, this is the most important thing she has been able to achieve. Now she decides what to do with her life and she knows that that is thanked to education.

I consider that Educating Rita is a play about the clash of class and culture since two persons from different social backgrounds get together because of education; in way they have some conflicts because of their belonging to different social classes.
One of those persons is Rita who is eager to be a well-educated person since she knows that this would help her to change her life for the better, so that she goes to the Open University. There she finds a different new world where there are different things, attitudes, and people with a different culture. There she meets Frank that “belongs” to that new world. He is the one who teaches her new things and also who helps her in this new process of her life.
When I said that they have some conflicts, I referred to the different ideas and attitudes that they have towards life, for example. Their cultural and social backgrounds may have caused those little confrontations between them.

Educating Rita (Act 2 Scene 6 & 7)

These are the final scenes of the play where Rita and Frank decide “to embark on new stages of their lives.”
So far we have seen that Rita learned different and worthy things for her life. First of all, she learned that through education “new doors” can be opened to her. That is, she got to know that education is a powerful process that enables people to improve and change their lives for the better as well as to have a different view of events that happen around them.
What is more, she learned to have self-confidence since now she feels able to do things that she didn’t use to.
Last but not least, I think that Rita may have learned that now she has new opportunities and new decisions to make as regards her life. Besides that, she may have learned that now she is one who has the “power” to decide or herself what way to take. Now she doe not have “to follow or to obey” any order or any wish such her ex-husband’s…

Although the title is “Educating Rita”, “Educating Frank” might have been an alternative title. By the end of the play, he also learned that he has been a good teacher after all. He have helped Rita to realize that there are other things to do with her life and that she shouldn’t have felt as if she belonged to a “less level” of the proper students (as she used to feel like). I think that Frank tries to show this to Rita when he invites her to a dinner at his home, where friends of him were.
Another thing that he may have been taught is that, as Rita says he hadn’t give nothing, but the opportunity to show her that she is the one who has to decide for herself.

As regards Rita cutting Frank’s hair, I think that Willy Russell chose this scene to end the play because he may want to show us that Rita doesn’t reject her background completely as she may have done previously and that she wants to thank Frank for all his patience, pieces of advice and the way she finds to do that is by cutting his hair: the best thing she know how to do.

Educating Rita (Act 2 Scene 4 & 5)

As the book says “these two scenes represent the crisis in the relationship between Frank and Rita.”
This crisis begins when Rita tells Frank that he “can’t bear is that she is educated now” Another thing that she says is that he consider himself as a father who can not see how his little girl has grown up…
Rita has made lots of changes as regards her attitude, her personality (she is more confident now); but also as regards her job and her name!!
She might have given up her hairdressing job since she might feel that that place is not comfortable anymore for her. That is, now that “she is a educated woman” she might think that she needs to talk about more relevant things and to be in touch with people who shares the same thoughts, interests such as literature. All this she may find in another place but the hairdresser’s shop. Now in the bistro she says that she “finds a lot of people (she) mixes with fascinating; they’re young and they’re passionate about things that matter (…)”she likes to be with them. I consider that this may happen since she may feel that she needs to share her “new” interests and points of view of life and other things with new people who care about those things.
I partly agree with Rita with this change of “environment” since when you want to achieve something or you have some interest in something, you should be with those who think similar to you, who can join you to achieve that objective, this would make your “journey” easier than doing alone with persons who may not understand your thoughts or beliefs. On the contrary, this doesn’t mean that you have to stop seeing completely those persons who also may care about you but who might not have your same thoughts.

As regards Rita changing name, I think that she might have done it because she might want have “nothing of her past”, nothing that may remind her background. Maybe that now she feels a “new person”, she may want to change all of herself and to forget the girl she was before this course she is taking now.
I think that this is impossible because you can’t forget all your past in order to start a new life because now you’re “sophisticated or literate”. You always take your background with you, this is part of you if not you weren’t you!! It’s part of your nature…
I agree with Frank when he says: “you’ve found a different song, that’s all- and your lips it’s shrill and hollow and tuneless” I think that this is what happens to her. Although she may reject her background and wants to change completely, she might won’t succed.

Educating Rita (Act 2 Scene 2 & 3 )

In the scene 2, Rita shows a further development in her character, now she is able to discuss literature confidently with the students she meets.
At this time, we can see that the new and more educated Rita is wiser in some aspects:
§ When she meets the “proper students”, she feels completely confident so that she decides to take part in the discussion about a poem. Remember that before the Summer School, she “used to be quite wary of them.” I think that Rita is wiser in this situation since she feels able to discuss about literature. I mean, she doesn’t feel anymore that she is not in the “level of these students” and through this way her self-esteem goes up, something really important in order to get what one wants.
§ Another situation in which she is wiser is when she defends her “own point of view” and she stands up for it. This whole situation shows that she is wiser since she believes in herself as well as in her ideas.

As regard the last aspect, what Frank says about Rita’s essay is that “there’s nothing of (her) in there” He considers that she is influenced by her new friends (those whom she knew at the Summer School) and what he wants is her to write her “simple” view in the essay. In order to defend herself against Frank’s criticism, she says that now she is more acquainted of the things she should write so as to make an essay. Her opinions are now more enriched since she knows where and who to consult.

Here we can see that Frank “is somewhat taken aback by these changes in Rita and what appears to be her independence of mind” I think that Frank might feel quite afraid of Rita’s changes because this progress may make him think that she would not need him anymore. That is, he might feel that now Rita shows a great development in her character, she might not need Frank’s approval. Frank can perceive her self-confidence and he may take it as a menace because now she is able to think different than Frank and stand up for her position.

Educating Rita (Act 2 Scene1 )

After the time Rita spends at Summer School, she comes back with a new attitude that is not only seen in the way she dresses but also in her attitude towards Frank.
One of the main changes that have occurred in Rita is the way she responds to Franks´ requesting as regards the books she should read in this term. That is, now that she “knows” more and as a consequence she is more familiar with different poets, she is confident but at the same time arrogant. This can be seen when she talks about a particular poet, Blake, as if she knew about him from a long time ago!! She says: “You don’t do Blake without doing innocence and experience, do y´?” and previously she looks at Blake’s poem and recites by heart. In this situation she may want to show that she is not the same illiterate girl than before.
Another attitude to point out is the way she feels now towards “the others” as she calls them. In this scene she seems not to feel different than them. In fact, now she might consider herself as “one of them” since she ask Frank to have the tutorial down there, on the grass. This whole situation is rather different than the ones before the summer school when she used to look the “proper students” through the window as if they were from “other world”.
Last but not least, her attitude towards Frank is different too!! Now she shows Frank that she cares about him by asking him for his holydays, giving him a present and also by telling him that he shouldn’t drink any more since he “gots so much goin´for him.”
As regards Frank attitude towards Rita’s changes, he may feel quite impressed; but also he seems to feel quite ashamed since she has learned lots of things without him but with others.

In this scene, after having tried unsuccessfully to have the tutorial down there (on the grass), she tries to open the window and she says some words that may have another meaning: “won’t bleedin´ budge”. To me, those words may mean that we don’t know what opportunities we have until we try; we have to struggle, as Rita does when opening the window, to achieve what we wants, and surely we will get what we wanted. But if we don’t success, at least we will know that we have tried hard.

Educating Rita (Act 1 Scene 7 & 8)

In the previous scene, Frank invites Rita to his dinner party but she doesn’t go. She gives lots of excuses to say why she didn’t go, for instance that she didn’t have what to wear or that she didn’t remember where Frank lives, etc. I think that the real cause of her absence was that she didn’t feel very confident about herself. She might have felt that she wouldn’t be able to talk about the same topics, issues, etc with Frank’s friends. This might have happened because Rita needs to gain more confidence on herself and on the knowledge she is getting. It’s not an easy job but it’s not impossible to achieve, it would take time.

By the end of the scene 8, Rita asks Frank to be completely honest as regards the way she writes and what she has to do so as to pass the exams and to write essays as the other students do.
What Frank tells makes her feel that she needs to change her writing style since she tends to express her inner thoughts and feelings. So she considers that they have to start again since she feels that her work till then is not enough to achieve her goal.