If my school was a Disney movie...
13th October 2009 by Yvette Clarke
When I was a little girl (many years ago), Disney movies were all the rage. Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Hercules, Aladdin, The Little Mermaid and Home Alone (perhaps not Disney, but amazing enough to be included!). Well I think that there's a lot that Disney can teach us that can help make school a better place to be...
Lesson ONE: Aladdin
The lesson: Be yourself.
In this Disney classic, Aladdin finds a magic genie and makes a wish to become a prince, someone he is not. And then he goes around the kingdom pretending to be Prince Ali and that's how he tries to make friends (and get the girl). The lesson we learn from Aladdin is to be yourself. If you've seen the movie, just imagine the scene where the Genie tries to convince Aladdin of this.
Now it doesn't matter if you've been going to the same school all of your life, for two years, or for two terms, it is never too late to begin to be yourself. Maybe this means telling your friends you go to church on the weekend, that you don't really like looking at trashy magazines, or maybe it means finding some new friends to hang out with who allow you to be the person you really want to be.
Lesson TWO: The Hunchback of Notre Dame
The lesson: Don't judge by appearances.
This movie features gargoyles who show love and encouragement towards Quasimodo, the kind-hearted, but deformed bellringer. The climax of this movie is people thinking that because of Quasimodo's appearance that must be what he looks like on the inside.
Now I know that there are times in our lives when things are really bad and we're hurting a lot on the inside. In those times, we think that people view us as very ugly because of the ugliness inside. But in the school yard, it's also because of what people actually look like on the outside: the piercings, the makeup, the different fashion styles. The lesson here is simple, and one that your mother has perhaps told you many times, ‘don't judge a book by its cover'.
You never know what is going on inside someone's head, or at their home, or in their relationships to make them look or come across in a certain way. I know for me, by grade eleven I had been to four high schools and at the fourth one, I was not the nicest new kid. I didn't really make much effort to talk to people. And unintentionally, because of all I was feeling on the inside, I'm pretty sure I gave people lots of dirty looks. But I'm so thankful now that there were people who took the step and tried to talk to me. Often, the people who don't always look that hot, or aren't cool or ‘normal', are really the nicest, and will turn out to be the greatest friends!
Lesson THREE: Beauty and the Beast
The lesson: Treat others the way you want to be treated.
Our previous lesson is a perfect lead in to the lesson from my personal fave, Beauty and the Beast. The title says it all: a young girl, Belle, takes the place of her father as a prisoner in the castle of the Beast. Now the Beast is pretty big, ugly... and scary. But Belle, with her wonderful singing, and with the aid of her sidekicks the teapot, candlestick and clock, moves past the whole ‘captivity' thing to be nice to the Beast.
The lesson here is ‘treat other's as you want to be treated'. It seems like the simplest lesson, that Larry and Bob from the Veggie Tales may tell us, but it sometimes is really hard. It's something my mum continuously told me in my childhood whenever I'd fight with my brother or sister. Whatever reason I had for being mean to them was never good enough, because I should treat them how I want to be treated. So next term, when the popular kid comes up to you and tempts you to use the Bunsen burner to hurt the science nerd, ask yourself, is that how I'd like to be treated?
Happily ever after
You know the thing about Disney is that there are always happy endings. The prince always beats the dragon, the girl always gets her prince, and the sidekicks always have a totally awesome song! And you know what, I reckon that if you tried to do some of these things, they may make school a happy place to be; not only for yourself, but also for some of the others you go to school with.
Why don't you try it? Go make Disney cool in your school!
Yvette is the youth pastor of [UNLEASHED] Youth at the Gold Coast Salvos. Her favourite colour is green, she loves batman and is addicted to Scrubs.
Yvette goes to Bible college, loves to read books and is excited about what will happen in the future as this generation stands up as true soldiers of Jesus Christ.
save. grow. serve.
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