grading movies

This weekend I was rudely awakened to the worst part of going back to school for teachers: grading! I loved evenings at home during the summer with no grading hanging over my head. Alas, (sigh) those carefree days are no more. But in order to lighten the burden of the red pen, I turned to some of my staple grading movies. A few months ago my mom posted about her "down comforter" movies (i.e. those movies that you know you can curl up with on a rainy day). Well the educators need a list of movies that they can turn on when the grading gets laborious.

My criteria for grading movies is simple.

1. The movie must be of the highest quality, especially the music and the script. A truly excellent film can inspire the most uninspiring tasks. The music and script are of particular importance because your eyes will not be on the screen but on paper so the sounds must be captivating.

2. It must be a movie that I know so well that I am not even tempted to lift my eyes to the screen because I have seen it so many times that I know it by heart. When you know a movie this well, you are not distracted by what will happen next or by the images on film. It is like sitting in silence in the car with an old friend, just perfectly content being together.

Without further ado, my grading movies are. . .

1. Sense and Sensibility: This is my number one go-to grading flick. The movie is perfect and so comforting and inspiring.

2. Little Women (with Winoma Ryder): This movie is great in the winter since it open at Christmas and always reminds me of hanging out with my sisters. (These two movies make up a sub-genre of films that I am a sucker for. Barrett lovingly named the genre "Women Writers Overcoming All Odds." I always like those flicks.)

3. Meet Me in St. Louis: This movie is a favorite from my childhood and always makes me happy (except the Halloween sequence which still scares me). The colors, costumes, and music are classically awesome. I love popping this movie in around any holiday since it goes through all four seasons.

The longer list. . .
If I had to add a few more to the list, they would be Oklahoma, Princess Bride (can't go wrong with a 90's classic), Much Ado About Nothing, Singing in the Rain, Master and Commander, and Say Anything.