Ethos Education

Christopher Robin: Is it better to be a child or a grown-up?

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Assembly Objective:

  • Is it better to be a child or a grown-up? This assembly is an exploration of ‘the different worlds’ of the child and the grown-up and includes a reflection upon a biblical perspective.

Film:

  • Christopher Robin (Disney, 2018) certificate PG, click here to buy the DVD online.

Bible:

Supporting Values Education:

  • Individual Liberty/Rule of Law: In comparing ‘the different worlds’ of the child and the grown-up, there should be an acknowledgment in this assembly that greater individual liberty for adults is matched with greater individual responsibility. There should also be a further acknowledgement that, within the law, children and adults are treated differently.

OPENING ACTIVITY

The Intergeneration Game: (Quiz)

  • Using slides 5-25 from the Christopher Robin PowerPoint children take on adults in a quiz in which they must try to answer questions that relate mostly to the experience of the other generation. Neither team gains a point for correctly answering a question originally put to their opponents. Hopefully, if the questions have been chosen correctly, the final score will be 0-0, demonstrating the fact that children and adults inhabit ‘different worlds’.

Intergeneration Game Questions:

Children’s Questions.

  1. What is the current basic rate of income tax in the United Kingdom for tax year 2018/19? (20%)
  2. What is the value of a property in Band G of the Council Tax banding system for tax year 2018/19? (£160,001 to £320,000)
  3. How much is the current UK standard Personal Allowance for tax year 2018/19? (£11,850)
  4. What is the current UK rate for Value Added Tax for tax year 2018/19? (20%)
  5. How much must a person earn within a year before having to pay the additional rate of income tax for tax year 2018/19? (£150,000)

Adult’s Questions

  1. In the game Minecraft, how do you make obsidian? (Mix water and lava)
  2. From which dimension do the Endermen come? (The End)
  3. What are Creepers scared of? (Ocelots)
  4. What can you wear to stop the Endermen from attacking you? (A pumpkin)
  5. With which ore can you build complicated machines? (Redstone)

FILM CLIP 1

  • From Christopher Robin (Disney, 2018) certificate PG.
    • Start time: 00:14:37 (Christopher Robin and Mr Wilmslow begin their private meeting.)
    • End time: 00:16: 44 (Mr Wilmslow says, ‘Keep up the good work!’)
    • Clip length: 2 minutes and 7 seconds.
      • If you cannot play this clip from the DVD, instead say, ‘Christopher Robin has grown up and is now the Efficiency Manager for a luggage company. The business is not doing very well and it is Christopher Robin’s job to cut costs. He has already made cuts of 3% but his boss, Mr Wilmslow, wants him to increase this figure to 20%. Mr Wilmslow demands that Christopher Robin works all weekend to come up with a plan on how to make 20% cuts but Christopher Robin tells him this is not possible as he is taking his wife and daughter away for the weekend. Mr Wilmslow persuades Christopher Robin to sacrifice his weekend away with his family for the good of the company. Christopher Robin feels very guilty that he has been persuaded to put his job before his family.’

FILM CLIP 2

  • From Christopher Robin (Disney, 2018) certificate PG.
    • Start time: 00:59:37 (Christopher Robin says, ‘Hello, everyone.’)
    • End time: 01:06:00 (The camera pulls back from Christopher Robin and Pooh sitting on the log.)
    • Clip length: 6 minutes and 23 seconds.
      • If you cannot play this clip from the DVD, instead say, ‘Christopher Robin has returned to the Hundred Acre Wood. He and Eeyore discover the rest of the animals (minus Pooh) hiding from a Heffalump in the hollow trunk of a fallen tree. They all believe that Christopher Robin is himself a Heffalump and refuse to come out of their hiding place. To prove to them that he is indeed Christopher Robin, he pretends to fight a Heffalump. His ‘victory’ over the Heffalump convinces all the animals that he is Christopher Robin after all. They are very pleased to see him again after so many years. The old friends set off to find Pooh. They find him waiting for Christopher Robin on a familiar log. Christopher Robin apologises to Pooh for shouting at him earlier in the day. He admits to Pooh that he feels lost. Pooh comforts Christopher by telling him that he has now been found by his old friends and remains their hero. The two old friends embrace.

TALK

Scripted Talk

Download the Christopher Robin PowerPoint for use with this talk.

  • [PowerPoint slide 1]
    • Welcome everyone to our assembly this morning which is based on the Disney film, Christopher Robin.
  • [PowerPoint slide 2]
    • Christopher Robin was a real person whose father A. A. Milne wrote a series of books featuring his son, his teddy bear (Winnie the Pooh) and his other cuddly toy animals.
  • [PowerPoint slide 3]
    • Disney has made a whole series of films about the adventures of these characters. You may have watched some of these films in the past. (Invite responses.)
  • [PowerPoint slide 4]
    • This latest film in the series tells the imaginary story of a grown-up Christopher Robin and contrasts his life as an adult with his previous life as a child. The film suggests that children and adults inhabit different worlds. Let’s see if that’s true by playing…
  • [PowerPoint slides 5-25]
    • The Intergeneration Game. (Invite two teams, one solely comprising of adults, the other of children, to join you at the front. Inform each team that they will receive a point for each correct answer. They will not, however, receive points for correctly answering the other team’s questions. Beginning with the children’s team, ask each team a question in turn. Hopefully, at the end of the quiz, the scores will be 0 – 0. If so, this is evidence to suggest that children and adults inhabit two different worlds.)
  • [PowerPoint slide 26]
    • The final score (hopefully) shows us that children inhabit a different world from adults. But which is better? This is a major question posed in the film, Christopher Robin.
  • [PowerPoint slide 27]
    • Removed from his childhood world at the age of ten to attend boarding school, Christopher Robin grows up, gets married, has a child and works as an Efficiency Manager at a luggage company.  Let’s watch this first clip to see how much Christopher Robin enjoys his job.
    • Play film clip 1 from Christopher Robin (Disney, 2018) certificate PG.
      • Start time: 00:14:37 (Christopher Robin and Mr Wilmslow begin their private meeting.)
      • End time: 00:16: 44 (Mr Wilmslow says, ‘Keep up the good work!’)
      • Clip length: 2 minutes and 7 seconds.
    • If you cannot play this clip from the DVD, instead say, ‘Christopher Robin has grown up and is now the Efficiency Manager for a luggage company. The business is not doing very well and it is Christopher Robin’s job to cut costs. He has already made cuts of 3% but his boss, Mr Wilmslow, wants him to increase this figure to 20%. Mr Wilmslow demands that Christopher Robin works all weekend to come up with a plan on how to make 20% cuts but Christopher Robin tells him this is not possible as he is taking his wife and daughter away for the weekend. Mr Wilmslow persuades Christopher Robin to sacrifice his weekend away with his family for the good of the company. Christopher Robin feels very guilty that he has been persuaded to put his job before his family.’
    • (Allow children time to reflect upon the clip. What do they think of Christopher Robin’s grown-up world of work? Do their parents/carers sometimes have to put their jobs before them? How does that make them feel? How do they feel about becoming adults in the future? Is this something that they are excited about or is it something that they dread? If appropriate, talk briefly about your own experience.)
  • [PowerPoint slide 28]
    • Later in the film, the grown-up Christopher Robin is magically able to return to the world of his childhood. Let’s watch another clip from the film to see how his childhood world compares with his grown-up world. Play clip 2 from Christopher Robin (Disney, 2018) certificate PG.
      • Start time: 00:59:37 (Christopher Robin says, ‘Hello, everyone.’)
      • End time: 01:06:00 (The camera pulls back from Christopher Robin and Pooh sitting on the log.)
      • Clip length: 6 minutes and 23 seconds.
    • If you cannot play this clip from the DVD, instead say, ‘Christopher Robin has returned to the Hundred Acre Wood. He and Eeyore discover the rest of the animals (minus Pooh) hiding from a Heffalump in the hollow trunk of a fallen tree. They all believe that Christopher Robin is himself a Heffalump and refuse to come out of their hiding place. To prove to them that he is indeed Christopher Robin, he pretends to fight a Heffalump. His ‘victory’ over the Heffalump convinces all the animals that he is Christopher Robin after all. They are very pleased to see him again after so many years. The old friends set off to find Pooh. They find him waiting for Christopher Robin on a familiar log. Christopher Robin apologises to Pooh for shouting at him earlier in the day. He admits to Pooh that he feels lost. Pooh comforts Christopher by telling him that he has now been found by his old friends and remains their hero. The two old friends embrace.’
  • [PowerPoint slide 29]
    • (Allow children time to reflect upon the clip. What do they most value about being a child? What do they not like about it? Which do they think is better – the world of the grown-up or the world of the child?)
  • [PowerPoint slide 30]
    • The film answers the question we’ve been asking today by suggesting that grown-ups must find a balance between the adult world, the world of work and responsibility and the child’s world, the world of play and imagination. (What do the children think of this solution?) In the film, revisiting his childhood world allows Christopher Robin to reconnect with his wife and daughter and to come up with a creative plan to save his company.
  • [PowerPoint slide 31]
    • In the Bible, there is a famous saying of Jesus about becoming like a child. This is what he said. (Share quote with children. How do they understand it?) In this quote, Jesus was telling his followers that they had to give up any desire for power because children of his time had no power whatsoever. But some people believe that he was also reminding his followers that they needed to love God like a child loves a parent and to experience joy in knowing him.

Headings and bullets

  • [PowerPoint slide 1]
    • Welcome.
  • [PowerPoint slide 2]
    • Christopher Robin, his father and Winnie the Pooh.
  • [PowerPoint slide 3]
    • Winnie the Pooh films.
  • [PowerPoint slide 4]
    • The grown-up Christopher Robin.
  • [PowerPoint slide 5]
    • The Intergeneration Game.
  • [PowerPoint slide 6]
    • Children’s Question 1.
  • [PowerPoint slide 7]
    • Children’s Question 1: Answer.
  • [PowerPoint slide 8]
    • Adult’s Question 1.
  • [PowerPoint slide 9]
    • Adult’s Question 1: Answer.
  • [PowerPoint slide 10]
    • Children’s Question 2.
  • [PowerPoint slide 11]
    • Children’s Question 2: Answer.
  • [PowerPoint slide 12]
    • Adult’s Question 2.
  • [PowerPoint slide 13]
    • Adult’s Question 2: Answer.
  • [PowerPoint slide 14]
    • Children’s Question 3.
  • [PowerPoint slide 15]
    • Children’s Question 3: Answer.
  • [PowerPoint slide 16]
    • Adult’s Question 3.
  • [PowerPoint slide 17]
    • Adult’s Question 3: Answer.
  • [PowerPoint slide 18]
    • Children’s Question 4.
  • [PowerPoint slide 19]
    • Children’s Question 4: Answer.
  • [PowerPoint slide 20]
    • Adult’s Question 4.
  • [PowerPoint slide 21]
    • Adult’s Question 4: Answer.
  • [PowerPoint slide 22]
    • Children’s Question 5.
  • [PowerPoint slide 23]
    • Children’s Question 5: Answer.
  • [PowerPoint slide 24]
    • Adult’s Question 5.
  • [PowerPoint slide 25]
    • Adult’s Question 5: Answer.
  • [PowerPoint slide 26]
    • The world of the child v. the world of the adult.
  • [PowerPoint slide 27]
    • The grown-up world of Christopher Robin.
    • Play clip 1.
  • [PowerPoint slide 28]
    • Christopher Robin returns.
  • [PowerPoint slide 29]
    • The world of the child v. the world of the adult.
  • [PowerPoint slide 30]
    • Finding a balance.
  • [PowerPoint slide 31]
    • Matthew 18: 2-3.

Photo copyright for Christopher Robin PowerPoint: Slide 1 Disney / Slide 2 Pinterest / Slide 3 covers found at IMDB / Slide 4 Disney / Slide 5 Pixabay.com / Slides 6, 7, 10, 11, 14, 15, 18, 19, 22 and 23 Pixabay.com / Slides 8, 9, 12, 13, 16, 17, 20, 21, 24 and 25 Pixabay.com / Slide 26 and 29 iStockPhoto.com / Slide 27 Disney / Slide 28 Disney / Slide 30 Disney / Slide 31 image 5 Lumoproject.com 

RESPOND

Reflection

  • What is the best/worst thing about being an adult/child?
  • Would you prefer to remain a child for the rest of your life or to become an adult overnight?
  • What job would you like to do as an adult? Why would you choose this job?
  • In the film, Christopher Robin says, ‘I’m not a child anymore. I am an adult with adult responsibilities.’ How do adult and child responsibilities differ?
  • The artist Picasso once said that it took him a lifetime to learn to paint like a child. What do you think he meant by this? Why do you think that he saw this as an achievement?
  • Is there any similarity between Picasso’s quote and the saying of Jesus about becoming like a child?

Prayer

  • Dear God, we thank you for all the adults who have responsibility for our care and for our learning. May you help them to do their best. May you also help to remind us of our responsibility and help us to always do the right thing. We pray that as adults we never forget the joy that we experienced as children. And for those of us who would be your followers, may we always be like little children in the way that we respond to your love. Amen.

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