History Video #14: The National Gallery of Art

Challenge Question: We'll see this painting next Monday. Was it painted during the Middle Ages, or during the Renaissance?

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During the Renaissance, one of the humanists said "Men can do anything with themselves, if they will".  I asked the students whether they agree or disagree with the humanist's perspective. Their responses were outstanding:

Sonia: I would say what my father says to me; “You can do anything you want … within reason. Just don’t let fear stop you from doing what you want to do.” We as humans are very accomplished animals with great skills and talents. But I also know that we can’t do everything, and trying to do so would be plain stupid. We have to keep our wits about us and remember that we have weaknesses.

Kelly: I disagree because not everything is possible. If a poor person wants to become richer, a rich person might not want to help them, because what if the poor person got even richer?

I also don’t like how the quote says “men” can do anything. What about women?!

Jake: I disagree with this opinion because it says in the book that when you were born into a class then you usually stayed in that class. So if you were born into the peasant class, I don’t think you could become free, or become a rich artist or something.

Mia: I like this statement because it says that men can do whatever they want, and that comes along with having freedom. Back then there was very little freedom, so they were kind of rebelling against that law.

Alex: Even though we can do a lot, we can’t defy physics and be immortals. There are some boundaries.

Spicer/Sophia/Peyton/Andrew: Yes. Yes. Yes. As long as it's physically possible -- if you try hard enough, you can achieve anything.