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"School became genuinely uncomfortable. I was feeling a little self-conscious about the acting thing with my peers, but also my teachers became a problem. They didn't want to do the extra work or put packages together so I could keep up while away. They failed me. My teachers failed me. Not one, but all of them. I'm always slightly ashamed in a way, about what I do. I'm slightly embarrassed as I had such serious ambitions when I was younger, I just never imagined that I would ever have a reason not go to school. But then this happened."
—Twilight's Kristen Stewart keeps on keeping on.
Honey, you have the right to pursue an education, and no one should take that away from you. But teachers do not have the duty to force education down your gullet when you are turning your time and effort elsewhere.
Edited to add: many students aren't able to attend school, and sometimes when their teachers don't reach out to them and do extra work, it is letting the student down. But those students generally aren't missing school because they're off making movies.
Maybe your teachers should have come over and wiped your butt too? Did they leave you to do that all alone? Such failure by the education establishment-what, do these assholes think they're too busy with the 100 or so other kids they're teaching while making about .3% of your salary for one Twilight movie?
I love how Hollywood is filled with unrealized astrophysicist and neurosurgeons.
Oh for fuck's sake.
Dude. That's the crappiest excuse I've ever heard.
If she's talking about public school — those teachers are already overworked and underpaid, and spend the bulk of their time keeping their students afloat. They don't have time to map out and prepare a completely separate and travel-friendly curriculum for a single student. Besides, she's younger than me and even I was able to take online courses in high school.
If she's talking about private school — plenty of money for private tutoring there, or distance/extension learning.
No excuses. You can't expect the teachers to put in all the work if you don't meet them halfway.
Oh, for the fuck of shit.
In addition to everything else people have said, any kind of time-consuming acting work she had would have been required to provide her with tutoring.
(I am biased as the daughter of a SUPERIOR public educator who went above and beyond every damn day for her students.)
@ellochka For the fuck of shit. Is my new favorite. Thing to say. Ever.
@cmonster I second this.
I'm a homebound tutor, so what she's describing is sort of my job (except really, really not), and it's definitely true that some teachers SUCK at getting work home to kids who are being tutored– some don't send as much as what the kids still in school are doing, which means the kids not in school will be behind when they get back; some don't send anything unless you basically nag them constantly about it; some send a giant stack all at once at the end of the marking period and apparently expect that you have access to a time machine. Most are pretty decent at sending a reasonable amount home with reasonable frequency. Some are amazing and both send work consistently and send detailed directions about what else they'd like the tutor to do to enrich the student's learning. (I love these ones, but recognize what a giant pain in the ass it is to rise to this level of awesomeness. It's a pain in the ass simply to do their jobs and be pretty decent.) Point is, these homebound students are out for medical reasons or have been suspended/expelled– they didn't choose to be out (mostly). This makes providing that level of 'pretty decent' performance a part of their job as teachers. Not so much the case when the student is out because they're on set filming stuff… I have no sympathy for her.
SHUT UP SHUT UP SHE IS MY PERFECT AND BEAUTIFUL BUTCH GIRLFRIEND
Seriously though, have you seen those Coachella pictures from last year? I'd forgive that woman anything. She looks like Kate Moennig.
@melis SHE CAN'T BE YOURS, SHE'S MINE.
@melis More like Kate Mopeing
@parallel-lines I knowwwwww. It's like she's in a mild amount of physical pain all the time. For some reason I find this to be deeply compelling. I offer no justification. It's ineffable.
@melis: No, it's effable. Amiright?!
@Hot mayonnaise
If she can use her sparkly vampire magic to revert to Adventureland Kristen, I will tutor her until she knows more than can comfortably fit inside her.
WAIT! I meant…
@melis I think she's basically the queers version of David Boreanez as Angel. It's the only way I can explain it.
It'll be fine, though! Offering to teach her to read can be your 'in'!
I thought you got onset tutors, I thought they HAD to get them for underage actors. But still, it's not really an excuse KStew. Natalie Portman was making movies and went to friggin' Harvard. Dakota Fanning makes movies and still goes to school full time and also finds time to be homecoming queen, so clearly you didn't make an effort.
@Megan Patterson@facebook Dude, Natalie Portman went to Harvard because she is a famous person. Julia Stiles went to Columbia, also because she was a famous person. It's not anything against either lady, it's just truth. Which is, frankly, why Kristen Stewart seems even sadder right now–what the hell, lady! Get a GED and apply to wherever you want, you'll get in.
@allyzay But she's also published papers in scholarly journals. It's not like she's a total idiot…
@Megan Patterson@facebook I don't know if that's completely fair; Natalie Portman has an Erdos-Bacon number, after all, she didn't exactly get in based on fame alone. She's obviously got actual educational goals.
(Now, did being famous mean they could go to those schools without massive debt? Absofrigginlutely.)
You guys are being really unfair! How could Kristen be expected to learn anything if her teachers weren't carefully preparing and setting aside special lesson plans for her? Kristen Stewart could have been the next MARIE CURIE, GUYS. MARIE CURIE. If only those dumb teachers had just ignored their other NON-famous students a little more and given Kristen the extra special help she needed…
Soooooo selfish!
Shhhh, shhhhhh baby, don't talk.
You're safe here. We have a lot of denim vests and slouchy beanies and big sunglasses and you can just rest now.
When Kristen Stewart gives interviews, she should just wear a sign that says 'Lynch Me'. It might save her some time.
@teaandcakeordeath Can we turn that into a thing where it means that any actor who wears that sign has to be the star of David Lynch's next film? Because that would be amazing.
@melis "Tag! You're it. And if you can explain to me what "it" is, I'll pay you a million dollars."
@Melis
I like the way you think.
@Annepersand
'It' is the new celebrity game where celebs have to drop the most outlandish comments they can muster in to interviews. For recent cases, see: Milla J, Johnny Dep and dear Kristen. Cash up.
I hate her. What kind of a jackass publicly says shit like this? Dude, have you read a newspaper lately, do you understand the kind of shit that is going down with our country's education system? You've got teachers with 60 students in a class, trying to make sure they can all pass some bullshit scan-tron test or their school is going to be DEFUNDED, and they're supposed to take time out of their nonexistent free time to make a special care package for a fucking MILLIONAIRE MOVIE STAR who decided to pursue that EXTREMELY VIABLE AND PROFITABLE CAREER instead of going to school? Dude, hire a tutor with 1/8000th of the money you made off Twilight. Kristen Stewart, fuck you. Fuck you, Kristen Stewart. Also you are a terrible actor and "Adventureland" sucked balls, there I said it. Get a new facial expression, are you paralyzed in the face or something? THERE I SAID IT
UGH!
Sincerely
A Teacher
Awesome, because teachers aren't constantly being shit on all the time or anything.
Signed, daughter of an English teacher
@hands_down: Not at all, and they certainly all have scads of time to cater to wealthy movie stars who need special lesson plans for when they're away. Making boatloads of money.
Love,
Wife of a Music Teacher
@hands_down Pfft of course they aren't. Like, teaching is the easiest thing ever, didn't you know that???? They also don't spend hundreds of hours outside the classroom grading papers/creating assignments, and they also don't spend thousands of their own dollars on basic supplies because the schools don't have the money to provide tissues and markers. Man, teachers just have it soooo hard, pfft!
Signed,
Daughter of a fourth grade Virginia history teacher
@peculiarity And Those Damn Teachers have summers off! They definitely don't spend it doing grad school work or taking on a second job..nooooo! And they don't spend every August freaking out about whether or not they will have a job in a few weeks because everyone is getting shifted around CONSTANTLY!
Signed,
Girlfriend of an Art Teacher
A friend of mine was basically going to be flunked out of school because she was an internationally competitive athlete who had to miss a week or two each semester for competitions, and the school wouldn't excuse the absences, so she would automatically fail, despite doing the work. That is a legitimate complaint about a school being inflexible and kinda sucky.
She switched to a private school, still had the absences, but made sure she got her work done. I was also an athlete in the same field; I moved clear across the country halfway through my senior year and did correspondence courses through Texas Tech University to finish my diploma.
Blaming the school for not catering to her speshul, speshul movie star needs is baloney sandwiches, and makes me so angry on behalf of the school system that is, as we gripe, probably being flooded by complaints from rabid Twilight fans.
BIG second to whomever suggested she hire a tutor with a microscopic portion of the ridiculous amount of money she makes.
@SarahDances
I hope you won–sounds like you deserve it.
@SarahDances Heh, I actually quit a year later to move home and go to college. Now that I'm into my Master's, whenever I get disillusioned with my hum-drum grad student lifestyle, I huddle over my National medals and caress them while whispering sweet nothings to myself, a la Gollum.
Somebody called her a whambulance, right?
*huffhuffhuff* o-m-g. It's already been said, but she fucking failed herself.
Oh man. I have parent conferences this week (and I have FIVE nights of them because I'm part-time at two different schools) and this quote seriously made me want to cry under my desk. Even between my two schools – I'm only .66 FTE, work approximately 50 hours a week, and am seeking a second job to support my teaching habit because I can hardly afford more than rent (by "more" I mean "food"). I teach two different languages that I have to prep for (powerpoints, worksheets, in-class activities, homework) including differentiation for those in the class who are already at vastly different levels. Currently, I spend a lot of time worrying about the fact that I'm not available at one of the schools at the end of their day to provide extra help to students. I AM WORRYING ABOUT BEING TWO PLACES AT ONCE.
This made me immensely grateful I don't have any famous movie star students to publicly shame me about my workload, because the truth is that K's teachers probably read that quote and ACTUALLY FELT BAD because the only people who become teachers and stay in the field are those who care so much it hurts.
(I don't mean this as a saintly reflection upon my character because this may be the last year I make it like this…)
@MissMushkila PS I was reading and commenting on this while listening to Jane's clip with the wall street bankers and I wouldn't recommend that combination.
Somebody call Jodie Foster or Brooke Shields or any of the other child stars who managed to scramble together an education (including going to college! For real, not just for photo ops!) back before we had the internet and email and Skype.
Also, can't there be a "SHUT UP PRETTY PERSON" tag?
As a Kristen Stewart fan and a teacher, I can see how on the surface she sounds entitled or ungrateful but am also not quick to judge here. I would have liked the interviewer to have pressed her further for clarification because I suspect she felt unsupported not just academically but perhaps more so emotionally due to the rampant hate and bullying she received from jealous classmates. She has stated in the past how isolating it was and from what I've seen in my short teaching career some schools are better than others at preserving a safe learning environment for their students and addressing bullying head-on. I'm sure teachers resented it and it was clear as day to her. One of the students in the other 5th grade class at my school last year was in Billy Elliot on Broadway but his teacher was thrilled for him and never complained as far as I could tell. But we have a progressive stance on bullying and character education so perhaps that reflects in the teacher's attitude about it. Food for thought.