Hello and welcome to today's lesson.

My name is Miss Halladay and I'll be your teacher for today.

Thank you so much for joining me.

It's an absolute pleasure to have you all here and I'm really looking forward to hearing all of your incredible ideas and suggestions.

Let's get started.

So today's lesson is called, "Dickens' Ghost as Agents of Time".

And by the end of today's lesson you'll be able to understand how and why time is manipulated in the novella.

Here are some keywords that you'll need to unlock today's learning.

We've got, "Agent, fluid, phenomenon and privilege".

Let's have a look at what these keywords mean.

First of all, if someone is the agent of something, it means that they act on its behalf or represent it.

Something that is fluid does not have a fixed shape or pattern and flows freely.

An extraordinary, unusual or abnormal occurrence is a phenomenon.

And finally, a privilege is a blessing or an advantage that somebody has.

For example, having lots of money is often considered to be a privilege.

I'd like you to look out for these keywords as we progress through the learning.

Here's our lesson outline for today.

We're going to start by examining Scrooge's perception of time and how that might change throughout the course of the novella.

We're then going to move on to looking at the phenomenon of time in the novella.

But let's start first of all with perception of time.

I'd like you to discuss, well, what do you define as your as your past? What do we mean by the present? What is the future? Is that something that's certain? Is it uncertain? And do we have the ability to change the course of any of these times? So some really thought provoking and quite subjective questions there.

I'd like you to pause the video while you discuss them with the people around you.

Alternatively, if you're on your own, please do feel free to complete the task on paper.

Off you go.

Some fantastic discussions.

And as I said, they're quite subjective questions that there is no real right or wrong answer to.

And I think that everybody's perceptions of these different time periods in our lives will probably vary slightly.

But we're going to have a look at what these time periods represent in the novella and how Scrooge reacts to each of them in turn.

So here are three elements of time that we are all really familiar with.

We have the past which has what has been and gone, the present, which most people generally think to be the here and now.

And we have the future, which again most people tend to think is what is going to be or what will be.

I'd like you to discuss now, which ghost has a different style of name? So we know that the ghost in the novella represent these three time periods, but which one has a slightly different name to what you can see on screen? And why might Dickens have named this ghost slightly differently? So I'm gonna invite you now to pause video while you have those discussions now.

And well remembered and identified to those of you that suggested that the ghost of Christmas yet to come has that slightly different name because it's not called the Ghost of Christmas future.

And one of the reasons for that might be because actually Dickens could be suggesting that our futures are not fixed and that they may be subject to change.

So well done if you also came up with that suggestion.

So we've just established that Dickens challenges our perceptions of the future through the ghost of Christmas yet to come.

And I'd like you to think now, well, what point do you think he's making about the future through calling the ghost, the ghost of Christmas yet to come, and why might he be making this point? So again, I'm going to invite you to pause the video while you discuss those questions with the people around you or undertake the task independently if you're on your own.

Off you go.

Some really fantastic discussions there and we're going to turn to our oak pupils to see what they think.

So first of all, our fantastic oak pupil Lucas states this.

"Dickens purposefully uses the phrase, "Yet to come" Rather than future because Scrooge's future is uncertain.

It depends entirely upon his ability to change".

And Laura replies, "Instead of showing us Scrooge's future which remains uncertain, Dickens shows us one thing that is certain, what Christmas is yet to come will look like if he doesn't change".

So Alex is a little bit confused and he says, "But I'm a little bit confused here, what is the difference?" And Laura clarifies for him, "Well, the word yet is conditional, and this means that these events are not set in stone, which means that Scrooge can still change them, and thus time in the novella is presented as a gift".

And Lucas adds, "Exactly.

Many people, particularly those who believe in fate, view their futures as fixed, and Dickens is challenging this idea by suggesting that we create our own future through our present actions".

And I love this idea from Lucas and I think he really nicely summarises the idea that actually Dickens is trying to empower us to realise that our futures are not set in stone and that therefore our present actions inform our futures.

And here, Scrooge and through the ghost, he's given that knowledge so that he can make changes to his future and make sure that he doesn't end up with the same fate as Marley's ghost.

And luckily because Lucas's explanation was so fantastic and clear, Alex gets it and he says, "Ah, I see now!" So thank you to Lucas and Laura for explaining that so concisely and so clearly.

Let's check for understanding then.

Dickens calls the final ghost the ghost of Christmas yet to come because is it A, he wants to show us that our futures are predetermined so we should make the most of life? Is it B, he wants to emphasise that our futures are not fixed and we should take responsibility for them? Or is it C, he wants to illustrate that we cannot alter our own fates but we can shape other people's? I'm going to invite you now to pause the video while you make your answer selection.

And well done if you selected B, spot on.

Dickens might call the final ghost the Ghost of Christmas yet to come because he really wants to emphasise this idea that actually the future is not set in stone and it is subject to change if we take responsibility for it.

So well done.

In Stave one of the novella, we see Scrooge as a character who really views time as a resource, okay? And I'd like you to think now, bearing that in mind, why does Scrooge resent Bob having Christmas day off so much? So I'm going to invite you now to pause the video while you consider the question on screen now.

Fantastic ideas and a real diverse range of suggestions there.

It was lovely to hear all the different interpretations you have of Scrooge's interaction with Bob.

Now, we know in the text that Scrooge states, "A poor excuse for picking a man's pocket every 25th of December!" Said Scrooge, buttoning his great coat to the chin, "But I suppose you must have the whole day.

Be here all the earlier next morning".

So there's that evidence from the text of that interaction between Bob and Scrooge.

And the reason for Scrooge's resentment towards Bob having Christmas day off is because he actually really resents having to pay Bob for time that he isn't spending working, and he wants him to make time up the next morning.

So we very much see Scrooge as a character who kind of epitomises the phrase, "Time is money" And he feels that any wasted time is wasted money.

And we all know how much Stave one Scrooge loves money.

Okay, remember that really famous simile Dickens uses, "Sultry as an oyster" And we know that he hoards his wealth away and doesn't use it philanthropically.

So any wasted time to Scrooge, he views as a waste of money and resources.

I'd like you to discuss now and we're going to read a little bit of an extract from the novella again, and this time it's an interaction between Fred and Scrooge.

But I'd like you to discuss why does Scrooge say, "Good afternoon" So many times to Fred in stave one.

So here's the extract, I'll read it, you follow along.

"Good afternoon" Said Scrooge, "I want nothing from you.

I ask nothing of you.

Why cannot we be friends?" "Good afternoon" Said Scrooge.

"I am sorry with all my heart to find you so resolute.

We have never had any quarrel to which I have been a party, but I have made the trial in homage to Christmas and I'll keep my Christmas humour to the last.

So, a Merry Christmas, uncle".

"Good afternoon" Said Scrooge, "And a happy new Year".

"Good afternoon" Said Scrooge.

So as we see there, and as I said earlier, actually, Scrooge says, "Good afternoon" So many times, and my question to you is why? So I'm going to invite you to pause the video while you discuss that with the people around you or just reflect on it independently if you are on your own.

Off you go.

Fantastic discussions, and really well done to those people who came up with this idea that Scrooge is quite clearly trying to get rid of his nephew because he is really impatient and he is miserly not only with his money but also with his time.

He really does not want to give Fred his time because he's got many other things that he would rather be doing.

And again that shows us how little he values his family.

Okay, he tries to get rid of Fred as quickly as possible so that he doesn't have to waste, or that's the way he perceives it, waste time talking to him.

So that's just shows how miserly and uncharitable Scrooge is not only with his money but also with the other resource that he's able to give, which is his time.

And unfortunately he does choose not to give it.

We also see this real impatience and frustration in the way that he treats the charity men who come to ask him for that donation.

So here's a little bit of snippet of extracts where we see Scrooge being quite rude and impatient again.

"It's not my business" Scrooge returned, "It's enough for a man to understand his own business and not to interfere with other people's.

Mine occupies me constantly.

Good afternoon, gentlemen." So again, here we see Scrooge using that very clear line, "Good afternoon" It's courteous but the tone makes it rude, okay? And he's clearly trying to get rid of these people.

So we clearly see here that Scrooge is mean with his time and he perceives interacting with other people as a waste of this valuable time that he could be spending in his eyes more productively, making more money to hoard away and not use charitably.

So here we see Scrooge really viewing money as a resource in order to make more money.

So in the novella, Scrooge cannot transform until his perception of time has changed.

So I'd like you to think now, well what is it that you think Scrooge needs to learn about time? So again, I'm going to invite you to pause the video while you have a little bit of a think about that now.

Some fantastic discussions there and I'm really impressed with the way that many of you were jotting your ideas down as you were discussing them, and it's really important to make good notes, so I was thrilled to see that practise.

Well done.

So you might have said, "In Stave one, Scrooge does not show an awareness of how his past actions have impacted on his present actions, and indeed how his present actions will in turn and in time impact on his future.

So he really needs to learn that time is actually quite fluid and that the past, the present and the future are not separate components or entities, but actually they all fluidly interact with one another".

And it is this knowledge, as we said earlier, that empowers Scrooge to start making positive changes because he understands from the spirits that actually the future is something that can be altered through the present actions, and that if he reflects on his past, he can use his learning to inform his present and therefore shape his future.

So in understanding this, Scrooge learns that he's actually not beyond hope and he can have some control over his future and tries to avoid the same fate that he's seen Marley's ghost has been dealt.

He also really needs to learn to be more generous with his time.

Okay, we've just established that Scrooge is very, very uncharitable and miserly with his time as well as his money.

And he will do well to recognise that actually time is a very valuable resource not for making money but for forging connections with other people.

So that's something that he really needs to recognise throughout the course of the novella so that he can make that impressive transformation that we see in Stave five.

So Well done if you've got any of those ideas.

So here's our first task of the lesson and we're hearing from our oak pupil Lucas.

So Lucas states, "The ghosts not only educate Scrooge about time, but they also use it to empower him to change.

They show him the fluid nature of time and they give him the gift of time.

Both of these enable scrooge to make his impressive transformation".

So that's kind of a summary of what we've just established this lesson.

And what I'd like you to do now is find evidence from the text to support Lucas's argument.

So in order to do that, you'll need to consider how Scrooge's perception of time changes and how Scrooge is given time to make the changes.

So in order to complete this task, you'll absolutely need to have your novella open.

You'll need to be flicking through different moments all the way from Stave one to Stave five looking for evidence of how his perception of time changes and where he's given the time to make those changes.

So pause the video and off you go.

Fantastic, and I was delighted to see that many of you followed my advice and were sitting there gathering your evidence using the novella.

So well done.

So you might have said that up until this moment, Scrooge has really valued the material benefits of time because we know that time to Scrooge is money and time wasted equals money wasted.

And we see that right at the beginning of Stave two.

And Scrooge wakes up from his visit with Marley's ghost and starts panicking because he thinks he's lost days from being asleep and he starts to worry about all the business deals that he's missed and the money that he might have lost in that time.

So again, we really see Scrooge as a person who values the material benefits of time rather than the kind of humanitarian benefits that it provides him to connect with other people.

Time to Dickens however is a gift, so he really views it as valuable but in a different way from Scrooge.

He views it as a form of generosity, and he often promotes in this novella the idea that one can be charitable with their time, okay? And that this is a form of charity and goodwill.

And this is really demonstrated in Stave four after the death of Tiny Tim, when Fred meets Bob on the street and he gives him his time and his empathy.

And he doesn't necessarily offer him anything material, so he doesn't offer him money, he doesn't offer him food, but what he does offer him is time, patience and empathy.

And Dickens really kind of champions that in the novella as a form of charity, especially for those people who perhaps can't afford to be charitable with their money.

So Dickens is providing them with an alternative way in which they can be charitable and giving.

So the spirits also show Scrooge that his future's not fixed and that actually all the different elements of time, so the past, the present and future, they all interact with one another fluidly and that they all, one informs the other.

So the ghosts in the story empower him to make significant changes to his present so that he can shape his own future.

And he also understands how his past has shaped his present.

And this is really obvious in Stave five, when Scrooge states, "I will live in the past, the present and the future".

Now clearly scientifically that is not possible.

It's not possible for a person to inhabit the past, the present and the future all at once.

But I think here what Scrooge is trying to demonstrate is that he understands where he's come from and how he's ended up like this and he's kind of vowing never to go back there again.

So he's almost kind of not rewriting his past but he's basically living in his present in a way that means that he will never have to go back to that dark place that is now in his past, and he's paving the way for a brighter and more moral future, not just for him but for his whole community because he's taken social responsibility by this point.

And finally we know that Scrooge has always avoided responsibility for anything other than himself, and this includes responsibility for other people's futures.

Scrooge and the novella learns that time is a really precious gift and that by taking responsibility for the time he has left on earth, he can also shape the futures of others as well.

And we see that when Scrooge shouts, "It's Christmas Day!" Said Scrooge to himself, "I haven't missed it, the spirits have done it all in one night, they can do anything they like".

So again here Scrooge's really looking forward and being grateful for the time that he's been given back.

Okay, he's so excited that it's Christmas day because it means he hasn't actually lost any time and that he can now start to really implement the changes that he's made to himself and show others kind of the gratitude that he feels for the spirit's visits and be more philanthropic with his time but also his money as well.

So well done if you've got any of those ideas.

So onto the second part of our lesson now.

We're going to look at the phenomenon of time in the novella and you will have to excuse me because I do find it really hard to say that word, "Phenomenon" And sometimes I will slip up over it and you might have a bit of a laugh and that's fine, but you will have to be a little bit patient with me 'cause it is quite a mouthful to say.

So I'd like you to discuss first of all, what does the opening line tell us about time in the novella? So here's the opening line, "Marley was dead to begin with" And I've highlighted the significant section that I'd like you to focus your discussions on in green.

So pause the video now and discuss the question on screen.

Fantastic discussions, and it was lovely to see so many of you really linking this back to kind of the idea of time in the novella and how Dickens is manipulating time.

So well done if you identified that actually Dickens challenges our perceptions of time from the very beginning of the novella by suggesting that time can and will be reversed in the novella, because again, scientifically it is not possible for a person to be dead and then not be dead anymore.

How can you begin to be dead and then not be dead anymore? So Dickens here is really challenging our perceptions of what is real and he's setting us up to accept time as a very fluid and non-linear concept.

Okay, so he's setting us up to accept the kind of mystery and the phenomenon, I said it right that time, that is time in the novella.

So well done if you've got those ideas.

So what I'd like you to do now, I'm gonna look at time specifically as a phenomenon by mapping the events of the novella onto the timeline in chronological order.

So we've got pre-1843 Christmas Eve, which is Christmas Eve in the past in the novella because this novella was published in 1843.

It was actually published in mid-December in 1843, so just before Christmas.

So we can actually assume that the Christmas that we see in the novella is the Christmas of 1843.

So we've got pre-1843 Christmas Eve, Christmas Eve in 1843, so the very present, the very year that the novella's set, Christmas day in 1843.

So again in the year that the novella was published and set, and then we've got the future, so post 1843 Christmas day.

So what I'd like you to do now is try and map each of the Staves and the events within those Staves onto this timeline in chronological order.

So that's not chronological in the novella, that is chronological in real time, which is gonna be quite difficult.

So I'm going to invite you to pause the video while you have a go at getting your head around this task.

Off you go.

A really good effort there.

And I could see some of you it was absolutely frying your brains trying to do this activity and indeed it does, it does the same to me.

It's really hard to map the events of the novella onto a timeline in real time chronological order because Dickens kind of jumps around time so much that it's actually difficult to discern what comes first in real time.

But let's have a look.

So, first of all, Stave one is set actually on Christmas Eve in 1843, so that's kind of set in the present in real time.

And we see Scrooge in his counting house.

We then go back in time in Stave two to a Christmas that is pre-1843 Christmas Eve to Fezziwig's Christmas Eve party.

So we don't know exactly what year that was, but we know that it was way, way, way before Christmas Eve '43 because we see Scrooge as an adolescent apprentice is the word I'm looking for.

We then go to Stave three where we go forward.

We start in the present and we move forward and we see Christmas around the world.

And we're gonna talk a bit more about that in a second.

Then we go to Stave four, Scrooge's death, which again is set in the future, so post 1843 on Christmas day.

And then we go back to the present of Christmas Day in 1843 with Scrooge's change, his transformation and his visit to Fred for Christmas.

So as you can see, it is quite difficult to map the events chronologically because Dickens does jump around so much, but that is kind of a rough outline of which Stave kind of falls where in real time.

So in Staves one and two we see that Scrooge has a real preoccupation, or an obsession with his future.

And I'd like you to try and tell me or the person next to you, well how? How is Scrooge obsessed with his future? So I'm going to invite you now to pause the video while you discuss that with the people around you or consider it on your own if you are at home.

Off you go.

Fantastic, and it was lovely to see that some of you were actually justifying your opinion with quotations from the text.

So well done.

So we know that Scrooge has spent his life trying to accumulate enough material wealth so as to secure a comfortable future.

And we really see that in Stave two in his conversation with Bell when he says there is nothing on which it is so hard as poverty, we see kind of the motivation and the driver behind Scrooge's avaricious and miserly behaviour, because everything that he's doing, every decision he makes with money is to try and make sure that he never has to live in poverty.

Because he said in this quote, "Nothing is so hard as that".

So we see Scrooge's real preoccupation with securing himself a kind of comfortable future there.

Unfortunately this kind of preoccupation and obsession has made Scrooge fail to understand that even having a future is a privilege in itself.

Okay, so our key word for today, privilege, it's an advantage as such.

He doesn't understand that not everybody has that advantage or that opportunity and that therefore time is presented as a gift or a privilege.

It's an advantage, okay? It's an opportunity.

And I'd like you to discuss now, well who in the novella has not been blessed with the gift of time? And why do you think Stave one Scrooge doesn't view the fact that he has a future as a privilege? So some really interesting questions there.

I'm going to invite you to pause the video while you discuss them with the people around you if you can.

Again, some really impressively insightful discussions there and a real range of answers.

So here's some of the things I heard that I really liked.

So first of all, Dickens shows us how the impoverished members of society do not have secure futures or the gift of time.

And tiny Tim is a prime example of this because unfortunately he will likely die prematurely, or children like him would die prematurely.

Scrooge in Stave one does not appreciate the basic privilege that he has, which is a time to live, so his life basically, because he doesn't value any human life, not even his own.

His attitude towards the death of Marley exemplifies this and his callous comments about the surplus population.

He does not value human life enough to be grateful for the fact that he has time to live.

And I think that's a really important point to recognise.

So let's check for understanding.

Why doesn't Scrooge in Stave one view time as a gift? Is it A, because he views time as something that holds him back from living a fulfilling life? Is it B, he doesn't value human life enough to be thankful for his existence? Is it C, he thinks he can control time so he doesn't view it as a gift? Or is it, D he views time as a commodity or a resource that he can use to make money? So I'm going to invite you now to pause the video while you select your answer.

Give you a little hint and tell you that it's actually more than one answer here.

So there's your little hint for the day.

So pause the video and select the correct answers, plural.

Off you go.

And a massive well done and congratulations if you correctly selected B and D.

Okay, we know Scrooge doesn't value time because he actually doesn't value human life enough to be grateful for his existence.

And also we know that he views it as a commodity or a resource with which he can make money.

So well done if you correctly identified B and D.

Throughout the novella, time does not confine itself even to the past, the present or what is to come.

Even the spirits rove beyond the constraints of the time indicated by their names.

And we started to look at this when we mapped the time chronologically onto that timeline.

So for example, in Stave three, Scrooge visits a 12th night party.

Now these were parties that occurred after Christmas, usually on the fifth or the sixth of January to celebrate the end of the festive season.

Now Scrooge is also shown various kind of vignettes and scenes of Christmas Day from around the world on Christmas day.

Therefore if Scrooge has also seen a 12th night party, which as we've said takes place in January, then that tells us that the spirit has actually transported Scrooge to a time beyond Christmas day.

So I guess what we're trying to wrap our heads around here is the fact that the ghost of Christmas present actually takes Scrooge into the future rather bizarrely.

So there's some overlap there.

And in waking up on Christmas day in Stave five, again Scrooge has effectively won time back because he is been given the gift of time with which to make changes.

So what I'd like you to do now is discuss, well, do you think that Scrooge is grateful to the spirits for their time? So not only the time that they've spent visiting him, but also the time that they've granted him as a gift with which to make positive changes.

So pause the video while you discuss that now.

Fantastic discussions, and I would agree with many of you that actually I think that Stave one Scrooge wouldn't be grateful for the visits of Marley and perhaps the ghost of Christmas past.

However, as the visits from the spirits increase and Scrooge starts to recognise the error of his ways, I think that he really starts to appreciate the gift that he's been given in the form of the spirit's visits.

And I think that by the end of Stave four and at the beginning of Stave five, Scrooge has seen enough and learned enough to really appreciate the value of the time that he's been given.

Because this is a gift unlike no other.

Nobody else has been offered this gift of time.

It is a supernatural miracle of sorts, and I think that Scrooge does actually appreciate that in Stave five, which again shows his transformation and his metamorphosis into a much more humble, grateful, and moral person.

So I think that by the end of the novella, yes he is grateful to the spirits, but that's been a journey in itself.

So onto the last task of the lesson, and it's a challenging one.

Stave one is set on Christmas Eve in 1843.

Stave five is set on Christmas day the very same year.

All of the events of the novella have therefore occurred within the space of one night.

Baffling, magical.

Time has travelled backwards and forwards, but ultimately not cost Scrooge any real time.

So I'd like you to use that knowledge and what we've discussed this lesson to answer the following questions.

And we're kind of bringing together learning cycle one and learning cycle two together in this task, so it is super challenging, but I know you can do it.

So you're gonna answer the following questions.

"If three spirits can visit Scrooge and transform his life in the course of one night, what is Dickens showing us about the possibilities of time?" And secondly, "What is his message about time?" Now, I'd like these presented as a written response, so you'll need to make some notes and then formalise them in a written paragraph.

Off you go.

Fantastic effort, and it was lovely to see how much you were writing 'cause that really shows your understanding of the content that you've learned this lesson.

So well done.

Here's what you might have written.

"Through the fact that the spirits transform Scrooge's life in the course of one night, Dickens shows us the power of time and the difference that a small amount of time used productively and generously can make to the lives of many.

In "A Christmas Carol" It only takes a small amount of time for Scrooge to change, but his change transforms the lives of countless secondary characters in the novella.

Thus Dickens shows us how the drastic transformation of one person in a short space of time can be instrumental in improving the lives of a whole community.

Therefore, Dickens shows us the privilege of time, suggesting that through generosity and social responsibility, the already more privileged middle and upper classes can give the poor the gift of time, which is basically just an extended life." I'm just going to leave that up there for another moment so that you can jot down anything that you missed or anything that you feel will be really helpful to have in your notes.

So do that now before you move on.

So to summarise today's learning.

Before the Spirit's visits, Scrooge viewed time as a resource that he can use to make money.

And we see that in Stave one, in Scrooge's interactions, particularly with Bob, Fred and the charity men.

Secondly, the spirits show him that time is actually more fluid than he thought, that Scrooge's past and present both inform his future and that he must take responsibility for his own and others' futures.

Scrooge also learns that time is a privilege and a gift that many people in society are unfortunately not blessed with.

The spirit's visits defy time, but they all occur within the course of one evening.

And Dickens shows us how the drastic transformation of one person in a short space of time can be really instrumental in improving the lives of a whole community.

Thank you very much for joining me for today's lesson.

It has been fascinating to examine the phenomenon of time with you, and I've still managed to say it well so I'm doing okay today.

I really appreciate all your contributions and engagement and I look forward to you joining me next time.

Thank you and see you later.