The last Sunday Best List focused on
the best movies about the high school experience from the student
perspective. This week we will be looking at it from the other side
of the classroom: the teacher.
- Remember the Titans.Sports take up an important part of the lives of many high schoolers. For many of them it defines their social circles, their focus, and the way they look at life. Denzel Washington's Herman Boone is tough on his players both on and off the field. He understands that building up self-esteem is not his job. When his assistant coach builds up a player that Boone tore down, Boone warns him that by not letting that teen experience failure that he is being crippled for life. Sometimes teachers know that failure is the best teacher.
9. Mean Girls
There are a lot of problems with Ms.
Norbury (Tina Fey), but at least she tries to directly address the
cattiness problem rampant among high school girls in a way I have
never seen done in any other movie. She tries to show that this path
is self destructive and pointless.
8. Summer School
One of the things that impresses me
about this movie is that it allows you to see how badly the teacher
played by Marc Harmon does his job. He goes on a slow evolution from
self-centeredness to devotion. But his dedication does not suddenly
give him magical teaching powers. He succeeds as often as he fails,
but he learns to accept the victory.
7. The Karate Kid
While Miyagi is not a teacher in a high
school, he is teaching a high school student. And his teaching
method is top notch. I love the way that the movie captures the
frustration between teacher and student, especially when students
cannot understand why they need educating. I've noticed that when
students don't like an activity, they ask “What's the point of
this?” But even if an explanation is given, they still will not
understand. They have to be shown. So much of what happens in high
school is learning not only facts, but skills and habits that will
help you in life. Learning how to speak properly, write properly,
dress properly, be respectful, etc. are things that will help in
later professional life. Miyagi demonstrates that with his “wax
on, wax off” style of teacher that builds up the muscles of habit
to strengthen the person to the task at hand.
6. Waiting For Superman
While the focus of this documentary was
primarily on grade schools, it did point out a few issues regarding
high school education, the most important of which was that
competition between schools will result in getting the best quality
teachers.
5. Mr. Holland's Opus
The movie is a bit overly sentimental,
but I think that it touches on the secret wish that all teachers have
to make a difference. We have students for a little while and then
they move on. And rarely do we see where life takes them. As the
years pass, you begin to wonder what kind of impact you've had and if
you've made any real positive difference. Mr. Holland's Opus is a
reminder that helping out one soul is better than all the fame and
fortune in the world.
4. Dead Poets Society
The goal of a great teacher is not just
to get students to know more but the think more. Robin William's
John Keating uses all of tools of entertainment at his disposal to do
just this. I have heard some critiques that this movie reduces
teaching to simple performance. And to be sure there are some
teachers who only entertain without educating. But I've always
maintained that keeping a class' attention is half the battle. If I
can keep my students from falling asleep, I've done something right.
Jokes, impressions, games, etc are all a means to an end. And Dead
Poets Society shows what happens, for good or for ill, when teens
start becoming men and thinking for themselves.
3. Lean On Me
Morgan Freeman's performance is
outstanding as “Crazy” Joe Clark, the embattled principal of East
Side High. He embodies the fatherly qualities of stern
disciplinarian and tireless protector. He makes several mistakes
along the way, but he is undeterred in making sure his students have
a chance to succeed. This movie gets that safety and discipline are
a pre-requisite in the classroom if any learning is going to happen.
A student once asked me why I am so strict with things like the dress
code or tardiness. My honest answer is that the more discipline
there is in class, the easier it will be for the students to learn.
As I pointed out earlier, many don't see this, but I do. Lean on Me
shows taking discipline out of the schools will destroy them.
Bringing it back is an act of love.
2. The Emperor's Club
“What's the good of what you're
teaching?” is a question posed to Kevin Kline's Mr. Hundert, the
teacher of Classics in The Emperor's Club. The question is trying to
glean what are the pragmatic benefits of studying the ancient Greeks
and Romans. And while Hundert has a good practical answer, he points
to the larger reason: it shapes a child's character. Teaching is not
just about facts and figures. It is about helping mold the
personality of someone. So much of our personalities solidify during
the years of high school and college. A great teacher can influence
that. The movie also reminds us that a teacher is not defined by a
single success or a solitary failure, but by a whole lifetime of
work.
1. Stand and Deliver
This utterly unsentimental movie is my
favorite movie on teaching. Edward James Olmos gives one of his best
performances as Jaime Escalante, a teacher who decides to hold
calculus classes in an underprivileged urban
school. Like Joe Clark, Escalante is tough. He says, “There
will be no free rides, no excuses. You already have two strikes
against you: your name and your complexion. Because of those two
strikes, there are some people in this world who will assume that you
know less than you do. Math is the great equalizer... When you go for
a job, the person giving you that job will not want to hear your
problems; ergo, neither do I. You're going to work harder here than
you've ever worked anywhere else. And the only thing I ask from you
is 'ganas.' 'Desire.'”
But toughness is not enough to be a
good teacher. Escalante gives all of his time and talent to his
students. At a faculty meeting, despite his crowded schedule, he
says “I can do more.” A teacher needs to be present to his
students to help them. And it costs Escalante much but he never
complains. He knows that by raising the bar high, the students will
meet and surpass his expectations. He understands that teaching is
an act of faith. You have to believe that your students can excel
And you have to believe that you can teach them to do it.
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