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How Popular Culture Depicts Teaching
By Kate Halstead
A teaching degree program gives teachers the normal expertise and standardized knowledge needed to be successful in the classroom. But, if you look for public examples of outstanding teaching careers, you find people who defy the terms 'normal' and 'standard.' Trait descriptions that surface often include quirky, eccentric, goofy, stern, funny, loud, outrageous and even 'a bit nuts.'
Often, these are accidental teachers, not men and women intent on an education career. Saddled with the challenge, they use their unique personalities and life experiences to engage students and help them develop a hunger for knowledge.
From 1939's classic Goodbye Mr. Chips to 2007's Freedom Writers you'll find a number of classic movies showcasing the true-to-life stories of remarkable teachers and their wildly unorthodox methods for connecting with students. Take a look at these five inspiring movies based on real-life teachers.
1. Dead Poet's Society
1989 Silver Screen Partners IV, Director: Peter Weir, Starring Robin Williams
The scene is first day of English class in a conservative 1950s era New England boys' prep school. The new teacher enters the room and instructs the class to turn to a page in their "Introduction to Poetry" textbook. He further instructs them to rip the pages from the book because all it contains is nonsense. In an institution steeped in tradition and conformity, his act is the height of outrageous…and it captivates the hearts and minds of his students.
Teacher John Keating's quirky, jumping-on-desks approach to poetry class inspired his students to resurrect a long-defunct club, the Dead Poet's Society. His constant reminder of "carpe diem" (seize the day), and "make your lives extraordinary, boys" leads them to not only devour the poetry of Robert Frost and others, but to explore their own dreams and ambitions, and ultimately follow their individual muses.
2. Dangerous Minds
1995 Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer Films, Director: John N. Smith, Starring Michelle Pfeiffer
Thrusting a retired, white female US Marine into an East Palo Alto high school full of tough, street-wise minority kids starts as a recipe for disaster. LouAnne Johnson quickly learns that her petite size and 'white bread' demeanor make teaching impossible.
Returning to her Marine roots, she finds the strategies needed to survive her classroom of delinquent students. Donning a leather jacket, she adopts a rough, cursing and authoritative figure in the classroom. When challenged, she backs it up with her Marine karate training. Having earned their trust, she challenges their minds using everything from college-level textbooks to the lyrics of Bob Dylan, inspiring them to not only stay in school, but learn something as well.
3. Freedom Writers
2007 Paramount Pictures, Director: Richard LaGravenese, Starring Hilary Swank
Set in Long Beach, California after the 1992 Los Angeles riots, Freedom Writers, depicts one of the most challenging situations imaginable for a young white woman embarking on an education career.
Faced with a class of Black, Latino and Asian gang bangers who hate her even more than they hate each other, teacher Erin Gruwell scrambles to survive. She quickly realizes what these kids need most is someone willing to listen.
Scrapping the standardized freshman English curriculum, she provides each student with a journal, instructing them to write about their lives, to open up and share their world with her. Amazed at the depth and perception of her students she insists they publish the collected writings as The Freedom Writers Diary: How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them.
4. Stand and Deliver
1988 American Playhouse, Director Ramón Menéndez, Starring Edward James Olmos
Jaime Escalante, a high school math teacher in East LA finds himself with a classroom full of losers and kids with severe behavior problems. Reaching into his own cultural roots, Escalante starts to connect with his mostly Hispanic students, teaching them of the Spaniards and Latin Americans whose great accomplishments were the result of intensive study and devotion to learning.
Finally realizing the only way to escape the barrio is through self-improvement, Escalante's students start paying attention. In fact, they absorb what he is teaching so effectively their scores on an academic achievement test are thought to be the result of widespread cheating. When ultimately given the opportunity to prove they didn't cheat, the students demonstrate in dramatic fashion how well they know the material and silence all doubts.
5. To Sir, With Love
1967 Paramount Pictures, Director James Clavell, Starring Sidney Poitier
A bright young man with an engineering degree moves to 1960s London from Guyana to find work. In the days before a teaching degree was required, and not able to find anything better, Mark Thackeray takes a job teaching high school in the slums. Warned by their outgoing teacher of the student’s unruly and unteachable behavior, Thackeray is determined the ‘young punks’ will not get the best of him.
When the students' disruptive tactics culminate in throwing Thackeray into a rage, he realizes it’s time to throw out the book—literally. Dumping textbooks in the trash, he opens a discussion during which students may ask any question they wish. In addition, he insists students address each other as "Sir" or "Miss." Discovering the value of self-respect and dignity, his students eventually come to address Thackeray as "Sir" and acknowledge the respect they have for their teacher.