our most inspiring films on education profile maverick, tough-as-nails teachers that inspire and motivate the most disaffected students. lean on me, dangerous minds, stand and deliver, conrack, and dead poets society all highlight irascible educators from teach outside the mainstream. they challenge authority to think about education in a completely different way. . . and it works.
there are good things to take away from these movies: remember – all children can learn! think differently! teach with your passion! students are the center!
still, movies bear little resemblance to real classrooms and real students. the stories are condensed, edited, and revised to match larger storylines. they’re inspiring. . . but they also give the false impression (and false hope) that dramatic change in education is really that simple. yes, a truly inspiring teacher matters! absolutely and completely. i care deeply about being a really good teacher.
however, it’s really also about so much more than that. teaching and learning is always in the context of the life and our world around us.
my friend taught for 6 years at an incredibly difficult school in east brooklyn. his last year, the school was put on probationary status. he had 25 students, but most days, students were in and out of the classroom. at parent teacher conferences, nobody showed up.
last year, he moved with his wife down south, and he began teaching in an incredibly affluent private school. every student came to school every day. they completed all of their work and wrote pages and pages of stories. the principal featured him in a school newsletter, and he received heartfelt thank you notes from parents at the end of the year.
one day, we were arguing about education and teachers and how to do better. he said, ‘do you really think that i’m that much better of a teacher, now?
there are so many reforms out there. improve teacher quality. decrease class size. improve school funding. increase school hours and lengthen the school year. improve instruction. and they all matter! they all matter!
i hope our documentary can help show more about what classrooms and schools look like on a daily basis. how teachers and students change and develop over a full school year. how different influences from across life and across schools affect teacher instruction and student learning. how everything, everything matters.
it isn’t simple, but it is incredibly important.
school|life 