movies based on/inspired by true stories about teachers

[anomaly13]

my sil is a teacher and she loves these kind of movies, as do i. looking for any titles i am not familiar with already. off the top of my head i got

dangerous minds
freedom writers
stand and deliver
the ron clark story
mr. hollands opus- is that a true story?

i know there are a ton more, anyone want to add to the list?

[simple living mama]

Lean on me, Dead Poet's Society, To Sir with Love, The Miracle Worker, Renaissance Man, Music of the Heart and this one where the student actually does the teaching to the teacher "Children of a Lesser God". Also my favorite.

[kangamitroo]

i also love these kinds of films. i want to second music of the heart, which stars Meryl Streep. summary from imdb: "The true story of a young teacher who fights against the board of education in her bid to teach underprivileged kids in a Harlem school the beauty of music through the violin. In her struggle she loses everything as the system comes down on her with all their might but her determination for the kids happiness helps her to battle back with wonderfully inspirational results."

[limette]

Half Nelson with Ryan Gosling.

[Holland73]

Originally Posted by limette

Half Nelson with Ryan Gosling.

This is only teacher movie I love! The teacher is so incredibly flawed and *truly* real and honest, in addition to not coming off as the "great white hope."

As a teacher who teaches in an inner city, high-needs school, I cannot stand movies based on/inspired by true stories about teachers.

These movies continue to perpetuate the idea that an inspirational, "amazing" teacher is one that does it alone. In fact, it is very detrimental not only to the teacher, but also to the students.

Such a teacher isn't inspirational, she/he is a martyr. They end up sacrificing their own family, their life and their own self. Look at their divorce rate, how long they stay in the profession, their health, etc of such teachers. It is martyrdom at its greatest.

To celebrate such martydom, imo, will just continue to perpetuate the myth and burn-out beginning teachers, who view such movies as the ideal, within their first few years AND real change in such schools (for ALL of the students in those schools) will never take place.

[earthmama369]

Knights of the South Bronx.

http://www.chessville.com/News/KNIGH...SOUTHBRONX.htm

Gotta brag a little. Dave MacEnulty is my dad's cousin. The movie doesn't portray his family life accurately at all, but it gets his passion about his students and giving them better opportunities through chess.

[tbone_kneegrabber]

Originally Posted by Holland73

This is only teacher movie I love! The teacher is so incredibly flawed and *truly* real and honest, in addition to not coming off as the "great white hope."

As a teacher who teaches in an inner city, high-needs school, I cannot stand movies based on/inspired by true stories about teachers.

These movies continue to perpetuate the idea that an inspirational, "amazing" teacher is one that does it alone. In fact, it is very detrimental not only to the teacher, but also to the students.

Such a teacher isn't inspirational, she/he is a martyr. They end up sacrificing their own family, their life and their own self. Look at their divorce rate, how long they stay in the profession, their health, etc of such teachers. It is martyrdom at its greatest.

To celebrate such martydom, imo, will just continue to perpetuate the myth and burn-out beginning teachers, who view such movies as the ideal, within their first few years AND real change in such schools (for ALL of the students in those schools) will never take place.

:
Also it always seem in these movies the teachers have one class of students. They teach high school and only every have like 20 students in their class! I realize showing a room of 35 students which changes every 45 mins would not make a good or easy to follow film, but it makes seem way less realistic!

[zinemama]

Originally Posted by Holland73

As a teacher who teaches in an inner city, high-needs school, I cannot stand movies based on/inspired by true stories about teachers.

These movies continue to perpetuate the idea that an inspirational, "amazing" teacher is one that does it alone. In fact, it is very detrimental not only to the teacher, but also to the students.

Such a teacher isn't inspirational, she/he is a martyr. They end up sacrificing their own family, their life and their own self. Look at their divorce rate, how long they stay in the profession, their health, etc of such teachers. It is martyrdom at its greatest.

To celebrate such martydom, imo, will just continue to perpetuate the myth and burn-out beginning teachers, who view such movies as the ideal, within their first few years AND real change in such schools (for ALL of the students in those schools) will never take place.

Preach it, sister!

As a former inner-city teacher myself, I agree with every word you say. Somewhat paradoxically, I actually enjoy those teacher movies. They are so feel-good. But I enjoy them the way I enjoy any fantasy book or movie, understanding that what I'm seeing has nothing to do with reality.

Slightly OT, the only "teacher book" in this genre (so many of these movies are made from books) that I think got anywhere near the truth of what it's like to teach in one of these schools was Ms. Moffat's First Year by Abby Goodnough. I highly recommend it.

http://www.amazon.com/Ms-Moffetts-Fi.../dp/1586482599

[Holland73]

Originally Posted by zinemama

Preach it, sister!

As a former inner-city teacher myself, I agree with every word you say. Somewhat paradoxically, I actually enjoy those teacher movies. They are so feel-good. But I enjoy them the way I enjoy any fantasy book or movie, understanding that what I'm seeing has nothing to do with reality.

Me too.

I just wish that others would see through the "based on a true story" advertising and see those movies for just that... A MOVIE!!!

I would love to have a new teacher or two come into my school with a slightly more realistic view of inner-city schools and teaching with such populations without referencing one of these ridiculous movies. Perhaps then they would stay for longer than a year or two and be a little more proactive about making the ENTIRE school better for the students instead of just for their class.

Originally Posted by zinemama

Slightly OT, the only "teacher book" in this genre (so many of these movies are made from books) that I think got anywhere near the truth of what it's like to teach in one of these schools was Ms. Moffat's First Year by Abby Goodnough. I highly recommend it.

http://www.amazon.com/Ms-Moffetts-Fi.../dp/1586482599

I'll have to check this one out!

[vbactivist]

Teacher Man by Frank McCourt. I read it a while ago, but i remember liking it well enough.