School Teacher Movies
Pierpont Oldham
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I saw bits of this on an overnight bus in Egypt in (I think) 2011. I couldn't follow any of the dialogue, and I think I fell asleep a few times missing a few segments, so this is all me reading between the lines of what I saw... Apologies for anything I misunderstood!
I think it was a film, but it could have been a few episodes of a TV series shown back-to-back with ads and credits skipped. It looked like a light-hearted romantic comedy, with more comedy than romance, and modern: I'd guess it was made between 2000 and 2010 (I believe characters used mobile phones, I don't remember seeing smartphones).
It was set in a large, modern, cosmopolitan, sprawling city in the Islamic world which spanned a major river: probably Cairo, possibly Beirut, possibly Istanbul but I think it was filmed in Arabic, not Turkish. It was being broadcast in Arabic when I saw it, and it didn't look dubbed, but the audio on the bus was terrible so I might be wrong about this. It was a very big river but the city didn't look coastal, similar to the Thames in London. The city was well developed with a modern urban skyline, but didn't look overtly flashy enough to be UAE, Dubai, etc.
The main character was a woman in her 20s who worked as a primary school teacher. She seemed bubbly and enthusiastic, and intelligent but naive or foolish. She reminds me of Zooey Deschanel's character in the US sitcom New Girl, in both personality and appearance. I think she lived with her mother (or, visited often); I don't remember there being a father character.
"Ayza Atgawez" is an Egyptian series discusses the issues of marriage. The series is taken from a blog of the same name and revolves around pharmaceutical who strives to catch the marriage train before reaching the age of thirty, as well as pressure from her family to accept the first guy knocking on the door
These were the planned classroom topics the teacher listed to cover the past 50 years of African-American history: an R-rated fictional movie about gang banging, a documentary about gang banging and a reading on mass incarceration.
Other topics such as school segregation, affirmative action and the rise of African-American political leadership were listed as readings for students to research on their own, seemingly minimizing their importance.
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The Browning Version is a 1951 British film starring Michael Redgrave, Jean Kent, and Nigel Patrick. The movie takes place during the last day of work for mostly-despised Latin teacher Andrew Crocker-Harris. When a student named Taplow brings him a small going-away gift, Mr. Crocker-Harris begins reflecting on his past and contemplating his future.
This 1989 classic stars a slew of big names, including Robin Williams, Ethan Hawke, Josh Charles, and Lara Flynn Boyle. Dead Poets Society tells the story of John Keating, a maverick teacher who uses poetry to inspire the boys at a boarding school. Upon its release, the movie was awarded the Academy Award for Writing (Original Screenplay) and the BAFTA Award for Best Film.
Remember the Titans is a 2000 film starring Denzel Washington, Donald Faison, Kate Bosworth, Hayden Panettiere, and a number of other famous names. The Walt Disney movie tells the true story of Coach Herman Boone as he begins a new tenure as the Black coach of a newly racially integrated high school football team.
October Sky tells the true story of Homer Hickam, the teenage son of a coal miner, who is inspired to learn rocketry after watching the first Sputnik launch. He is guided along the way by his brilliant teacher, Miss Riley. October Sky has quite a cast of stars, including Jake Gyllenhaal as Homer and Laura Dern as Miss Riley.
Hilary Swank, Patrick Dempsey, and Imelda Staunton star in this popular movie about a young teacher who takes a position at a high school full of at-risk students. Over the course of the film, she helps them to learn about tolerance, commit to applying themselves, and pursue education beyond high school. Freedom Writers won the Humanitas Prize in the Feature Film Category in 2007.
Lean On Me is a 1989 movie about an intensely dedicated educator named Joe Clark, who is appointed as principal at a rundown inner-city school. Lean On Me stars Morgan Freeman as Principal Clark, plus Beverly Todd, Lynn Thigpen, and Michael Beach. Both Todd and Freeman were awarded Image Awards for their performances.
Angela Bassett, Laurence Fishburne, and Keke Palmer all star in Akeelah and the Bee. This popular family film tells the story of a young girl from south Los Angeles who tries to spell her way to the National Spelling Bee. All three leads took home acting awards for their performances, including Image Awards, Chicago Film Critics Association Awards, Black Reel Awards, and BET Awards, to name but a few.
Up the Down Staircase follows the experiences of a young English teacher in an inner-city high school in New York City. The 1967 film stars Sandy Dennis as the young teacher, plus Patrick Bedford, Jean Stapleton, and Sorrell Booke. The movie is based on the novel written by Bel Kaufman.
Coach Carter is an inspiring film about a high school basketball coach, Ken Carter, who makes major waves of controversy when he benches his entire team for breaking their academic contract. Samuel L. Jackson stars as Coach Carter. Channing Tatum, Ashanti, and Octavia Spencer also star in the film, which won Best Sports Movie at the 2005 ESPY Awards.
Based on the novel by Sapphire, Precious tells the story of an overweight, abused, and illiterate teen who is pregnant with her second child. When she enrolls in an alternative school, a teacher named Miss Blu Rain helps the girl see that she could have a future. Precious earned more than 110 award nominations from shows around the world. These include six Academy Award nominations, including Best Motion Picture of the Year.
Stand and Deliver is a 1988 film about high school teacher Jaime Escalante, who manages to inspire his class of dropout-prone students to learn calculus. The movie stars Edward James Olmos as Mr. Escalante, plus Estelle Harris and Mark Phelan. Stand and Deliver is based on a true story.
In Finding Forrester, actor Rob Brown plays a young writing prodigy who manages to find a mentor in a reclusive author played by Sean Connery. The film also stars Anna Paquin, Busta Rhymes, and F. Murray Abraham. Finding Forrester was very well received on the film festival circuit, and Rob Brown was awarded a Black Reel Award for his Best Supporting Actor role.
Half Nelson stars Ryan Gosling as an inner-city middle school teacher with a drug habit. When a student figures out his secret, the two form an unlikely friendship. Anthony Mackie and Shareeka Epps also star. Gosling was nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role at the 2007 Academy Awards. The film itself was awarded Movie of the Year at the AFI Awards.
Educating Rita is a 1983 film starring Michael Caine and Julie Walters. Caine portrays an alcoholic professor named Dr. Frank Bryant, who is hired as a tutor by a working class girl. Educating Rita was nominated for three Oscars: Best Actor in a Leading Role, Best Actress in a Leading Role, and Best [Adapted] Screenplay.
Before it was a hit Broadway show, it was a hit movie starring Jack Black, Joan Cusack, Sarah Silverman, and Miranda Cosgrove, to name but a few. School of Rock is the hilarious story of Dewey Finn, who becomes a substitute teacher at a pretentious prep school after he is forced out of his rock group. But instead of teaching his students the proper curriculum, he attempts to turn them into a band.
Audiences have been inspired, uplifted, and enthralled by some powerful depictions of teachers in film, showcasing their deeply profound influence. Many of these pictures follow the educators as they help shape and mold their pupils, providing them with invaluable motivation and encouragement along the way. These stories and characters are emotionally stirring and refreshing and leave viewers with the wisdom and positive lessons they helped instill within their students. Films that shine a light on real-life role models and heroes like teachers are often not celebrated enough, but there have been many notable examples of such important presences throughout cinema history, creating some of the most heroic characters who aren't superheroes.
This movie is not an obvious film about teachers. If anyone is asked about it, they'd consider it a sports drama, which it is. But being a coach also requires being a teacher. Remember the Titans is one of Denzel Washington's greatest movies. He stars as Herman Boone, the Head Football Coach of newly-integrated T.C. Williams High School in 1971. Racism and hate have taken over the town of Alexandria, Virginia. His team is comprised of both white and black players and coaches.
At first, the players, the coaches, and the town of Alexandria are all divided. But as the season moves along and because of Boone's leadership style, the team starts to come together, as does the town. Boone helps inspire his players to learn about and respect one another. But is the team good enough to win the Virginia High School State Championship? This film is a must-watch.
Edward James Olmos received an Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of high school mathematics teacher Jaime Escalante, who successfully inspired his drop-out-prone students to learn calculus in the 1988 drama Stand and Deliver. It follows the educator as he adopts unconventional teaching methods to help gang members pass the difficult Advanced Placement exam in calculus, showing the young minds that they could control their futures with the right education; it actually makes math look cool.
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