TeachitÐÐThe Big Screen

The Big Screen There have been many movies made about great teachers and how they touch the lives of their students. These are some of our favorites. Have we left out one of your favorites? Send us an e-mail. We're always looking for good, little-known flicks!
Dead Poet's Society directed by Peter Weir John Keating is hired to teach English at a prestigious boys' prep school. He immediately catches the attention of the students during their first class. He is incredibly lively, intelligent, and well-spoken. The students like him because he refuses to be an "average" teacher. He wants the boys to "seize the day" and make something extraordinary of their lives. Mr. Keating gets the boys to think for themselves, and teaches them to appreciate literature, especially poetry. He fills their minds with incredible quotes and beautiful poems. Keating inspires them to start a poetry group outside of school which they call the dead poet's society. The club becomes the way the boys become close, while they develop a love for these poems! Thank you, John Keating!
	Mr. Holland's Opus directed by Stephen Herek Glenn Holland is a musician and composer who takes a job as a music teacher at Garfield High School in order to ease his family's financial troubles. In the beginning of his teaching career, the students are uncooperative, and they could not care less about being in a music appreciation class. Eventually, Mr. Holland starts to grow on the kids and vice versa. He grabs their attention by using rock music and other things the class is interested in, but most important, Mr. Holland is really passionate about music. His passion shows! He gets a reputation for being a spunky, interesting, great teacher, which he very much is! He has such a strong influence on his students that some of his former students attend his retirement to play 'Mr. Holland's Opus'!
Renaissance Man directed by Penny Marshall When Bill Rago gets fired from his job as an advertising agent, his employment agency offers him a job teaching a class at an army base. He is very reluctant; after all, he has no teaching experience. On the first day of class, the students aren't exactly happy campers about being in his class, but they eventually accept Bill because he shows a true interest in them. He wants to know their stories and what they think about things. He starts to teach them Hamlet. He relates events in the play to situations that occur in the contemporary world. This helps these kids understand and develop a love for literature and Shakespeare. The development of the kids is very fun and exciting to watch! A true learning experience.
Dangerous Minds directed by John N. Smith Louanne Johnson is an ex-marine with no teaching experience when she is hired to teach inner city kids in the Academy. She gets their attention with some karate moves, and the kids see that they are in for quite a ride. Ms. Johnson uses fun and exciting teaching methods to engage her students. For example, she has poetry contests and gives candy as prizes, and relates events in the stories she teaches to modern day life. Most important, the kids know she really cares for them. She does whatever she has to to get through to her students and their families, including visiting many of them at home. She is not afraid to argue with the principal to get what is best for the students. She is a lively, funny, good teacher who succeeds in winning the hearts and minds of her kids.
Stand and Deliver directed by Ramon Menendez When Jaime Escalante's school can't afford to buy computers, he ends up teaching math instead of computer science. His students are pretty inattentive at first, but Mr. Escalante is a pretty funny guy and is not afraid to lay down the law in his classroom. Soon, his students start to listen to him. He believes that any student is capable of meeting the expectations set for them, no matter how great. Jaime decides that his students should aim for learning calculus, which is an uncommon goal for the students in Mr. Escalante's East Los Angeles high school. The students attend summer school, and start a before- and after-school program to learn algebra through calculus. With Mr. Escalante's determination and guidance, his students become some of the top calculus students in the country.
Music of the Heart directed by Wes Craven Roberta Guaspari has been a housewife most of her adult life. When her husband leaves her for another woman, she suddenly needs to find a job. She is hired as a sub to teach a violin class. Her violinists seem hopeless at first, but with her rigorous discipline, ambition, experience, and humor, many of them turn into accomplished musicians. She is very dedicated to her job, and wants every kid to love the violin as much as she does. Throughout the movie, we witness the turbulence of Roberta's personal life, and come to appreciate how much her violin classes mean to her. Her classes become one of the only things she really cares for. After she has been teaching for nearly ten years, she is informed that her school's music program is being cut. She is determined to do whatever she can to save it. You'll have to watch to see what happens!