Five to Watch - Movies About Teachers

In the Netherlands, teachers are about to go on strike. I was a teacher myself for 7 years so I thought now was the perfect time to make a list about movies that center teachers. I picked five films about teachers that I think are underrated or overlooked.

Half Nelson (2006)
In this intense, indie drama, a friendship forms between a well-intentioned, drug0addicted teacher and his 13-year-olr student who is trying to escape her convict brother’s fate. After she catches him smoking crack, the two alternately try to save the other while their own lives spiral out of control. Unlike most feel-good teacher movies, “Half Nelson” is about real people with real problems, but also maintains a tangible sense of hope.

Être et Avoir (2002)
This French documentary follows teacher Georges Lopez and his 12 students (ages 4-12) in their rural schoolhouse. It demonstrates without overreaching what a teacher can do to shape lives. I saw this while in college and it left a big impact in me.

School of Rock (2003)
After getting kicked out of his band and threatened with eviction, wannabe rocker Dewey Finn fakes his way into a private school as a substitute teacher. Dewey taps into his 5th-graders talents for his rock ‘n roll comeback. In a surprisingly heartwarming, screwball comedy, “School of Rock” also manages to slip a lesson on the value of art education under the radar.

Freedom Writers (2007)
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 a career in teaching. Faced with a class of Black, Latino and Asian gang members 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 who will 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. A truly inspiring true story.

Mona Lisa Smile (2003)
Katherine Ann Watson has accepted a position teaching art history at the prestigious Wellesley College. Watson is a very modern woman, particularly for the 1950s, and has a passion not only for art but for her students. For the most part, the students all seem to be biding their time, waiting to find the right man to marry. The students are all very bright and Watson feels they are not reaching their potential. Although a strong bond is formed between teacher and student, Watson’s views are incompatible with the dominant culture of the college. I could be Watson, I have a similar view on life and the fact that you have to settle down with a man even if it doesn’t make you happy still happens to date. Do what you love, live the way you want to live it, no matter what the people around you say and think.