Movie Night (or Ode to Education)

It's gotten cold again and so this evening I've spent at home in my pj's with a fire going.

I haven't been entirely unproductive, as my blog title may suggest. I have nearly finished (just another proof-read to be done) the unidad didactica I had to plan for one of my classes.

I have also experimented with the sour dough started that Kristen gave me for a house-warming gift...though it seems my baking skills will require some honing--the bread didn't rise.

And finally, I've watched two movies: "Dangerous Minds" starring Michelle Pfeifer, and "Dead Poets Society" starring Robin Williams. These were both recommended viewing for my General Didactics class. I think I've seen them both before, but I didn't remember either one beyond a vague notion that they were "good."

I have tears running down my cheeks (just finished "Dead Poets Society").

I think I always have been a sucker for inspirational teaching movies. Even if they weren't directly related to schools, the films where a mentor figure reaches out to a troubled student, kid, patient have always been among my favorites. There's "Antwone Fisher" with Denzel Washington and another winner with Robin Williams is "Good Will Hunting." And even though I probably wouldn't have admitted it in high school, "Stand and Deliver" is another one that moved me.

Is this why I want to be a teacher? To have the opportunity to be that mentor to someone?

Yes.

When I watch these movies I can't help but think back on all the great teachers I've had in my life. Some were school teachers, some college professors and others coaches or just friends, and of course, my parents.

Education is so much more than the three R's (reading, (w)riting, (a)rithmetic). Education is about learning to be. It's about investing in the creation and perpetuation of society, culture and humanity. By the same token, teaching is more than explaining grammar rules or multiplication tables. Kids learn a lot more from their teachers than that. They learn how to act, how to think; they learn respect, honesty, loyalty and friendship. True teaching is walking the talk; it's about exemplifying the values you preach. Being a real teacher is inspiring your students to be better people, to search, to question, to learn, to be amazed, to live.

If education is so important, how have we conceived it according to our laws? How are we preparing our teachers for the jobs they face? If education is the institution by which we perpetuate our own existence doesn't it deserve the utmost care and attention from politicians, parents, teachers, and society in general? What message are we sending when all that's ever on the news is the poor state of education? Law after law is passed to raise standards, to ensure a "good" education, to assure funding for schools, etc. But it seems that each new law, mandate, measure, proposition is just a quick fix (if that!) for a much deeper problem--we live in a society of blame.

Low test scores, teen pregnancy, high drop-out rates, drug abuse, crime among juveniles...why? No one wants the responsibility. Some like to blame the media--gratuitous sex and violence on TV and a total lack of morals. Others will say it's the politicians who let us down with lenient sentences and weak laws. Some point to teachers as if they were miracle workers. Teachers are in a bind because they're blamed for poor student performance, when many times the numerous state and federal requirements, leave little room for creative inspirational teaching that actually stands a chance of reaching the most "at risk" kids. Then there are people who blame the parents. Doesn't education start at home? Permissive parenting, and pampering at home just lead to students who believe they deserve good grades without having to work for them.

But if instead of looking for a scapegoat to blame, each of us took responsibility for ourselves and our own potential role as teacher mentor as members of society, things might be different.

Every interaction with another person is a teaching moment. Our actions and reactions to people and situations are opportunities to be the better people we hope our children will be.

Maybe this romantic tirade has evidenced a deeper truth about my desire to teach--I'm an idealist; I believe in humanity.

That's all.

(and if you haven't seen these films...you know what to do this weekend)