Journal: 9/03/05

In my late-summer campaign to watch some of the most famous movies about teachers, I’ve discovered some winners and some losers. “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie” is my favorite, being an honest and realistic look at our profession. Miss Brodie was afflicted with an illness that attacks many young teachers – the desire to “lead” her students to think in certain ways and believe what she believes. At the end, one of her students correctly points out that Miss Brodie was supposed to be teaching the girls, not leading them – and there is a huge difference. I also loved, very much, the old, straightforward black-and-white film, “Goodbye Mr. Chips”. Yes, it’s rather melodramatic and one-dimensional, but it does reveal the sincere love of teaching that makes good teachers gradually become great. Chips was totally devoted to his mission of teaching Latin, and, at the end, it’s clear that he reached a high pinnacle in his profession. I’m currently watching the recent film, “The Emperor’s Club”, which, thus far, seems silly and pointless. The teacher in the film (played by Kevin Kline) is weak, foolish, confused, and insecure – at least at this point in the film. Hopefully he will gradually become what Mr. Chips became – strong, wise, clear-headed, and confident.