So you want to pass the TESOL diploma?

I wanted to take a break from Trinity Diploma stuff, and thought that this would be an interesting topic. Most of us love films, even if we don’t like teaching all the time!

So I set myself the task of coming up with my top 5 films about education. This was difficult, as education seems to be some sort of Kryptonite for film-makers! There just wasn’t that many to choose from. But romantic comedies, on the other hand…

First of all, the excluded. Dead Poets Society, Goodbye Mister Chips, Tom Browne’s schooldays are all films about public schools, which I believe are inherently elitist (this also unfortunately excludes If…). I also struck Fame off the list for having too much dancing. I must have gone to the wrong school, we never used to dance on the tables at lunchtime. But I digress…let’s make a start.

1) Spellbound – What I really like about this film is that we get a well- rounded view of the children’s lives, both at home and at school, all leading up to the thrilling finale of the big Spelling Bee Finals. This is a wonderful documentary, as the kids involved are so interesting and funny, and we really see the highs and lows of them trying to better themselves. I actually thought spelling bees (public spelling competitions) were a bad idea but I’ve come round a little after seeing the galvanising effect it has on the children in the film, their families and communities.

2) Etre et avoir – If we see education as a process of ‘drawing out’ what is already latent in a child or person, then this is a great example of that process at work. Like Spellbound we see the teacher as part of a community or network, which is important. The film follows the life of a class in a tiny French village over a school year. What the film shows very accurately is the development (both academic and psychological) of the children over several months, with their ever-patient teacher Georges Lopez. Surprisingly, Lopez decided to sue the film’s makers for 250,000 euros, and lost. As we all know, teachers are never satisfied……..

3) Half nelson Imagine one of your students coming into the toilet  and finding you smoking crack (you’re also in the wrong  toilets). Now I know we’ve all done it, but this is one of the crucial scenes of the film, and sets up what is to follow.

Dan is a young history teacher at a tough Brooklyn high school, who eschews traditional teaching methods. He also has a serious drug problem.

What I like about this film is that it just about manages to steer clear of being preachy or twee, while tackling really serious issues of race, drugs, education and most importantly, friendship. File under Teachers are human too!

4) Educating Rita  In Ovid’s Metamorphoses (Book 10) Pygmalion is  a sculptor who falls in love with one of his statues. With the power of his devotion, he brings the sculpture ‘to life’. This is the classic myth.

In this film, we see the developing relationship of Frank, an alchoholic university lecturer and Rita, a working-class hairdresser doing an Open University course. I couldn’t possibly do justice to the film in a few short lines, but what stands out is the characters of Frank and Rita and their relationship over time, as both of them are deeply transformed by the experience. What I particularly like is that it shows that both teachers and students are equally affected by their relationships with one another,  something that’s often overlooked.

5) Democratic schools

The argument seems to have been won that we need democracy in politics, but perhaps we don’t need it in business or education, where autocracy seems to be the norm.

This short documentary film is an inspiring look at the democratic schools movement, which is a trans-national movement aiming to run schools in a non-coercive manner. Students can choose whether to come to classes or not, it’s that simple. [Hang on, this might not work with some of my In company classes....actually this wouldn't work with any of my In company classes!]

Here’s a quote from the start of the film:

“If you ask a student do they enjoy school, they all say ‘I enjoy seeing my friends’, or ‘I enjoy this lesson’. Students from democratic schools say ‘I enjoy all of school.’”

I found the film on the Films for Action website, which has loads of films relating to imporant social issues. You can also watch the film on YouTube here, or support the project by buying DVD from the Democratic schools website here.

I realise that my Top 5 films about Teaching and Education are, of course biased and a little Anglo-centric. Are there any films that you would recommend – please comment!

paul