AJC.com > Blogs > Get Schooled > Archives > 2008 > December > 26 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USSchools on film
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This is the time when all the “best movies of the year” lists come out. I’ve read a few that give props to a film called The Class.
This French movie, based on a book written by a teacher, follows a middle school class for one year. The movie stars the teacher who wrote the book and some students. Several reviewers described it as one of the best classroom movies ever made.
Now there are a lot of classroom moves out there. Many feature the teacher as a savior who will rescue failing students and schools.
These movies pull the heart strings but they don’t really capture the challenges teachers and students face.
I find documentaries do a better job. These are my top three:
Spellbound - Kids competing to win the National Spelling Bee.
Paper Clips - Students learn about the Holocaust.
Hoop Dreams - Two high school basketball players dream of becoming superstars.
Are there any movies that you think capture what schools are really like? What are your favorites?
Comments
By luvs2teach
December 26, 2008 5:33 PM | Link to this
Paper Clips was a great movie. I’ve seen Akeelah and the Bee, but not Spellbound - Akeelah is a great movie, but it’s more about her than a classroom per se. I really like Freedom Writers and the classic Stand and Deliver but for the sake of Hollywood, stories were combined and embellished, and time was compressed - fine for a movie, but it can present unrealistic expectations for the public as well as teachers-to-be.
In my opinion, the most realistic fictional portrayal of life in an inner city school is in the fourth season of The Wire - it was amazing. It wasn’t just the kids - it was the portrayal of the teachers, admin, and bureaucracy that was spot-on as well.
By Old School
December 28, 2008 10:21 AM | Link to this
Slightly off topic but does anyone else remember those State of Georgia films from the state film library that started off with a rousing rendition of “Dixie”? They were usually black and white and the earlier ones were a lot like the old newsreels. Not too pc these days but it was kinda funny when the film got hung up and melted.