Homework 49

Our class did not finish making our film, so instead of I will be writing about how our video would have turned out if it was indeed finished. For our film, I was one of the extras; I sat in the background and raised my hand when the teacher asked for volunteers. The message of our film was that teachers always want to act like they helped a student, and taught them everything they know, even when that isn’t true. In our film, we were going to have the main character as the student who didn’t care about schoolwork, and didn’t do anything during class. The teacher thought lowly of her, and so did the other main character, the teacher’s pet. In the end of the film, the student who didn’t care about schoolwork came out on top, and passed a test with flying colors. The teacher thought that it was his accomplishment, and prided himself for teaching the student everything she ever learned. Instead of arguing and pointing out that she studied and did all the work by herself, and taught herself everything she knew, she sat back and watched the teacher brag. In some cases, it’s better to let someone feel proud of themselves even if they didn’t do anything.

Unlike other films we watched, such as Freedom Writers, Blackboard Jungle, Dangerous Minds, etc. our film would have flipped the stereotypical teacher role. Instead of showing a smart white teacher coming into a new classroom and trying to help the minority students, our film would have a shown a white teacher coming into a classroom and not attempting to help the minority students at all. However, in the end, the minority student would come out on top, because of all the work and effort she put into studying. Unlike the other films, our teacher figure was not the savior, he wasn’t the one who came in and saved the day. Instead he was the one who made fun of the student who didn’t try in class, and praised the ones who did.

In our culture, teachers always believe that they can go into a classroom filled with minority students and/or people who don’t want to try in school, and change their lives. They believe that can change their mindset, and make them want to learn, make them see the value of their education. It doesn’t help that every movie every created about schooling shows this stereotypical teacher role. But how many teachers actually do this? Sure it seems like a good idea, come in to a new school, try and help students who everyone else has given up on, and make them see that continuing their education is better than living out their lives on the street. But how often does this work out? About as often as a Disney fairytale comes true. When you find out prince in shining armor, who saves you from the wicked witch or the dangerous dragon, I’ll show you a teacher who can change the mindset of students who frankly just don’t give a crap anymore. I believe that if teachers do want to make a change and help students, they can’t take them on as a little experiment. They can’t try and connect with them, or act like they know what the students are talking about. Instead they have to make what they teach interesting. Why would a Hispanic boy from the ghetto, who saw his best friend get shot in a drive by, want to learn calculus or physics? He doesn’t. But he might if he realizes how it connects to his own life. Teachers have to realize that instead of sympathizing or acting like they understand what the student is talking about, they should let the student vent, and then take it day by day. Don’t try and force a student into learning, because some people don’t want to do that.