Teachers

I just wanted to comment on the previous/first commenter's comments. You mentioned that you didn't think there was any point to having the teacher who doesn't teach & sleeps all day in class. You couldn't possibly be more mistaken! Of course there was a point -- his LACK of teaching/presence makes one think about who is teaching our kids. I am a teacher, in fact, and I can tell you that there are many teachers out there who are ONE step away from retirement & choose to "not" teach every day in their classrooms. What's interesting is seeing what the students do in the absence of a really good, effective teacher.

This move was "over the top" and felt pretty cheesy at times, but overall, it has a good, interesting, and important message about what real teaching is about. The needs of our youth have changed in the past 20, 30, 40+ years. This movie is TWENTY-THREE years old and yet it was onto something -- kids need teachers who are REAL people. They need teachers who maintain high standards of both work habits AND personal behavior BUT who also model what being a REAL human being/adult looks like.

Nolte's character definitely got himself into hot water -- and nowadays, it could have been much hotter actually -- and overstepped many, many boundaries in his attempt to help his struggling students. But, overall, what he did to inspire and connect with them definitely outweighed the mistakes.

Anyway, give it a shot and watch this. I grew up in the '80s but for some reason, never caught this one. If you want to revisit the era of cheese -- typical 80s soundtrack, 80s style, actors (Ralph Macchio, Crispin Glover, Laura Dern) and actually get a little insight into what it means to be a public high school teacher, check it out.

As a former teacher, I see a lot of useful information from this movie. It shows many stereotypes that you see in everyday classrooms and schools: absent minded principals, matronly secretaries that truly run the school, highly idealistic teachers that have burned out, paper-hogs like Ditto and buttinski superintendents that won't let school progress like it should. For the comment by another poster about Ditto being absurd, not so fast my friend. I did my student teaching with a real life Ditto. That's all he had his students do and that's all he would let me do. These teachers do exist. Are they good? No, but they do still exist. I agree with many here that say it could be a good teaching tool for aspiring educators. I also think, today's educational institutions that prepare teachers would be too afraid to show it to prospective teachers because they are trying to make the "perfect" teacher. I think this would be a good example of showing different stereotypes of teachers that we saw in school and how to keep from falling into one of those holes as educators.

I love this film. My father, a teacher for 37 years, loved this film. It's not the greatest cinematic effort in the world, it's not even the best film about teaching (see "The Blackboard Jungle" or "Goodbye Mr Chips"). It is, however, a fine effort and an entertaining film.

There are some great comedic moments in this film: the school psychologist flipping out and squirting Ditto in the face with ink, Richard Mulligan as a mental patient who becomes a substitute history teacher, the theft of a teacher's desk, the whole "Ditto" character. There are problems, however.

The chief problem in this film is the inability to strike a balance between comedy and drama. The film tries to raise vital issue facing schools: funding, apathy amongst staff, lack of parental involvement, safety, administrators who worry more about image than the education of their students, teen angst, conformity vs. individuality. Much of the comedy is used to highlight many of these issues, and some of it works quite well. At other times, it devalues the issue at hand.

There are fine performances from Nick Nolte, Judd Hirsch, Morgan Freeman, Jobeth Williams, Crispin Glover, and Laura Dern. Richard Mulligan and Royal Dano are hysterical. Ralph Macchio is Ralph Macchio; not much depth, but some good moments.

I don't think this is an insult to teaching, as it tries to show different styles. Nolte is the idealistic teacher who tries to reach his students and get them involved, but has lost his passion in an uncaring system. Royal Dano, "Ditto", is a teacher who has removed any responsibility in actively teaching his students and just marks time until retirement. Allen Garfield tries to teach his class, but doesn't seem to be able to reach them and is reduced to an object of ridicule amongst his students. Richard Mulligan is a mental patient, who through an absurd set of circumstances, becomes a substitute history teacher. He literally brings history to life, by dressing up as various figures of history, and acting out their achievements. He uses different methods to engage his students and they respond.

In the end, this film is a mixed bag. It tries to illuminate the struggles of education, offers some solutions, and entertains; but, its message gets a bit lost. Still, it's definitely worth viewing.

Incidently, one reviewer remarked about the scene where Ditto is squirted with ink, saying he is using some kind of paper machine. For you younger viewers out there, that is a ditto machine. In the ancient days before photocopiers became standard, teachers had to prepare their tests and hand-outs on ditto machines. It was a kind of simple printing press. Many were hand-cranked and required a lot of effort to churn out a stack of tests. God help you if you had several pages to print. The ink had a very distinct smell and was often the center of student jokes about getting high off of the tests. Ah, those were the days! Nowadays, the best students can hope for is getting a little toner on their hands from the copier, or a faded screen on their computer. And we used to have to walk ten miles to school, through fifty feet of snow, uphill, both ways; and we liked it!

I'm finishing up my 7th year as a an 8th grade teacher at a typical rural public junior high/high school, and I watch this movie at the end of each school year. It does a few things for me: 1. Helps me realize just how f'd up the people I work with/for really are. 2. Gives me something to laugh about to take the edge off of a long school year. 3. Motivates me to keep teaching year after year even when I've just finished teaching some rough classes.

As for the movie itself, it's up and down. Nolte is his typical mid-80's drunken self. Laura Dern was outstanding as the slutty student, and the rest of the cast fills in the gaps. What I like about the movie is that the teachers, even as stereotypical as they are portrayed, are so real. I can name a fellow faculty member for each role, as most teachers probably could.

When I first saw this movie shortly after it came out I thought it was a little over-the-top, despite the many memorable comic moments. Having had a chance to see it again many years later on cable I find it has more depth than I had seen in it originally. It is definitely a critique of public education, but it does not set up any easy enemies. Everyone here is complicit in a failing system - the unions, the school board, the lawyers, parents, complacent teachers, go-along- to-get-along administrators, &c &c. It is also touching to see how many of these people are not bad people, but are just trying to make a flawed system work (in this respect I find Judd Hirsch, as the put-upon assistant principal, the hidden gem of the movie). Having seen it again after all these years I find it provocative and, surprisingly, touching, especially Nolte's final peroration. And the best part,after all these years, is still Richard Mulligan, as the certifiable lunatic who turns out to be the best teacher in the whole damn school (a brilliant touch on the part of the writers) !!!!!