Screen Teachers How real is reel Ben Goldstein

Screen Teachers: How real is reel? Ben Goldstein LABCI, Montevideo 2015

Think of a memorable teacher… Was this person memorable because of their command of the subject? Or because in teaching you the subject, they taught you something else? What was that something else?

The Good Teacher

“These teachers know their students but they always know best, …. they aim to be transformative intellectuals in order to liberate and inspire…” Fisher, Harris & Jarvis (33)

“The (screen) teacher’s mission is not about curriculum, progress and assessment - it is about redemption, empowerment, giving hope to those who have none”. Fisher, Harris & Jarvis (27)

The Good Teacher… 1 is an outsider (often turning to teaching as last resort) 2 gets personally involved with students 3 learns from students 4 has a tense relationship with colleagues and /or administrators 5 personalises the curriculum

6 prioritises life lessons over their subject 7 risks their job for their students’ welfare 8 has charisma and passion not professional expertise or training 9 flaunts or subverts convention 10 has internal struggle

• “(Screen) teachers will go the extra mile, never counting personal cost, to encourage learning and help students. The dedication they reveal is not just heroic but saintly. • The emphasis is on the teacher’s power as a saviour, not on the students’ autonomy or capacity for selfdirected learning”.

The Bad Teacher • Films which undermine the profession or simply a reflection on reality?

The good teacher… • “… just blends in and comes down to our level and communicates with us like we’re people” • Students’ perceptions of quality teaching and teaching standards’, Change: Transformations in Education, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 93– 108.

• “When the teacher has the ability to understand the students’ reactions from the inside, has a sensitive awareness of the way the process of education and learning seems to the student, then the likelihood of significant learning is increased. ” • Carl Rogers