HW 49- Savior/Teacher Film

My personal contribution to the film was pretty small, I was just another student. My interpretation of the overall message in our class film was that, what they teach you in school is not directly relevant to the every day life of high school students in particular. We are so tied down to our high school routine and roles of the smart students, the chatty girls, or the rebels, it becomes our main focus in school and the curicculum is irrelevant to the students and in this case, the teacher as well.

I think this film emphasizes in contrast how schools are very mechanic and everything has to be done a certain way. They are robotic in the schedules and curriculums, social/human problems are not allowed get in the way of academic growth. Students and teachers are expected to keep their personal problems outside of the classroom. Whereas in this film, the teacher's actions relfect on his personal problems and he seems to be taking out his anger on the students.

Contrasting with the films we watched in class, all of them have the teacher being some sort of inspiration to the students. The students all grow to respect the new teacher as they come in for their first time teaching (Dangerous Minds). Which realistically, newer teachers are not as respected as the teachers who have been teaching for a couple years (at least from my own experience). Which is like in the class video, the students do not take him seriously. Even when he lashes out at them, once he leaves, all the students go back to their business. Contrasting with the films we watched in class, the students are changed by the teacher (Freedom Writers).

I think possibly because school is treated as a place students dread because of the mechanic and robotic routine of school, students fall into the traps of high school drama and conflicts which require a savior such as a teacher who is at the scene of the crime. Students feel that they have their lives planned out for them so there is this need to step out of bounds to be original, do your own thing, or to just want something that might not fit into the schedule or the routine (like Neil from Dead Poet's Society) but this going against the grain causes problems where the student needs somewhere to go to vent out these problems so they go to a teacher who is sort of the by stander in the situation who can give a valid input.