歪歪漫画

The school year is about half over.

You struggle to get out of bed on cold frigid mornings. The roads are slick, school is getting tiresome for students, and you ponder how to keep the students engaged for another four months. You also think about why you went into teaching and occasionally wonder if you made the right decision.

You probably aren't a teacher if you don鈥檛 have the same thoughts I just described. If you are a teacher, perhaps it鈥檚 time to revisit some classic movies that remind us why we became teachers.

I am sure you have seen all of them, but take some time off and revisit them. Here are my all-time favorite teacher-inspired movies. If your favorite is different from my selection, let me know.

"Goodbye, Mr. Chips" (1939): Be sure to see the original made in 1939 with Oscar winner Robert Donat. It鈥檚 a black-and-white film that will take you back to when teachers in this private all-boys boarding school in England stayed on campus and became babysitters when they weren鈥檛 teaching.

It鈥檚 about a teacher who struggles during his initial years and blossoms during his latter years. He learns the meaning of 鈥渃ompassion鈥� and how it can be used to gain the trust and admiration of his students. It is a powerful film explaining why teachers refer to their students as 鈥渕y students.鈥�

"Dead Poet鈥檚 Society" (1989): This film was a best-picture nominee in 1989. It is the gold standard for teachers, starring Robin Williams. Williams plays John Keating, a literature teacher who attended the private boarding school where he is now teaching.

He teaches literature but, more importantly, to use a well-used teaching cliche, he teaches students. He is an unorthodox teacher who gains the trust of his students by making poetry come alive. He reminds students that someday they will be pushing up daisies and each has a verse to write. He asks them, 鈥淲hat will your verse be?鈥�

The closing scene will bring tears to your eyes as he is forced to leave. Robin Williams demonstrates the need at times to throw the textbook out the window and become the textbook from which they are teaching.

"Stand and Deliver" (1988): It is based on a true story about math teacher Jaime Escalante, who leaves his electronic business to teach math at Garfield High 歪歪漫画 in Los Angeles, largely a Latino community of students.

In his AP (advanced placement) calculus class (one of the most difficult AP classes to take), he tells his students that they have math in their blood, in reference to their Mayan heritage. He goes on to tell them that he will provide the 鈥済anas鈥� or desire, and they just need to show up 鈥� even on Saturdays.

After winning the students' trust through home visits, personal counseling and unorthodox teaching strategies, he had more students take the AP calculus exam and pass it than the vast majority of schools in the United States. In fact, authorities thought the students cheated on the exam, and they had the students retake it.

What was his secret? He had a commitment to high expectations for his students, and he had them believe in those same expectations.

"Mr. Hollands Opus" (1995): Mr. Holland, played by Richard Dreyfuss, doesn鈥檛 want to teach. He wants to find time to write his opus. But he is married and has no money, so he takes a job as a music teacher at John F. Kennedy High 歪歪漫画.

His students are reluctant to learn anything because Holland lacked what Escalante had: ganas. After a period of time, he realizes he is being unfair to his students because he is not putting passion or fun into his teaching. After some convincing from his principal, who gives him a kick in the butt, he begins to enjoy teaching his students and realizes that teaching can be fun and that teaching may be his purpose in life.

After being criticized by the assistant principal for using rock and roll to energize his students, Holland says he will do anything possible to get his students. interested in music.

What鈥檚 his secret? When you have the commitment and when you make teaching a fun and enjoyable experience, achieving the impossible dream becomes possible. The closing scene shows Mr. Holland playing his opus in front of a crowd of cheering former students 鈥� the ultimate reward for a teacher.

I look at teaching as a challenge. I鈥檓 not Professor Kingsfield in the movie "The Paper Chase" (1973), but I would like to think that the challenge of teaching keeps me going and discovering fun, meaningful ways to help my students enjoy what I鈥檓 teaching.

As tough as it is, I try to reach every student and take a personal interest in each one. It鈥檚 the challenge, the ganas, and, most of all, Escalante鈥檚 commitment that makes a difference.

Have a wonderful remainder of the year. Above all, don鈥檛 forget 鈥済anas.鈥�

Riddle: How can winning a baseball game without throwing a ball be possible? (Answer: throw only strikes. It鈥檚 impossible to throw only strikes in teaching. What is important is that you know what they are.)

I'd like to thank Michele Brielmaier and Randy Holthusen for speaking to my HOPE classes.

John R. Eggers of Bemidji is a former university professor and area principal. He also is a writer and public speaker.