Movie Review: Teachers (1984)

Believe it or not we are approaching the 25th anniversary of the movie "Teachers." Since the last time I saw the movie I was still a student in high school, I thought it would be appropriate to take another look at it from the perspective of a teacher. My reaction? Wow, this is certainly a different movie than I remember. I think it’s like being forced to read a book when you’re in high school and then re-reading it when you are an adult. So many nuances that escaped you before – so many more layers.

First, this movie epitomizes everything that is good and bad about the teaching profession. The drama, the comedy, the passion, the pain, the hope and the hopelessness. Yes, there some stereotypical scenes and gratuitous “teachers lounge” shots, but overall the movie touched a lot of nerves – both good and bad. Some of the things that touched me based on my experience (both in school, as a colleague, and as a teacher) included:

• The burned out teacher (“Ditto”) that skates through the day by having the students complete ditto’s (of course we just call the copies or packets now). So routine is his day that the students don’t even realize the man is dead at his desk.


• The teacher who lies about being a teacher (saying he’s a pilot) to impress a woman – and then seeing her reaction when she realizes he’s “just a teacher.”


• The preachy “Union guy” that’s always in your face about doing the right thing and supporting the Union and standing up to the administration – only to disappear into the woodwork when you’re getting screwed over.


• The “hard case” kid that has so much potential but has a wall built so high that you can’t get through to him. But those little sparks of light as if you almost connected keep your fire going – so you keep banging your head against that wall.


• The teacher who can’t control his classroom and keeps begging the class to “please calm down” and “please pay attention.”


• The Superintendent who sees students, teachers, and school administrators as nothing but political buffers and stepping stones [:cough:Tennessee:cough:].


• The teacher watching a father smack his son across the face and the helplessness that goes with that. The anger and disgust and wanting to beat the hell out of a parent… man, I’m getting angry again just thinking about it.


• The gall of people (in this movie it was an attorney) who feel like they are informing teachers that the system is broken. The teachers, meanwhile, struggling to keep moving forward with more restrictions, less resources, little administrative support, and mediocre pay.


• The discomfort of talking to a young girl who is pregnant and seeking advice and help – who asks the teacher to take her for an abortion.


• The only passionate, innovative, proud, exciting teacher in the movie was an outpatient from a mental hospital that got into substitute teaching by mistake. Watching him throw the text book out the window and putting on his Abraham Lincoln outfit was inspiring – even before I became a teacher.


• The sick feeling of being called to the Principal’s office to take the heat for something a student did – as part of a project I assigned.


• The pain of losing a student to a sudden, violent death and the understanding that you have to bury your pain so you can be the rock that students can stand on so they can get through it.


• The passion and support and loyalty of students when they see a teacher that cares about them being let go. Students just have this almost innate feeling for social justice that I admire.

Some of the little details in the movie that I liked included the interactions between the teachers and the students which seemed genuine. I also liked how the teachers’ apartment seemed to fit – not just the size and inexpensive furniture, but the big decoration over the dining room table was a large, colorful world map. I also liked the dichotomy between hating your job while loving what you do.

A couple of my favorite quotes from the movie included:

“Don’t you know who I am? I am a teacher and you will treat me as such.” -- Mr. Gower

“The damn school wasn’t built for us, Roger. It wasn’t built for your unions, your lawyers, all your other institutions. It was built for the kids. They’re not here for us. We’re here for them. That’s what it’s about. Kids.” -- Mr. Jurel

For me, this movie was a reminder of where I have come from. I saw a little bit of myself in many of the teachers. I really related to Jurel who was so passionate and altruistic when he started and slowly became cynical of the system – only to have that fire rekindled later when he was reminded of how much power teachers really have. I saw some of my weaknesses in the teachers as well, but I will chalk it up as free career guidance.

I guess the depressing thing about this movie was that teachers were underpaid, underappreciated, tired, and disrespected… and the students were apathetic, bored, and didn’t understand how their education was relevant in the real world. Why is that depressing? Because the movie was made 25 years ago and those things are still all true. Add to that the fact that we now have less funding, no supplies, more requirements, and much more accountability. Wrong direction much?

If I had rated this movie 25 years ago, I would probably have given it 2 stars. Rating it today [as a teacher] I would have to give it 4 stars. A non-teacher who doesn’t get the subtleties of working in education would probably not enjoy this movie as much as I did.