The older I get, the more I crave break days and appreciate the joy my couch gives me. Every year the love deepens.
I went into winter break a tad more disgruntled than usual and eager as ever to transform into a glorious little couch potato. My wish came true when I got incredibly sick the Friday morning of the last day before break… lol I’m finally feeling better.
Back to the disgruntledness… time away, for me, is the magic cure. When we’re in the middle of the nasty trenches or surviving off of 3 hours of broken sleep in the arena, we start to lose our sanity, our purpose, and our resilience. The Monday before break, I had what I thought would hopefully be, the last meeting in my teams advocacy saga to get our students the support they deserve. The meeting didn’t go so well. I was sitting at my kidney table, crying, debating if I should write my letter of resignation, eating a graham cracker I had stolen from one of my second graders, when my school psychologist walked in and talked me off the ledge.
When he walked in, I totally broke my train of despair when I was thinking about how ridiculous his sight must have been, ha. Me eating a graham cracker, staring at the wall crying… teacher realities lol
In my quest to avoid crying into a graham cracker and having my husband walk in on me this time, I watched some of my favorite teacher movies to help ground me on my purpose and why I choose to fight another day. Disgruntled or not, these movies are some great reminders on a teachers true super power: optimism.
Dangerous Minds
where to watch: HBO, Prime Video
about: an unprepared high school teacher is placed with one of the toughest classes at the school. She is relentless in her journey towards making her students see what she sees.
personal connection: one of my former students told me to watch this movie a couple years ago because I was the “younger” version of her and I just about cried the entire time. I’m definitely not as cool, but aspire to be the teacher who kicks a** for her students.
Freedom Writers
where to watch: Prime Video, Hulu
about: a long beach, california high school teacher who thinks outside the box to engage and motivate her students to see their full potential and develop a love for learning.
personal connection: this was the first teaching book I ever read and sparked my interest for wanting to teach high school some day. If you teach 7th grade and older, there is an amazing curriculum that includes a lot of the activities she did with her students. I used it a lot when I taught middle school.
Stand and Deliver
where to watch: Amazon Video, Vudu
about: a high school teacher who inspires his drop-out prone class to learn calculus and develop a love for math.
personal connection: this movie made me reflect a lot of my own experiences with math. Starting in middle school, I hated math. Math gave me so much anxiety all the way through college. I chose not to major in psychology (I went with sociology instead) simply because I was terrified to take a statistics class. Funny enough, I love teaching math now and my students claim it’s what I’m best at teaching… probably because I hated it and didn’t understand it for so long.
Pay it Forward
where to watch: Netflix
about: a middle school social studies teach who gives an assignment that changes a boys life forever.
personal connection: this was the last assignment I did with my 8th grade boys before heading to elementaryland two October’s ago. I had just told them I was being forced to leave but tried to explain that it was our turn to pay it forward– them at their middle school and me in elementaryland. Sitting in my old classroom and crying alongside 6 8th grade boys was a defining moment in my life.
The Kindergarten Teacher
where to watch: Netflix
about: a kindergarten teacher who sees the talent and strength in one of her students and goes to great lengths to ensure he’s protected.
personal connection: I only have 1 kindergartener on my caseload (i’m terrified of tiny humans… they are so strange) and I definitely was watching my protectiveness when watching the movie. My little kinder is in special education for behavior only and next year will be tested for gifted supports. He has so many gifts, but is so misunderstood. This movie was a great reminder that the lengths we go often pay off.
My teacher heart is full. Put on your favorite pair of pjs, grab some hot chocolate (or a warm cup of coffee depending on the time of day), and start watching these inspiring and optimism building teacher flicks!
What’s your favorite teacher movie?
HAPPY MOVIE WATCHING!
with kindness | ashley
