This week sees the release of superb, Palme D'Or-winning French drama The Class.
It’s a study of students from a tough Parisian neighbourhood, with a top teacher who’s played b🅰y real-life educator Francois Begaudeau.
Begaudeau wrote a book about his experien♚ces and he and director Laurent Cantet recruited actual students to play the kids in the film.
With that and Hamlet 2 arriving in cinemas, we got to thinking about the best blackbജoard wranglers out there in movie land.
Some are based in reality. Others are pure fan🔯tasy. We want them all in our school right now...
The Film: Blackboard Jungle (1955)
The Teacher: Richard Dadier (Glenn Ford)
The Subject: English
Best Line: “Ye𓂃ah, I've been beate🥃n up, but I'm not beaten. I'm not beaten, and I'm not quittin.'”
Why We Wish They'd Taught Us: Because he has experi🤡ence dealing with the thugs and hoodies that are overrunning every school these days.
He stood up to the most annoying git in his class (V♏ic Morrow’s Artie West), even when he start🐼ed receiving death threats against his family.
So much for emotional stress leave and filing for compensation – he’d 🌼deal with the situation head 💖on.[page-break]
The Film: School Of Rock (2003)
The Teacher: Dewey Finn (Jack Black)
The Subject: Music
Best Line : “I have🐎 been touched by your kids... and I'm pretty sure that I've touched them.”
Why We Wish They'd Taught Us: Finn might only have taken the gig to make money ♛on the side, but he grew into the role.
His freewheeling approach to teaching strikes us as far more useful than the boring, paperwork-heavy non🐲sense being spewed at k✤ids.
Plus, who wouldn’t want to have music lessons wh💜ere you actually get to rock out?
The Film : Lean On Me (1989)
The Teacher: Joe Clark (Morgan Freeman)
The Subject: Headmaster
Best Line: “You think you can run this school? If you could, then I wouldn't be here, would I? No one talks at my meetings. NO ONE! You take 𝔍out your pencils and write. I want the names... of every hoodlum, drug dealer, and miscreant who's done nothing but take this place apart on my desk by no🎃on today.”
Why We Wish They'd Taught Us: The real-life Joe Clark is alive and well, so unli𝔉ke most of the other characters, he could actually 🧔teach.
He might have been the headmaster, but he was inspirational and always ready with the tough love. How tough? Try chucking out 30🔯0 trouble-making students in one day.
And In the movie, Morgan Freeman plays him. Who wouldn’t listen in a class led by Morgan Free🔯man?[page-break]
The Film: Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban (2004)
The Teacher: Remus Lupin (David Thewlis)
The Subject: Defence Against The Dark Arts
Best Line: “I'm very impressed. That su﷽ggests that what you fear most of all... is fear itself. This is very wise.”
Why We Wish They'd Taught Us: He teaches magic. He’s also a werewolf. Can your teacher boast those crede♍ntials? Didn’t think so.
While we&rs꧂quo;d be worried about discipline during the full moon, and the possibility of shedding, he’s a heroic type who would inspire the class.
The Film: Dead Poets Society (1989)
The Teacher: John Keating (Robin Williams)
The Subject: English
Best Line: “Excrement! That's what I think of Mr. J. Evans Pritchard! We're not laying pipeﷺ! We're talking about poetry. How can you describe poetry like American Bandstand? ‘I like Byron, I give him a 42 buﷺt I can't dance to it!’”
Why We Wish They'd Taught Us: What is it about English teachers that seems to make them particularly insp⭕irational?
Ke🐽ating blows the doors off the staid public school he teaches at, even at 𒐪the cost of his job.
Plus, you’d probably get a 🧜Robin Williams stand-up performance out of it. Decide for yourself if that’s good or💫 bad.[page-break]
The Film: Sky High (2005)
The Teacher: Coach Boomer (Bruce Campbell)
The Subject: P.E.
Best Line: “Sidekick!&rdಌquo; (He says it a lot to students who don't make the hero grade).
Why We Wish They'd Taught Us: Boomer might be bombastic (literally – he can shatter glass with his super-powered voice)𒅌 he earns a spot on the list b💞y also being Bruce Campbell.
Okay, more evidence – he takes no crap and sorts out the men from 🍷the sidekicks. And he’s always good for a laugh.
Plus if the class turn🌜s rowdy, he’ll always be heard.
The Film: Star Wars: Episode V -🦄 The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
The Teacher: Yoda (Frank Oz)
The Subject: Jedi mastery
Best Line: “ Do... Or do not. There is no try.”
Why We Wish They'd Taught Us: It’s Yoda – hands down the coolest teacher in 🎶the galaxy, ♕even if he is a bit of a muppet at times.
But he can lift an X-Wing fighter from a swamp WITH HIS MIND. Are you seriously telling us you wouldnꦿ’t want to learn that?
Midichlorians or no, he rules.
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