Remember when portrayals of teachers, principals, other education-related do gooders made you feel all warm, fuzzy, and I’m-gonna-shake-up-the-worldish? I do. From Morgan Freeman, Cicely Tyson, and Richard Dreyfuss, to Dorothy Dandridge, Denzel Washington, and Edward James Olmos, stars in these films do great jobs of jerkin’ our tears.
Before the likes of “Community”and “Bad Teacher” (which may be on future lists), there were television shows and movies about figures in the education system who bent over backwards to give students, and–by extension–their communities the very heart of themselves, by offering unbelievable amounts of time and attention to their students and their students’ families. Longer lists are on the way. In the meantime, let’s see who made this round.
NOTE: So far, Film 1 and Film 4 are the only ones with favorite quotes. Why? Because I know Film 1 like the back of my hand, and I know Film 4 like the front of it. In time, I’ll add quotes to the other selections.
If you’d like to add your favorite quotes, just leave ‘em in the comments or email me. Yes, you’ll be credited.
Contents
1. Lean on Me
2. Stand and Deliver
3. The Marva Collins Story
4. Mr. Holland’s Opus
5. Hard Lessons: The George McKenna Story
1. Lean on Me
Biographical Year: 1989
Cast: Morgan Freeman, Lynne Thigpen, Robert Guillame, Beverly Todd, Alan North, Michael Beach, Karen Molina White, Jermaine Hopkins
Plot: Years after being ousted from his teaching job because of his activist leanings, Joe Clark is asked to return to Eastside High School to help salvage the school, which had descended into ostensibly irreversible savagery. Using unconventional and illegal methods, he, his staff, and community members learn to lean on each other in a bid to help students develop basic educational skills.
Favorite Quotes:
”We don’t want a good principal. We want Mr. Clark.”
”Mr. Clark don’t play.”
”I don’t want her to see me like this no more.”
”You smoke crack, don’t you? Boy, don’t you smoke crack?”
”Mr. Clark don’t believe in you ‘cause you don’t take care of your responsibilities.”
”Not only is Mr. Clark Eastside High, he’s like a father. He’s the only father that some of us who don’t have fathers know. You don’t know a thing about Mr. Clark.”
”…because, contrary to popular belief, I’m the head n***** in charge.”
Let’s get busy getting you over your academic, professional, or personal hurdles.
2. Stand and Deliver
Biographical Year: 1988
Cast: Edward James Olmos, Lou Diamond Phillips, Vanessa Marquez, Rosanna DeSoto, Andy Garcia
Plot: Jaime Escalante, a resident of East Los Angeles, leaves a high-paying, corporate, computer-science-related job to give back to his community by teaching the students of Garflied High School advanced math concepts.
Favorite Quotes: COMING SOON
3. The Marva Collins Story
Biographical Year: 1981
Cast: Cecily Tyson, Morgan Freeman
Plot: Fed up with the poor quality of education at her kids’ school, Marva Collins, with the support of her husband and children, turns her home into a school that benefits neighborhood students.
Favorite Quotes: COMING SOON
4. Mr. Holland’s Opus
Fictional Year: 1995
Cast: Richard Dreyfus, Olympia Dukakis, William H. Macy, Jay Thomas, Glenne Headly
Plot: Expecting to earn a steady and easy income by day and composing music by night, a struggling musician plays the proverbial raisin in the sun after taking a job as a high school music teacher.
Favorite Quotes:
”My music? When do I get to write my music?”
”Play the sunset.”
5. Hard Lessons: The George McKenna Story
Biographical Year: 1986
Cast: Denzel Washington, Virgina Capers, Lynn Whitfield, Akosua Busia, Richard Masur, Ray Buktenica
Plot: The son of a mother who served as a high school principal for 25 years in Louisiana, George McKenna becomes principal of Washington High School, in Los Angeles, California—at the behest of a parents association—where he works to keep superior students from fleeing the trouble—ridden school.
Favorite Quotes: COMING SOON
Conclusion
To be honest, I think these movies could do a better job of dedicating more time to dramatizing the personal lives of these figures and how, often times, they may have eroded their mental health and home lives for the sake of building those of their students. Still, I appreciate these folks (real and imagined) as sources of inspiration.