How is teaching portrayed to the public?

 

Thanks to things like TV, movies, and media our society has formed teacher stereotypes that range from teachers being lazy and bad educators to teachers becoming heroes and bringing a class of students with nothing in common together. One of my favorite examples of a teacher who is expected as the hero of the story is the well-known movie freedom writers that stem from the book with the same title. This movie follows a teacher by the name of Ms. Gruwell who has been given a job in a school that is divided by gang violence, throughout the movie you can see that Ms. Gurwell has taken her own money and time out of her personal life to fight for her kids, in order to give the best educational experience that she can while bringing the class together to overcome their differences. This is one of my favorite movies because there are so many aspects of this movie that actually do occur to many teachers. While it may not be as obvious in some areas of our society, there are many teachers who are faced with resource issues and division in their classrooms. Where they find themselves in constant battles in order to fight for their students. When people decide to become educators it is more likely than not because they have a passion for changing children's lives and most will do anything to help students achieve their goals. However, on the flipside of this, there are examples that depict teachers as being lazy and not really caring for their students. Examples like the movie "Bad Teacher" where the main character seemed to only be a teacher because it is an easy job. Where in reality teaching is actually quite a demanding job that requires educators to put in more time than people may think.  

Comments

  1. Kenzie JonesNovember 12, 2021 at 1:24 PM

    Hey Brooke! You have some great thoughts in your post! I too watched the movie Freedom Writers, and I really enjoyed it for a number of reasons! I loved the emotion that was shown by so many people because I think it brought a sense of realness to the movie. I loved how Mrs. Gruwell showed a drive and willingness for change in her classroom and for her school so that the students could have a better chance of graduating. The last sentence you wrote really struck me because I think I have really grown to learn this as I have been in the education field in college. I have learned that it is so much more than what people think and teachers have a responsibility that surpasses what I ever thought they had growing up. As future educators, we should aspire to be classroom changers like Mrs. Gruwell and fight for the lives of each and every students!
    -Kenzie Jones

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    Replies
    1. Ms. ReddingNovember 14, 2021 at 10:11 AM

      Hi Kenzie, I am glad to hear that you enjoyed my post. All of the things that you have stated in your comment are 100% true. As teachers we should not only strive to provide a positive education for any student how comes through the doors of our classroom. But we should also strive to bring our students together and help them grow as people.

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    2. LeahNovember 16, 2021 at 8:24 AM

      Hi Brooke
      I agree I believe that many people see teaching as to be an easy job, whereas I've heard some refer to it as babysitting. Teachers are usually only seen as heroes in media when they are being put to deal with a violent or stereotypical school setting or classroom, and with the teacher usually being different from the rest are then usually seen as being the one light that the school needs to change completely. However, when media is portraying a bad teacher, it is usually at a nice school where the students somehow already know most of what they are supposed to be learning and there are almost slim to none issues.

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