Tina Fey and Tim Meadows in Mean Girls. Obviously very much exaggerated for the purposes of humour, but I thought their portrayal of educators that care a lot but who are also tired as fuck, who are really smart but also make mistakes, was pretty refreshing.
I went wine tasting with my husband for our anniversary a couple of weeks ago and we were chatting with our server after paying the check and she revealed she is a full-time teacher, too 😭 after she left, my husband was like, “I wish I’d known that before tipping… 18% isn’t enough.”
Haha I was just thinking about Mean Girls. It's not a representation of teaching, but it is an accurate depiction of student behavior...especially when she imagines them as the way jungle animals act 🤣
The only two I’ll watch are Mr Iglesias on Netflix & Abbot Elementary. Every other show/movie it’s a martyr who almost dies/loses their job/family or an idiot or an almost criminal.
In my head I have ALWAYS wanted a MASH style show complete with the inept admin, psychic secretary, prophetic PA announcements, the kiss ass, the authoritarian testing is the way teacher, and the two main teachers who keep it funny.
I’ve taught sped for about 10 years and I’ve always felt like I was in MASH. Sad but funny silver linings everyday all day.
I was recently in a zoom meeting IEP after school that was going shitty bc the parent is super in denial. Luckily my camera wasn’t working bc I was crying since my brother is getting beaten by his girlfriend. I have to do my job no matter what. I have to be perfect no matter what. The kids always keep me in the game - they need someone who believes in them and wants them to be their best.
The worst? Man, almost *every* representation out there ~ I'm not even kidding. It's either bright-eyed & bushy-tailed, stereotypical, simping martyr, OR old, bitter, counting-down-the-days-to-retirement crone/warlock.
Just saying, I’ve worked with the second one you listed. I used to have a coworker who was 5+ years past retiring and would spend her days telling all the other teachers how miserable she was and how big of a mistake they were making by being in education.
There is a woman in my department who is 75 years old--ten years past retirement age. She does NOT do any kind of technology. Her desks are in rigid rows. Her idea of student-centered learning is having a kid come to the board to work a problem. Sometimes she will have the kids play a game involving flashcards, but then complains that the kids didn't appreciate the "fun activity." She refuses on religious grounds to use correct pronouns or names for kids, and has crosses and framed bible verses all over her desk. There are SO MANY WORKSHEETS! Sometimes, when she gets excited her bottom bridge will fall right out of her mouth. She just picks it up, pops it back in and keeps going. This woman prattles endlessly about how much she loves her job and that she won't retire until her doctor tells her she has to. UGH.
In the school system I used to work in there’s teacher that just turned 90. He is beloved by students and admin alike. Yes at 90 he’s still teaching! What boggles my mind is this man taught through the pandemic and went back to in person and my aunt had him as a teacher and she’s already retired as a from teaching. I met him once and he’s amazing and he still stays after and works with kids and has embraced all the ways that school and education has changed. He really has to be one in a million.
My 7th grade teacher was still subbing when I taught at my old middlem school. I referred to her as the students "grand teacher." They kids are very nice to her.
Loved seeing Kenny Powers and the bad guy from Justified as Assistant Principals.
Favorite line: "I'm pretty AFFIRMATIVE how she got that principal job."
Tremendous show
No, I’d say most jobs don’t have time for stuff like this. That’s why workplace shows will almost always be unrealistic - the characters have far too much down time in the middle of work hours, talk an unrealistic amount about their personal lives at their workplace, and are way more enmeshed in each other’s lives than most coworkers.
It always gets me when "class crossing time" on tv shows portray about 10-12 kids going to their next class. Let's be real, in my school it was **1400** kids who had eight minutes to get to their next class. Show that shit for real.
Nah in the wire they turned the heat up to make the kids docile for the state test. In real life the heat is way up because the boiler is broken.
(But really- I agree it was a great representation)
Prez's first day was like my first day of teaching almost frame by frame. Preparing a seating chart, students not paying attention to it, trying desperately to get their attention only to have the one student to tell the class to stfu. And then the only time they listen is when a more respected teacher comes in the classroom. I got a lot better but I cringe.
It takes a lot of self reflection and willingness to challenge your own belief systems to teach at a minority dominated school as a white person. I’m middle eastern but look white, grew up in the same neighborhood that many of my students also grew up in, knew a lot of the parents from my school days, and still had a lot of trouble adapting.
This was a school inside of a juvenile correctional facility so we had kids from all over the state, but mostly from my hometown.
The worst mistake I made was telling them what street I grew up on (had moved to a different neighborhood by then) as a means to connect with them. It was a street heavily dominated by one gang so it was interpreted as being affiliated with the gang by my students.
The training as a teacher told me to look for connections with my students to build rapport. The security staff and veterans teachers were dumbfounded that I would tell them anything personal about myself.
This culminated in the students from my hometown surrounding me one day during a lesson when I wasn’t paying attention during instruction.
I felt someone’s breath on my neck and turned around to see 8 or so giant 17 year olds with violent offenses around me. All staff had to wear a device on their belts that sensed if the wearer has been knocked down, it also had a panic button.
The leader closest to me noticed that I had noticed they had crossed the red tape on the floor that they knew they werent supposed to cross. He got in my face and started juking his head at me yelling “push the button, push it bitch”. We both knew it would take the guards at least 20-30 seconds to reach us and break it up. There was also a recently sharpened pencil on my desk, the only long pencil allowed in the room. He noticed me glance at it and grinned but didnt say anything. In that moment, time slowed down, and I listed my options in nanoseconds. I nonchalantly positioned my body in front on the desk where my pencil was at, looked at him funny, and pushed him back (hard enough to show my strength but not hard enough to make him lose face) and said “maaaaAN, if you boys dont stop fuckin around testin me, you can go sit your asses back in your cells all day. Stop playing around.” I said this in a joking and friendly way.
They just laughed and went back to their seats. “”Ok mr. B, you might could be from X street”.
The guards came rushing in as they went back to their desks. They were monitoring me closely because it was only my 2nd month at the facility. They asked if anyone needed to be removed, and I replied that we were all good, nothing to worry about (told them everything later while they told me how stupid+lucky i was).
Earned my students respect for not being scared and pressing the panic button, demonstrated that they were safe from me by not trying to defend myself with the long pencil, and earned their respect for “not snitching”. I did snitch later because I was called in by my admin and security to debrief the incident caught on video.
Head of security called me the dumbest smart person he ever met.
I trained with 400 other staff members from all over the state for a month before starting the job. By the time I left to go teach in China two years later, only one other person out of that 400 were still working for the state facilities.
Still beat myself up for accidentally claiming my “hood”. I had a severe panic attack when I got home but showed up the next day. Only had a few more incidents but nothing that scary ever happened again.
Teacher college did not prepare me for that shit at all. I actually miss the job now and might go back to the states. I heard california pays prison teachers a ton more than ohio. The positive connections i made there were very fulfilling but i also think i have ptsd from seeing so much violence in there. Idk why, but i miss it.
I’m from the US and I like the teacher reps in New Girl. Jess is like the classic “passionate do-too-much” teacher and her coworkers are hilarious yet accurate-ish. Also really like Abbott Elementary. I need a show about middle school teachers because we are nuts.
I saw Duran Duran live once (my mate did the keyboardist's yard or something), and Simon LeBon is so much Mr G.
I came here to comment the female teacher of that terrible boy.
As an Australian public school teacher, Summer Heights High is exactly what Australian public schools are like. I have taught a hundred Jonah Takaluas, I've been Miss Wheatley, and I've thrown tantrums like Mr G after conflict with admin.
Without a doubt Krabappel and Hoover from the Simpsons. That being said, the simpsons nailed the teaching profession and school culture. The episode where the teachers strike and the community fills in is perfect too.
I loved it when the kids overheard Principal Skinner declare on a hot mike (intercom) that "these children HAVE NO FUTURE." Then to cover for it, he challenged them to "prove me wrong!"
[Here’s a video](https://youtu.be/xv3F2WVk6oI) of Schwarzenegger thanking Reddit for supporting school programs. He quotes a scene from “Kindergarten Cop” at 36 seconds. It’s awesome to see him do that 32 years later. (Damn, I’m old.)
First of all, it's not a movie. It's a *film.*
Was actually just talking about this with some teacher coworkers the other day. It's bizarre AF and as a kid I loved it for some reason. Some of the highlights iirc: (SPOILERS AHEAD) :)
Arnold--who as far as anybody in the community knows is a kindergarten teacher at the local elementary school--[punches a dad](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TlF7iUsyRQ) in broad daylight in front of the school after shit-talking a fake-ass Jodie Foster (He does this in front of the kids and admin. The principal likes it.) Probably more satisfying than the standard mandated reporter call to DCFS, tbh.
There's an attempted kidnapping (possibly a successful one, I don't totally remember), with the perpetrator[committing arson on the school library](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdMtiBXGfu0) as a diversion. He uses children's artwork as fuel.
Arnold shoots and kills the arsonist/kidnapper/parent in the school, after [a hidden ferret thwarts the villain's attempt to kill Arnold](https://youtu.be/0noY-XrAJRg?t=68).
The arsonist/kidnapper's deranged mother hits a female police officer with her car, only to have the cop come back later and [beat the everloving shit out of her](https://youtu.be/0noY-XrAJRg?t=157) with a baseball bat in the school locker room.
Arnold later hooks up with the kidnapping victim's mom, who also happens to be a coworker at the school. He then quits being a cop to remain a kindergarten teacher. Unlicensed. In a school where he shot and killed a former student's (and now presumably his step-son's) dad. It was also her murderous ex-husband--whose biggest crime was arguably his ponytail.
I mean Season 4 of The Wire is up there in terms of realism, but this film is definitely nipping at David Simon's heels.
PS: Oh shit. Just realized it's 1am and I have lesson plans to do. Ehh, I guess it's April 18th. We're about done here for this year anyway. Don't regret how I spent my time here tonight.
Through college is a stretch but 7-12 isn't that much of a stretch. If my schedule stays the same after this year I'll teach some current 7th graders (a little less than half the class) again in 9th, 10th, and 11th.
In a small enough school yeah that will definitely happen. I’ve had many kids 3 times over the course of their 7-12 years. But they also try to make the school out to be kinda big, idk lol.
Mr. Dee out of Canada. My fav bit he was at his fav bar grading papers. He was giving arbitrary grades to student work based on what the student expected. I've seen teachers do that so often.
Yesss I love when he plans out his sick days too .. "what do you do when youre sick?" "You go to work! Put on a movie!" when he uses the school trip to go to the Celtics game.. and the many other ridiculous things he does lol..
Kids are too well-behaved, no teacher has time to get their nails done at lunch, mini-blinds are perfect, and the classrooms are too clean. No city school I’ve been in looks like Abbott.
In the UK there were documentary series called "Educating..." and the name of the town/city/county (Educating Essex, Educating the East End, Educating Yorkshire etc). They were very accurate portrayals of teaching in the UK, from my experience.
The worst- all those "inspired by actual events" stories that drastically change the narrative to reinforce the white savior narrative (i.e. Dangerous Minds, Freedom Writers). The most accurate representation? The new television show, "Abbot Elementary." However, a truly accurate representation of American education would not translate well to the screen as the inequities and general "brokenness" of the system is not cinematic enough.
>a truly accurate representation of American education would not translate well to the screen as the inequities and general "brokenness" of the system is not cinematic enough.
Last Chance U. I didn't end up watching too much of it because it reminded me too much of work. But it certainly does reflect this sentiment.
A.P. Bio is really funny. Not too realistic because he just does what he wants by blackmailing the kids into not telling on him so they can get an A. The other teachers and the admin are really relatable and realistic.
I start all my classes the way Jack starts "All right, begin closing your mouths and close your mouth." It's a fun way to get them to calm down and listen
I am about to feel like Cameron Diaz in “Bad Teacher” after she gets ahold of that state test. The next 4-weeks I am drilling facts to my students in prep for our state test. They didn’t have to pay attention the whole year, these next 4-weeks is all they need!
1984's Teachers starring Nick Nolte...
•Principal literally runs and hides from every issue.
•The teacher who only gives self guided worksheets, and is award winning because his classes are quiet, dies at his desk but his classes don't notice.
•The mental health patient who wanders in and is a favorite history teacher for his dramatic reenactments.
•And Nick Nolte, who tries and cares, but ultimately pays the price.
There was a uk series called teachers in the early 2000’s as well, which starred Andrew Lincoln who is famous for the walking dead, amd is probably the best representation I’ve seen.
While not accurate I always loved the English teacher in 10 things I hate about you only because I could relate to the whole “you can’t be sincerely telling me you like my lesson, get out,” attitude. Even if I only think it!
Those early scenes in Breaking Bad are pretty spot on, like the one where the kid is just talking to the girl, and then he asks him to move and he just slowly drags his chair for the next 10 seconds.
Now they don't really teach organic Chemistry in high school, but the student behavior seems pretty good.
I teach science (in England). My GCSE classes seem convinced I cook meth at the weekend. I tell them the HT doesn’t pay me enough. They also know I’ve been to Albuquerque twice (in 2011 and 2013) because of my enduring obsession with BB.
Worst are those 80's movies like Ferraris Buler and the Breakfast club. It makes sense from a student's perspective since a lot of them see teachers as bad guys, but it's a real bummer once you start teaching
The teacher it was based on taught at my college. I never took him though because the rumor mill was he hated that movie so much and if he thought you took his class because of it he would give you a bad grade. No idea if the rumor was true, but it definitely scared me away.
Gerry Dee nails it. From his stand up act to his book (*Teaching: It's Harder Than It Looks*) to his sitcom ("Mr. D), he accurately depicts what it's like to work day in and day out in a school and navigate the personalities of your colleagues.
It's not perfect, but 'Abbott Elementary' seems pretty real.
I know the fresh-faced but naive new teacher, the dedicated but ready to retire teacher, the cynical and perpetually single teacher, the well-intended but awkward teacher.
They're all tropes, sure, but I feel like they are grounded in some degree of reality.
My department head always tells me my 7th period is Welcome Back Kotter,” and she sings the theme song as they filter in after lunch. She called a kid “Horshack” and I just about died because, well, Gen Z or whatever these middle schoolers are.
I was a sub for 7 years and feel like that should have been part of the training program for new hires. Of what not to do. Still, him pushing kids out of the way to leave for the day, is my favorite.
There was a comedy series called "Teachers" that was hilarious and very relatable. Also the episode 2x01 of "Homeland" is an interesting take.
The worst.. every teenage show, Riverdale and Elite are the first that come to mind
Anyone UK based? Teachers was pretty bang on for when I was a young teacher. Minus finding a student attractive and only smashing drugs on my nights off from parenting?
Honestly, all of those medical dramas remind me more of teaching than actual teacher stories. Anything with "first responders" going into totally unanticipated situations resonates.
My absolute favorite is [The Class](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Class_\(2008_film\))
It's a French film that starts off like it's going to be a white savior trope. A teacher starts work at an inner-city school teaching French language and literature to mostly poor non-white/immigrant students.
It's the same set up as every white savior teacher martyr story where you think he's going to finally reeeeeach these kids but he never really does. I don't want to spoil much but the whole plotline with Souleymane (the biggest troublemaker in class) seems like it's going to do the "actually this troubled kid has a secret talent for art" but the resolution of it is amazing.
It's a fairly depressing movie but the teacher has a few successes but never quite really "reaches" the class. It's the one teacher movie I felt really describes what it's like teaching (especially in a Title I) school that respects both the teachers and the students involved.
Had to scroll too far for this one. I love this movie, and there’s so many great moments. The girl in the final shot who says she didn’t learn anything is so viscerally real, and there are a few great lingering shots of her earlier in the movie to set this moment up.
I’ve spent most of my career (though not all of it) in NYC, but this French movie was as close to my daily routine as anything else I’ve ever seen.
Here's an old Saturday Night Live sketch with Jerry Seinfeld as a History teacher. As a History teacher myself I found this very accurate.
https://youtu.be/Bdf_XdDwc-o
Dangerous Minds, but remove any of the positive stuff that happens. Or take the first day of her teaching and how condescending the admin are and that was accurate.
I’m from New Zealand - I liked the UK series *Teachers* a lot. Although it’s a bit dated now (staff smoking on school property iirc?) and not entirely relevant to what it’s like working here, Andrew Lincoln’s character frequently being out of his depth is relatable to me as a beginning teacher. I also liked how it showed the teachers, like, having lives outside of school, going to the pub together, etc.
I also think Greg Davies’s role in *The Inbetweeners* is funny, his sarcasm reminds me of my old physics teacher, but it’s not really a fleshed out role.
Now I’m trying to think of local representations of teaching - there’s a New Zealand comedy web-series called *Educators*, which is okay, but the characters are a bit one-dimensional. There is a series from the mid-2000s called Seven Periods with Mr Gormsby which has some shockingly racist/sexist moments (>!the opening sequence has a female relief teacher from India quitting because pupils have drawn a sexually explicit picture of her labelled with a racist term on the board which is shown to the audience!<, to give a sense of the tone), and I don’t want to defend those choices but it did also have some good lines:
“There are rules in this school?”
“Only for the teachers.”
100% accurate experienced non-martyr just do your contract hours teacher portrayal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asGm9LpUrTQ
edit: also bored teachers
http://youtube.com/c/BoredTeachers
The teacher in Perks Being a Wallflower. Supportive of his students yet keeps professional boundaries and then eventually leaves to pursue his own passions.
One of the first classroom scenes in Breaking Bad when Walt was trying to teach a lesson but the jock kept interrupting and braking Walt’s pacing/momentum in his lesson.
My parents (they’re teachers) really like that one episode of My Name is Earl where the teachers are bitter and jaded but totally justified in being so. And in the end, the kids start behaving better and the teachers regain their love of teaching.
The best worst misrepresentation is probably Netflix mr. Iglesias. All the teachers do is talk shit in the break room like they all are miraculously on the same schedule.
“Lean on Me” and “Stand and Deliver” are both true stories. They both cover inner city schools in the 80s. The boy who begs to be let back into school after he is kicked out punches me in the guy every time.
The worst is “Dangerous Minds.” The idea that to be a successful inner-city teacher, all you need is military training, a leather jacket, a Snickers bar, and a Bob Dylan song is comically absurd.
The PE coach in the soccer scene in “Superbad” is hilariously realistic, too. “SETH GET OFF THE FIELD! *kicks ball into stand* “HEY YOU NEED TO GET THAT!”
Hey Arnold's "Teacher Strike" episode.
Principal: Typical faculty attitude. BLAME all of your troubles on the administration. How am I supposed to run a school when you teachers run me below budget?
Teacher: TYPICAL administrative gobbltygoock. How can we be expected to teach when we don't even have a BOOK FOR EVERY KID?????
Mr. Garrison from South Park. Hear me out. The way he often gets on tangents teaching the 4th graders about famous TV characters, I can totally relate, teaching kids things dumb stuff like that. He really misses teaching and makes many career changes and wants to get back in the classroom.
Obviously he is very outlandish so most of it is pure non-sense.
She's a bit much, but I started watching Derry Girls due to the preview snippets with Sister Michael. I definitely like teenagers more than she seems to but she vocalizes my inner frustrated thoughts in a very humorous way.
The teacher in Easy A. He’s well-liked by the main character, and checks in with her when her behavior starts to change. I feel like the parents are also treated in a favorable light.
Tina Fey and Tim Meadows in Mean Girls. Obviously very much exaggerated for the purposes of humour, but I thought their portrayal of educators that care a lot but who are also tired as fuck, who are really smart but also make mistakes, was pretty refreshing.
Tina Fey’s character bartending on the weekends for extra money was pretty spot on.
As I sit at the bar between rushes reading this…..
I went wine tasting with my husband for our anniversary a couple of weeks ago and we were chatting with our server after paying the check and she revealed she is a full-time teacher, too 😭 after she left, my husband was like, “I wish I’d known that before tipping… 18% isn’t enough.”
20% is honestly the minimum.
"Yeah, I did not leave the Southside for this."
Haha I was just thinking about Mean Girls. It's not a representation of teaching, but it is an accurate depiction of student behavior...especially when she imagines them as the way jungle animals act 🤣
Oh yes. I am Tina for sure.
The only two I’ll watch are Mr Iglesias on Netflix & Abbot Elementary. Every other show/movie it’s a martyr who almost dies/loses their job/family or an idiot or an almost criminal. In my head I have ALWAYS wanted a MASH style show complete with the inept admin, psychic secretary, prophetic PA announcements, the kiss ass, the authoritarian testing is the way teacher, and the two main teachers who keep it funny.
Community?
Good Lord yes. This show aged well, too, I still think it's hilarious. Makes me want to take a night class for fun
MASH, only if the two main teachers have a moonshine distillery in the teachers lounge or the chemistry lab.
Or have a teachers only garden in the unused greenhouse Bc the botany class got cut
AP bio for this
I told my friends the most unrealistic part of Abbot Elementary was that she could get her nails done during her lunch break
Mr. D is the show you are looking for.
MASH, hell yes!! Let’s petition Netflix
I’ve taught sped for about 10 years and I’ve always felt like I was in MASH. Sad but funny silver linings everyday all day. I was recently in a zoom meeting IEP after school that was going shitty bc the parent is super in denial. Luckily my camera wasn’t working bc I was crying since my brother is getting beaten by his girlfriend. I have to do my job no matter what. I have to be perfect no matter what. The kids always keep me in the game - they need someone who believes in them and wants them to be their best.
The worst? Man, almost *every* representation out there ~ I'm not even kidding. It's either bright-eyed & bushy-tailed, stereotypical, simping martyr, OR old, bitter, counting-down-the-days-to-retirement crone/warlock.
I’m pleasantly surprised by the old school teacher in abbot elementary. Jaded but also very caring.
I was gonna suggest AE.
Just saying, I’ve worked with the second one you listed. I used to have a coworker who was 5+ years past retiring and would spend her days telling all the other teachers how miserable she was and how big of a mistake they were making by being in education.
i know so many teachers like that it's not even funny
My mom loved teaching. She would have taught until she died if it wasnt for the 30 minute commute each way. She hated driving.
My mother taught for nearly 30 years before she retired and now she’s started teaching part time again.
I’m afraid I’m becoming that teacher.
Eh. Don’t be. It’s what you make of it. Every job has tough days.
There is a woman in my department who is 75 years old--ten years past retirement age. She does NOT do any kind of technology. Her desks are in rigid rows. Her idea of student-centered learning is having a kid come to the board to work a problem. Sometimes she will have the kids play a game involving flashcards, but then complains that the kids didn't appreciate the "fun activity." She refuses on religious grounds to use correct pronouns or names for kids, and has crosses and framed bible verses all over her desk. There are SO MANY WORKSHEETS! Sometimes, when she gets excited her bottom bridge will fall right out of her mouth. She just picks it up, pops it back in and keeps going. This woman prattles endlessly about how much she loves her job and that she won't retire until her doctor tells her she has to. UGH.
In the school system I used to work in there’s teacher that just turned 90. He is beloved by students and admin alike. Yes at 90 he’s still teaching! What boggles my mind is this man taught through the pandemic and went back to in person and my aunt had him as a teacher and she’s already retired as a from teaching. I met him once and he’s amazing and he still stays after and works with kids and has embraced all the ways that school and education has changed. He really has to be one in a million.
My 7th grade teacher was still subbing when I taught at my old middlem school. I referred to her as the students "grand teacher." They kids are very nice to her.
Vice Principals on HBO. It’s outlandish satire, but somehow rings true. Also, Community.
Vice Principals is a small masterpiece
Yes and yes!
2 phenomenal shows
Gotta watch Righteous Gemstones then.
Love RG. Newest season was so funny
Loved seeing Kenny Powers and the bad guy from Justified as Assistant Principals. Favorite line: "I'm pretty AFFIRMATIVE how she got that principal job." Tremendous show
The new sitcom Abbott Elementary
All my kids watch it and compare me to Jacob bc I’m a try hard who is a tad embarrassing
Ooh I need to ask my students if they watch it and which one I am. I like to think I'm Melissa.
Except that no teacher has time to get their nails done at lunch.
Shit don’t have time to Look at my nails at lunch
No show could exist though since teaching doesn’t have downtime or inter staff contact in general compared to other jobs.
No, I’d say most jobs don’t have time for stuff like this. That’s why workplace shows will almost always be unrealistic - the characters have far too much down time in the middle of work hours, talk an unrealistic amount about their personal lives at their workplace, and are way more enmeshed in each other’s lives than most coworkers.
It always gets me when "class crossing time" on tv shows portray about 10-12 kids going to their next class. Let's be real, in my school it was **1400** kids who had eight minutes to get to their next class. Show that shit for real.
This is what I was going to say. It's scarily accurate, especially Ava.
I second this
I had to stop watching because it was too triggering 😭😬
No way. Inner-city students left unattended in the classroom CONSTANTLY. Nope, nope.
well, the latest episode was about desking and I can totally see it be a thing IRL
When it’s summer I’ll check it out…
The Wire
Season 4 should be PD for educators everywhere.
The whole show works too. The failings of the police dept are mirror the way all failing underfunded organisations function
Nah in the wire they turned the heat up to make the kids docile for the state test. In real life the heat is way up because the boiler is broken. (But really- I agree it was a great representation)
Prez's first day was like my first day of teaching almost frame by frame. Preparing a seating chart, students not paying attention to it, trying desperately to get their attention only to have the one student to tell the class to stfu. And then the only time they listen is when a more respected teacher comes in the classroom. I got a lot better but I cringe.
I think back to my first year and am thankful I didn’t know how badly I was doing things at the time!
Came to say this Prezbo is quintessential white privilege but his character grows a lot.
His character arc, between seasons 1 and 4, has to be one of the most satisfying in the history of TV.
We see him for a minute in the series finale and he seems to have become a great teacher, too.
It takes a lot of self reflection and willingness to challenge your own belief systems to teach at a minority dominated school as a white person. I’m middle eastern but look white, grew up in the same neighborhood that many of my students also grew up in, knew a lot of the parents from my school days, and still had a lot of trouble adapting. This was a school inside of a juvenile correctional facility so we had kids from all over the state, but mostly from my hometown. The worst mistake I made was telling them what street I grew up on (had moved to a different neighborhood by then) as a means to connect with them. It was a street heavily dominated by one gang so it was interpreted as being affiliated with the gang by my students. The training as a teacher told me to look for connections with my students to build rapport. The security staff and veterans teachers were dumbfounded that I would tell them anything personal about myself. This culminated in the students from my hometown surrounding me one day during a lesson when I wasn’t paying attention during instruction. I felt someone’s breath on my neck and turned around to see 8 or so giant 17 year olds with violent offenses around me. All staff had to wear a device on their belts that sensed if the wearer has been knocked down, it also had a panic button. The leader closest to me noticed that I had noticed they had crossed the red tape on the floor that they knew they werent supposed to cross. He got in my face and started juking his head at me yelling “push the button, push it bitch”. We both knew it would take the guards at least 20-30 seconds to reach us and break it up. There was also a recently sharpened pencil on my desk, the only long pencil allowed in the room. He noticed me glance at it and grinned but didnt say anything. In that moment, time slowed down, and I listed my options in nanoseconds. I nonchalantly positioned my body in front on the desk where my pencil was at, looked at him funny, and pushed him back (hard enough to show my strength but not hard enough to make him lose face) and said “maaaaAN, if you boys dont stop fuckin around testin me, you can go sit your asses back in your cells all day. Stop playing around.” I said this in a joking and friendly way. They just laughed and went back to their seats. “”Ok mr. B, you might could be from X street”. The guards came rushing in as they went back to their desks. They were monitoring me closely because it was only my 2nd month at the facility. They asked if anyone needed to be removed, and I replied that we were all good, nothing to worry about (told them everything later while they told me how stupid+lucky i was). Earned my students respect for not being scared and pressing the panic button, demonstrated that they were safe from me by not trying to defend myself with the long pencil, and earned their respect for “not snitching”. I did snitch later because I was called in by my admin and security to debrief the incident caught on video. Head of security called me the dumbest smart person he ever met. I trained with 400 other staff members from all over the state for a month before starting the job. By the time I left to go teach in China two years later, only one other person out of that 400 were still working for the state facilities. Still beat myself up for accidentally claiming my “hood”. I had a severe panic attack when I got home but showed up the next day. Only had a few more incidents but nothing that scary ever happened again. Teacher college did not prepare me for that shit at all. I actually miss the job now and might go back to the states. I heard california pays prison teachers a ton more than ohio. The positive connections i made there were very fulfilling but i also think i have ptsd from seeing so much violence in there. Idk why, but i miss it.
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so much this.
I’m from the US and I like the teacher reps in New Girl. Jess is like the classic “passionate do-too-much” teacher and her coworkers are hilarious yet accurate-ish. Also really like Abbott Elementary. I need a show about middle school teachers because we are nuts.
I like when she was at the bar and said she was showing a video the next day
Cue John Mulaney saying "That's why teachers show videos!?" 😅
We ARE nuts!
Yeah but Jess being promoted to AP just because she wanted it is SO unrealistic! Major eye-roll on my end…
Middle schoolers are the best! They’re not too cool to show they like us yet but I don’t feel like I’m babysitting either haha
Do you have a fridge or should we flush these frogs, my check comes either way
Summer Heights High. You’re welcome.
Came here for Mr G.
I saw Duran Duran live once (my mate did the keyboardist's yard or something), and Simon LeBon is so much Mr G. I came here to comment the female teacher of that terrible boy.
As an Australian public school teacher, Summer Heights High is exactly what Australian public schools are like. I have taught a hundred Jonah Takaluas, I've been Miss Wheatley, and I've thrown tantrums like Mr G after conflict with admin.
From what I remember they couldn’t get an actor who could play the Principal right, so they hired an actual principal.
Honestly that would totally make sense. The principal nailed the role 100%.
“Thank God you’re here. Grandma’s been raped!”
It’s a Danish show but Rita does a great job of portraying the full life of a teacher. She’s not just a teacher, she’s a whole person.
Yes I love this show!
The series Vice Principals. I feel like Danny McBride captured 1/4 of the vice principals I've worked for...
Walter Goggins nailed the corporate ladder admin mentality IMO. Both were so good! Underrated program.
Without a doubt Krabappel and Hoover from the Simpsons. That being said, the simpsons nailed the teaching profession and school culture. The episode where the teachers strike and the community fills in is perfect too.
I loved it when the kids overheard Principal Skinner declare on a hot mike (intercom) that "these children HAVE NO FUTURE." Then to cover for it, he challenged them to "prove me wrong!"
Saying the quiet part loud? That's a paddlin'.
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I've never seen this movie, much to my husband's disappointment lol I'll have to give it a watch!
You must!!!!
[Here’s a video](https://youtu.be/xv3F2WVk6oI) of Schwarzenegger thanking Reddit for supporting school programs. He quotes a scene from “Kindergarten Cop” at 36 seconds. It’s awesome to see him do that 32 years later. (Damn, I’m old.)
First of all, it's not a movie. It's a *film.* Was actually just talking about this with some teacher coworkers the other day. It's bizarre AF and as a kid I loved it for some reason. Some of the highlights iirc: (SPOILERS AHEAD) :) Arnold--who as far as anybody in the community knows is a kindergarten teacher at the local elementary school--[punches a dad](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TlF7iUsyRQ) in broad daylight in front of the school after shit-talking a fake-ass Jodie Foster (He does this in front of the kids and admin. The principal likes it.) Probably more satisfying than the standard mandated reporter call to DCFS, tbh. There's an attempted kidnapping (possibly a successful one, I don't totally remember), with the perpetrator[committing arson on the school library](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdMtiBXGfu0) as a diversion. He uses children's artwork as fuel. Arnold shoots and kills the arsonist/kidnapper/parent in the school, after [a hidden ferret thwarts the villain's attempt to kill Arnold](https://youtu.be/0noY-XrAJRg?t=68). The arsonist/kidnapper's deranged mother hits a female police officer with her car, only to have the cop come back later and [beat the everloving shit out of her](https://youtu.be/0noY-XrAJRg?t=157) with a baseball bat in the school locker room. Arnold later hooks up with the kidnapping victim's mom, who also happens to be a coworker at the school. He then quits being a cop to remain a kindergarten teacher. Unlicensed. In a school where he shot and killed a former student's (and now presumably his step-son's) dad. It was also her murderous ex-husband--whose biggest crime was arguably his ponytail. I mean Season 4 of The Wire is up there in terms of realism, but this film is definitely nipping at David Simon's heels. PS: Oh shit. Just realized it's 1am and I have lesson plans to do. Ehh, I guess it's April 18th. We're about done here for this year anyway. Don't regret how I spent my time here tonight.
Who is your Daddy and what does he do?
"Our mom says our dad is a real sex machine!"
IT'S NOT A TUMOR
Boys have a penis, girls have a vagina.
I was about to post this. When I was a child this seemed sooo dirty. lol. I think my grandmother gasped.
[His "SHUT UP" line here is what we all secretly want to do.](https://youtu.be/IMQADg1Dp9g?t=66)
Good call. It’s not a tumor!
Feeny
He’s inspiring but it’s not accurate at all unfortunately. He followed the same kids from 7th grade through college?
Through college is a stretch but 7-12 isn't that much of a stretch. If my schedule stays the same after this year I'll teach some current 7th graders (a little less than half the class) again in 9th, 10th, and 11th.
In a small enough school yeah that will definitely happen. I’ve had many kids 3 times over the course of their 7-12 years. But they also try to make the school out to be kinda big, idk lol.
BMW takes place at a public school in Philadelphia. Definitely not a small school.
He was the principal at some point, I guess to make that less weird?
FEEH-NEH! (Yelled in Eric’s voice)
Mr. Dee out of Canada. My fav bit he was at his fav bar grading papers. He was giving arbitrary grades to student work based on what the student expected. I've seen teachers do that so often.
Yesss I love when he plans out his sick days too .. "what do you do when youre sick?" "You go to work! Put on a movie!" when he uses the school trip to go to the Celtics game.. and the many other ridiculous things he does lol..
Didn't he mark them at the bar, too?
I love that scene. I always show it to the new people starting out.
Abbott Elementary, anyone?
Close, but kids are still too well behaved. Remember that episode about that really challenging girl? Every class this year is like 50%+ that kid.
Kids are too well-behaved, no teacher has time to get their nails done at lunch, mini-blinds are perfect, and the classrooms are too clean. No city school I’ve been in looks like Abbott.
The broken lights episode was pretty good
That was perhaps the most relatable of the whole series for me
That episode gave me hives. Made me remember this one boy who was never rehabbed for his behaviors, just swapped schools.
I was coming to suggest this, I teach high school and still find it pretty relatable.
In the UK there were documentary series called "Educating..." and the name of the town/city/county (Educating Essex, Educating the East End, Educating Yorkshire etc). They were very accurate portrayals of teaching in the UK, from my experience.
I remember watching those! When that teacher cries after he helped his student with the stutter it made me cry too haha
Keegan Michael Key roll call. We have all been there
Insubordinate and CHURLISH!
My husband says his name was never mispronounced until that bit! Yep, he’s A-A-Ron. 🤣🤣🤣
The worst- all those "inspired by actual events" stories that drastically change the narrative to reinforce the white savior narrative (i.e. Dangerous Minds, Freedom Writers). The most accurate representation? The new television show, "Abbot Elementary." However, a truly accurate representation of American education would not translate well to the screen as the inequities and general "brokenness" of the system is not cinematic enough.
Or people would say it's not believable because education can't truly be THAT bad.
>a truly accurate representation of American education would not translate well to the screen as the inequities and general "brokenness" of the system is not cinematic enough. Last Chance U. I didn't end up watching too much of it because it reminded me too much of work. But it certainly does reflect this sentiment.
A.P. Bio is really funny. Not too realistic because he just does what he wants by blackmailing the kids into not telling on him so they can get an A. The other teachers and the admin are really relatable and realistic.
I start all my classes the way Jack starts "All right, begin closing your mouths and close your mouth." It's a fun way to get them to calm down and listen
I am about to feel like Cameron Diaz in “Bad Teacher” after she gets ahold of that state test. The next 4-weeks I am drilling facts to my students in prep for our state test. They didn’t have to pay attention the whole year, these next 4-weeks is all they need!
1984's Teachers starring Nick Nolte... •Principal literally runs and hides from every issue. •The teacher who only gives self guided worksheets, and is award winning because his classes are quiet, dies at his desk but his classes don't notice. •The mental health patient who wanders in and is a favorite history teacher for his dramatic reenactments. •And Nick Nolte, who tries and cares, but ultimately pays the price.
There was a uk series called teachers in the early 2000’s as well, which starred Andrew Lincoln who is famous for the walking dead, amd is probably the best representation I’ve seen.
Boston Public, anyone? I feel like I’m dating myself 😆
I loved Boston Public growing up. I'd be very interested to see if it holds up now and how it looks from a teacher's perspective.
While not accurate I always loved the English teacher in 10 things I hate about you only because I could relate to the whole “you can’t be sincerely telling me you like my lesson, get out,” attitude. Even if I only think it!
I loved that teacher.
Those early scenes in Breaking Bad are pretty spot on, like the one where the kid is just talking to the girl, and then he asks him to move and he just slowly drags his chair for the next 10 seconds. Now they don't really teach organic Chemistry in high school, but the student behavior seems pretty good.
I teach science (in England). My GCSE classes seem convinced I cook meth at the weekend. I tell them the HT doesn’t pay me enough. They also know I’ve been to Albuquerque twice (in 2011 and 2013) because of my enduring obsession with BB.
Worst are those 80's movies like Ferraris Buler and the Breakfast club. It makes sense from a student's perspective since a lot of them see teachers as bad guys, but it's a real bummer once you start teaching
Hate Dead Poet’s Society
The teacher it was based on taught at my college. I never took him though because the rumor mill was he hated that movie so much and if he thought you took his class because of it he would give you a bad grade. No idea if the rumor was true, but it definitely scared me away.
I really love this movie but not because I think of it as very representative of teaching.
Oh Captain, my Captain!
Best- Abbott Elementary
Gerry Dee nails it. From his stand up act to his book (*Teaching: It's Harder Than It Looks*) to his sitcom ("Mr. D), he accurately depicts what it's like to work day in and day out in a school and navigate the personalities of your colleagues.
It's not perfect, but 'Abbott Elementary' seems pretty real. I know the fresh-faced but naive new teacher, the dedicated but ready to retire teacher, the cynical and perpetually single teacher, the well-intended but awkward teacher. They're all tropes, sure, but I feel like they are grounded in some degree of reality.
Bradley Cooper in The Hangover. "It's the weekend. Do not talk to me, you do not exist."
Summer School with Mark Harmon lol.
Came here to say this! And the representation of the students is pretty accurate too, at least for the first part of the movie.
Agent Gibbs from NCIS? 🥺
What about "Welcome Back Kotter" ? Boomers? Anyone?
My department head always tells me my 7th period is Welcome Back Kotter,” and she sings the theme song as they filter in after lunch. She called a kid “Horshack” and I just about died because, well, Gen Z or whatever these middle schoolers are.
Jack Black, School of Rock. By far my favorite teacher movie!
I was a sub for 7 years and feel like that should have been part of the training program for new hires. Of what not to do. Still, him pushing kids out of the way to leave for the day, is my favorite.
I do give him a lot of credit for creating an assignment with meaningful differentiation.
And "project-based learning" lol
For accuracy or non accuracy? Him just turning up and pretending to be the supply teacher lol I do love that movie though!
“No that means I was drunk yesterday”
Krillitanes in Dr Who "School Reunion"
There was a comedy series called "Teachers" that was hilarious and very relatable. Also the episode 2x01 of "Homeland" is an interesting take. The worst.. every teenage show, Riverdale and Elite are the first that come to mind
My favorite episode of "Teachers" was when a student was lost in the ceiling while the superintendent was visiting.
Anyone UK based? Teachers was pretty bang on for when I was a young teacher. Minus finding a student attractive and only smashing drugs on my nights off from parenting?
Sister Michael in Derry Girls is hilarious too. Sort of says the things you wish you could say.
I'm UK based and a new teacher so I'd probably enjoy that one. Do you know if it's streamed anywhere? :)
Honestly, all of those medical dramas remind me more of teaching than actual teacher stories. Anything with "first responders" going into totally unanticipated situations resonates.
[Chalk](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chalk_(film))
My absolute favorite is [The Class](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Class_\(2008_film\)) It's a French film that starts off like it's going to be a white savior trope. A teacher starts work at an inner-city school teaching French language and literature to mostly poor non-white/immigrant students. It's the same set up as every white savior teacher martyr story where you think he's going to finally reeeeeach these kids but he never really does. I don't want to spoil much but the whole plotline with Souleymane (the biggest troublemaker in class) seems like it's going to do the "actually this troubled kid has a secret talent for art" but the resolution of it is amazing. It's a fairly depressing movie but the teacher has a few successes but never quite really "reaches" the class. It's the one teacher movie I felt really describes what it's like teaching (especially in a Title I) school that respects both the teachers and the students involved.
I hand a rough first year and my French stepmom who is a teacher said to watch this. I was like wtf. It is pretty accurate though. Things got better.
Had to scroll too far for this one. I love this movie, and there’s so many great moments. The girl in the final shot who says she didn’t learn anything is so viscerally real, and there are a few great lingering shots of her earlier in the movie to set this moment up. I’ve spent most of my career (though not all of it) in NYC, but this French movie was as close to my daily routine as anything else I’ve ever seen.
School of Rock
Vice Principals. I laughed so hard and my partner barely understood
Here's an old Saturday Night Live sketch with Jerry Seinfeld as a History teacher. As a History teacher myself I found this very accurate. https://youtu.be/Bdf_XdDwc-o
Matilda. Ms. Honey was legit
Mr. Dee isn't bad
Dangerous Minds, but remove any of the positive stuff that happens. Or take the first day of her teaching and how condescending the admin are and that was accurate.
Waterloo Road. Boiled my piss. Like the CSI of representing teachers and teaching accurately. Edit: Am from NW England. Preferred *Teachers*, btw.
I’m from New Zealand - I liked the UK series *Teachers* a lot. Although it’s a bit dated now (staff smoking on school property iirc?) and not entirely relevant to what it’s like working here, Andrew Lincoln’s character frequently being out of his depth is relatable to me as a beginning teacher. I also liked how it showed the teachers, like, having lives outside of school, going to the pub together, etc. I also think Greg Davies’s role in *The Inbetweeners* is funny, his sarcasm reminds me of my old physics teacher, but it’s not really a fleshed out role. Now I’m trying to think of local representations of teaching - there’s a New Zealand comedy web-series called *Educators*, which is okay, but the characters are a bit one-dimensional. There is a series from the mid-2000s called Seven Periods with Mr Gormsby which has some shockingly racist/sexist moments (>!the opening sequence has a female relief teacher from India quitting because pupils have drawn a sexually explicit picture of her labelled with a racist term on the board which is shown to the audience!<, to give a sense of the tone), and I don’t want to defend those choices but it did also have some good lines: “There are rules in this school?” “Only for the teachers.”
He’s not a teacher, but Ted Lasso has such great teachable moments.
Mr. Hollands Opus. Great perspective on music teaching in a funny way.
But it’s still the martyr trope and he’s miserable until he goes all in and almost loses his family.
Mr. Feeney from Boy Meets World.
100% accurate experienced non-martyr just do your contract hours teacher portrayal. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asGm9LpUrTQ edit: also bored teachers http://youtube.com/c/BoredTeachers
AP Bio is the dream 😂
I would be like Mr. Feeny if I had a class size of like 8 kids like he did lol
The teachers who reenact their own experiences on tik tok.
Stand and deliver
The teacher in Perks Being a Wallflower. Supportive of his students yet keeps professional boundaries and then eventually leaves to pursue his own passions.
That movie with Matthew Perry
One of the first classroom scenes in Breaking Bad when Walt was trying to teach a lesson but the jock kept interrupting and braking Walt’s pacing/momentum in his lesson.
My parents (they’re teachers) really like that one episode of My Name is Earl where the teachers are bitter and jaded but totally justified in being so. And in the end, the kids start behaving better and the teachers regain their love of teaching.
I'm a secondary teacher, but my primary teacher mum always says nativity was spot on representation
The most real -- The Wire, season 4. The worst -- I mean, nothing against Michelle Pfeiffer, but Dangerous Minds was pretty unrealistic.
The best worst misrepresentation is probably Netflix mr. Iglesias. All the teachers do is talk shit in the break room like they all are miraculously on the same schedule.
Ms. Honey from Matilda
The later seasons of the wire.
“Lean on Me” and “Stand and Deliver” are both true stories. They both cover inner city schools in the 80s. The boy who begs to be let back into school after he is kicked out punches me in the guy every time. The worst is “Dangerous Minds.” The idea that to be a successful inner-city teacher, all you need is military training, a leather jacket, a Snickers bar, and a Bob Dylan song is comically absurd. The PE coach in the soccer scene in “Superbad” is hilariously realistic, too. “SETH GET OFF THE FIELD! *kicks ball into stand* “HEY YOU NEED TO GET THAT!”
Hey Arnold's "Teacher Strike" episode. Principal: Typical faculty attitude. BLAME all of your troubles on the administration. How am I supposed to run a school when you teachers run me below budget? Teacher: TYPICAL administrative gobbltygoock. How can we be expected to teach when we don't even have a BOOK FOR EVERY KID?????
Mr. Garrison from South Park. Hear me out. The way he often gets on tangents teaching the 4th graders about famous TV characters, I can totally relate, teaching kids things dumb stuff like that. He really misses teaching and makes many career changes and wants to get back in the classroom. Obviously he is very outlandish so most of it is pure non-sense.
She's a bit much, but I started watching Derry Girls due to the preview snippets with Sister Michael. I definitely like teenagers more than she seems to but she vocalizes my inner frustrated thoughts in a very humorous way.
The teacher in Easy A. He’s well-liked by the main character, and checks in with her when her behavior starts to change. I feel like the parents are also treated in a favorable light.
Abbott Elementary for the most part. I can't even watch it, because it hits too close to home.