Dangerous Minds (1995)

The true story of one teacher’s struggle to have a positive effect on her students’ lives. Ex-Marine LouAnne Johnson abandons her military career in order to pursue her dream of becoming an English teacher. When she is assigned to Parkmont High, a rough “inner city” school, she soon finds that teaching English is going to be tougher than she expected. Clearly, her bored, surly, unhappy students would rather be anywhere else than in class. However, LouAnne tackles this obstacle, employing unconventional tactics to get through to the kids: she uses Bob Dylan’s lyrics to teach poetry, rewards the students with candy bars, and even takes them out for an expensive dinner. Soon, LouAnne notices a change in her pupils, who are beginning to see school – and life – in a new light.

This is the ultimate thumb in the nose to the notion that English must be boring. I don’t applaud many of the tactics this teacher employs, but her heart and mind are headed in the right direction. Poetry is the stuff of life. Using Dylan Thomas and Bob Dylan with great effect in her class challenged me as a teacher. I began using more “modern” of the moment stuff in my humanities instruction, esp. rock lyrics, and the students responded well and with better understanding of what we were heading at in class.

Personal responsibility, “none of you are victims, everyone makes choices” type of thinking and teaching will impact your student’s lives. The “keep coming back” notion is very important as well. I don’t buy the ideal that someone like Michelle Pffiefer is going to offer to go toe to toe with a big ugly high school teen (ex-Marine or no), but I do believe the confidence exuded is necessary when dealing with teen angst. Its more the attitude than the methods.

~ by u2isgr8 on November 28, 2005.