Teaching is a lovely, fun, rewarding profession to be in, but because it’s not all peaches and roses I sometimes have to remind myself what’s really important. So where, might you ask, do I draw my outside inspiration when I’m feeling a little low and need a pick me up. Where I find most inspiration… television, books and movies.
So here are some of my favorite, most inspiring fictional teachers and a brief description about what exactly I think is inspiring about them...
Miss. Frizzle (Magic School Bus):
Talk about awesome, hands on experience provided for her students. Instead of standing up in front of her students lecturing them about some boring science topic, Miss Frizzle gives them some serious firsthand experience. She manages to do something few teachers ever did for me… make science fun!
Also, her fashion pretty much is the best ever and I fully intend to do my best to emulate it one day.
John Keating (Dead Poets Society):
Carpe Diem. Inspiring young high school aged men to think outside the box through literature might not be a direct connection to my classroom of kindergartners, but I definitely think a teacher who invests in the students beyond teaching curriculum is very inspiring. Keating’s inspiring disregard for textbook jargon warms my heart and reminds me a teacher must not be afraid to think outside the box in order to motivate students. And honestly, given the opportunity, I’m pretty sure all my kindergartners would stand up on their desks.
Miss Bliss (Save By the Bell):
Patience. That is truly the essence of Miss Bliss. Not only managing to survive a student like Zack Morris and all his shenanigans, but actually managing to help and guide him through his awkward early adolescent years takes nothing less than tons of patience.
Mr. Feeny (Boy Meets World) :
Who was more dedicated to his students than Mr. Feeny? He followed them from junior high all the way through college. And there was no limit to advice and guidance, and very often his lessons went way beyond the classroom which is something I hope I can do for my students. Perhaps the most memorable scene from Mr. Feeny was from the very last episode:
Mr. Feeny: Believe in yourselves. Dream. Try. Do good
Topanga: Don't you mean "do well"?
Mr. Feeny: No, I mean "do good".
Topanga: Don't you mean "do well"?
Mr. Feeny: No, I mean "do good".
I hope I can inspire students to “do good.”
Giles (Buffy the Vampire Slayer):
Okay this might not be the most traditional student/teacher relationship, but Giles was the librarian and his relationship with Buffy was often based around a school setting (which happened to be on a Hellmouth). Mostly I hope I can help my students be inspired to save the world even it just means putting paper in the recycling or fighting demons. I plan to be up for the task always and Giles is a shinning example of how that might look.
The professors of Hogwarts (Dumbledore, McGonagall, Lupin, Hagrid,… even (and especially) Snape) (Harry Potter):
This is kind of a broad one I know and I could talk about each teacher because of each of their unique awesomeness. And let’s face Hogwarts had their fair share of not so great (some really awful) professors (Quirrell, Lockhart, Umbridge to name a few). But really thinking about the whole picture there is a lot to draw from and find inspiring. These professors put the lives of their students first and provided a safe place for students when everything away from school seemed uncertain and dangerous. Even if some scary stuff happened at the school, the professors did everything in the power to protect, educate and help their students. That’s definitely the type of teacher I find inspiring.
And that’s it. The truth is that there are a lot of awesome teachers out there that I have had the good fortune of working with and I find them truly inspiring as well. But I just couldn’t think of anything more fun than combining my love of pop culture with my love of teaching. J
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