If Dead Poet’s Society does not triumph, expect its die-hard fans in the teaching community to stand on their desks in protest.
It is the favourite to top a list of the 10 greatest school films, which will be revealed on Teachers TV on Monday night. Nearly 2,500 teachers and pupils voted, choosing from a long-list of 100 movies.
Teachers have cited Robin Williams’ turn as a charismatic English teacher as an inspiration. Its effect was demonstrated at a headteachers’ conference in Harrogate two years ago, when a surprise screening of the climax left several school leaders misty-eyed.
Mick Brookes, National Assocation of Head Teachers general secretary, said: “It’s an immensely powerful film, and it demonstrates the importance of having values in the education system, rather than education by numbers.”
But Dead Poet’s Society is not universally popular. One teacher described it on The TES website as “over-sentimental tripe, which makes Mamma Mia look like Citizen Kane”.
Richard Pope, a music teacher at a secondary school in London, said teachers’ favourite school films altered as their careers progressed.
“When I started, it would have been Dead Poet’s Society, or Goodbye, Mr Chips, but I can’t watch them now,” he said. “I prefer the ones about how tough it is, like Half Nelson. I’ll probably switch to midlife-crisis films next, like Sideways, in which the main character is a fed-up English teacher.”
Teachers TV started by drawing up a list of 25 school films, based on recommendations from teachers registered with the channel’s website, then expanded the list to more than 100 films after opening the survey up to teachers and pupils.
Among the long-list’s merits are the inclusion of the best versions of St Trinians (1954) and Lord of the Flies (1963). A potential drawback is that the list lumps “school films” together, rather than distinguishing between those that focus on teaching and coming-of-age dramas.
Paul Ashton, commissioning editor at Teachers TV, said the channel had originally considered focusing on great teachers in films. “But there were so many great films in schools, like If ... where the teachers do not stand out as much of the pupils,” he said.
Mr Ashton said the most popular portrayals of teachers were those where they seemed to sympathise with pupils’ desire for rebellion.
Other films succeeded because they were funny. And several of those nominated, including Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, and Gregory’s Girl, are likely to benefit from the nostalgic reaction they generate among teachers in their thirties and forties.
Canterbury Christ Church university’s teacher training and media studies departments have analysed the way in which teachers are represented through film, and contributed to the programme.
Dr Ken Fox, a lecturer, said it was hard to watch Gregory’s Girl without smiling. “The film is done with such wit and charm that it works like a bittersweet memory of our own secondary school days, when unrequited love was the only thing on the curriculum.”
Ed Balls, Schools Secretary, told The TES his favourite was To Sir with Love because “Sidney Poitier is a fantastic actor - and it’s a real example of inspirational teaching.”
Christine Blower, general secretary of the NUT, would vote for Mr Holland’s Opus, starring Richard Dreyfus. “I watched this film at a teacher’s conference in America and we all understood the same jokes about school life,” she said.
The most disturbing choice is probably Battle Royale, a Japanese film in which misbehaving pupils are forced to kill each other by their teacher. Yet some teachers find it cathartic. “It’s terrific when you’ve had a loathsome day,” one wrote.
- ‘Great School Movies’ will be broadcast on Teachers TV, at 10pm on Monday
THE LONG-LIST OF 100
Madchen in Uniform - 1931
Zero de Conduite (Nil for Conduct) - 1933
Boys Will Be Boys - 1935
Goodbye Mr. Chips - 1939
The Happiest Days of Your Life - 1950
The Browning Version - 1951
Tom Brown’s Schooldays - 1951
The Belles of St. Trinian’s - 1954
The Blackboard Jungle - 1955
Carry On Teacher - 1959
Les Quatre Cents Coups - 1959
Shunko - 1960
Children’s Hour - 1961
Lord of the Flies - 1963
To Sir with Love - 1967
If - 1968
Ole Dole Doff (Who Saw Him Die?) - 1968
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie - 1968
Kes - 1969
L’Enfant Sauvage (The Wild Child) - 1969
El Profe - 1970
Please, Sir! - 1971
Unman, Wittering and Zigo - 1971
The Devil’s Playground - 1976
Grease - 1978
The Wanderers - 1979
Fame - 1980
Gregory’s Girl - 1980
P’Tang Yang Kipperbang - 1982
The Outsiders - 1983
Another Country - 1984
Reckless - 1984
Breakfast Club - 1985
Clockwise - 1985
Children of a Lesser God - 1986
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off - 1986
Pretty in Pink - 1986
Au Revoir Les Enfants - 1987
The Principal - 1987
Running on Empty - 1988
Stand and Deliver - 1988
Dead Poets Society - 1989
Heathers - 1989
Khaneh-Je Doost Kojast? - 1989
Lean On Me - 1989
Flirting - 1990
Kindergarten Cop - 1990
Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit - 1993
War of the Buttons - 1994
A Little Princess - 1995
Clockwork Mice - 1995
Clueless - 1995
Dangerous Minds - 1995
Mr. Holland’s Opus - 1995
Matilda - 1996
The Substitute - 1996
American History X - 1998
Butterfly’s Tongue - 1998
Madeline - 1998
Not One Less - 1998
Rushmore - 1998
Show Me Love - 1998
The Faculty - 1998
10 Things I Hate About You - 1999
Election - 1999
Battle Royale - 2000
Blackboards - 2000
Finding Forrester - 2000
Pay It Forward - 2000
Save the Last Dance - 2000
There’s Only One Jimmy Grimble - 2000
When Brendan Met Trudy - 2000
Donnie Darko - 2001
Abouna (Our Father) - 2002
About a Boy - 2002
Bowling for Columbine - 2002
Etre Et Avoir (To Be and To Have) - 2002
The Emperor’s Club - 2002
Elephant - 2003
Mona Lisa Smile - 2003
School of Rock - 2003
American Yearbook - 2004
Coach Carter - 2004
Friday Night Lights - 2004
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - 2004
La Mala Educacion (Bad Education) - 2004
Les Choristes (The Chorus) - 2004
Saved! - 2004
Mr Harvey Lights a Candle - 2005
Freedom Writers - 2006
Half Nelson - 2006
High School Musical - 2006
Notes on a Scandal - 2006
Take The Lead - 2006
The History Boys - 2006
The Ron Clark Story - 2006
Happy-Go-Lucky - 2007
Son of Rambow - 2007
Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging - 2008
Entre les Murs (The Class) - 2009.
