This week on the Rotten Tomatoes movie review show (on an obscure cable channel called Current TV), the hosts offered their choices for the top 5 movie teachers of all time.
5. Dave Jennings (portrayed by Donald Sutherland) – Animal House
4. Jaime Escalante (Edward James Olmos) – Stand and Deliver
3. Dolores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton) – Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
2. Glenn Holland (Richard Dreyfuss) – Mr. Holland’s Opus
1. John Keating (Robin Williams) – Deat Poets Society
So, are these the teachers who best represent the profession on the silver screen?
Maybe they should have included Ditto from the 1984 mess of a film called Teachers.
You’ll need to suffer through the movie to understand that reference. :-)
Last year, I said it was Mr. Hand! http://www.teacherninjas.com/2008/05/movie-teachers.html
And I remember “Ditto.” That movie was bad, but he did sum up a certain type of HS teacher. Sigh. Of course, so does Umbridge these days. We need more Arnold Hands!
Forgot all about Mr. Hand (as portrayed by the wonderful Ray Walston). But for balance you’d also have to include Ben Stein’s social studies teacher in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. As Jim noted about Ditto, he’s another character found in too many high schools. Bueller?