Hello Beautiful People,
I have finally watched Won’t Back Down.
I loved the character played by Viola Davis, Nona Alberts.
I had a hard time liking the character of Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jamie Fitzpatrick.
Look, I’m all for parental involvement. But let me be frank, for every parent like Jamie Fitzpatrick, there’s about fifty that do not answer phone calls, emails, or show up to parent teacher conferences. If I had a dime for every parent who completely ignored my concerns about his/her child, my student, well, I’d be a millionaire. Teacher accountability? Fine. I’m OK with that. Make me accountable for teaching my students what they need to know. But where’s the parent responsiblity? You ignore the phone calls and communication from your students teachers? And we wonder why there’s no communication? We wonder why there are issues?
1 child out of 40 is illiterate. That’s a quote from the film. And that’s just unacceptable in 2013. There’s no denying that.
This is the problem, and I’m willing to say it, I’m willing to put it out there…teachers cannot do it alone. I work with amazing teachers. Phenomenal teachers. Teachers who, LOVE to teach. Contrary to some urban myths out there, the BEST TEACHERS are the ones who love to educate. Inspire. Teach. Guide. I’ve never met any teacher who purely teaches for summer vacation. And if by some chance there are people who go into this profession for that reason, well, they don’t stay for very long. You don’t become a teacher for the summers off. You just don’t. It’s just silly.
But…parents are our first teachers. Parents. So, if parents do not teach respect, if they preach entitlement…that’s a problem. If my students go home to a place where education is not valued or respected…that’s a problem. That stops the whole learning process.
This film has highlighted the issues with the education system as it stands right now, but I believe it has chosen to make enemies out of the wrong people. I will never understand why, in times of stress, the public will often choose to make teachers public enemy number one. I don’t get it. Wouldn’t it be better to listen to one another? To trust that perhaps, a teacher knows something that you do not? I mean, we do go to school to learn about this.
I can’t even count how many teachers I know like Malia’s. why? Because they are not the majority, and shame on Hollywood for even trying to illuminate that fallacy.
School system is failing us? It’s just not as black and white as that, and unfortunately, that’s doesn’t seem to be anything that people want to discuss. Just as health insurance companies stop physicians from practicing medicine the way they know best, now teachers are forced to deal with mandates and testing that, quite frankly, is stopping them from teaching in the best way possible.
Change a school you change a neighborhood. Yes. I can get on board with that.
Because school is only eight hours of the day.
EIGHT HOURS.
Because teachers, principals, guidance counselors, social workers, and faculty can only do so much.
Because, when push comes to shove, there’s so much learning that goes on outside of school walls.
Children, students, well, they need a good place to go home to. A nurturing place. A place where they can be…kids.
If there’s one thing to learn from this film, it’s thus – there are problems in the public education system. TEACHER’S ARE NOT ALWAYS THE ENEMY. And Hollywood, sweet Hollywood, before you go for the buck, perhaps it’s smart to go for the truth…that is, when you’re dealing with shaping the young minds of America.
Live, Love, Learn,