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Teachers (1984)
Rate:
8
Viewed:
6/19
6/19:
Similar to The Hospital, Teachers, which is also directed by Arthur Hiller,
makes a biting social commentary, but this time, it's about urban education.
Yes, there have been plenty made such as Blackboard Jungle,
Up the Down Staircase, Class of 1984, and
One Eight Seven. All say the same thing but bring something different to the table.
Teachers is no exception and is a funny film in its own sad but true way.
Those who had worked in the trenches will find it all too familiar and be able to identify most of the characters by having
worked with them before. Judd Hirsch's and Lee Grant's are perfect examples that represent over 95% of the bureaucrats who
exist in schools nowadays. That's why the system is impossible to overcome because it's about making the parents and their
kids happy as much as possible in spite of no education that's going on.
As for me, a former teacher for three years, I see nothing new but can relate to many of the incidents
that occurred in the film. The female lawyer is a typical idealist who never taught before and
won't know. That's why Alex Jurel scoffed (so did I) after listening to her complaints.
The problem is many students aren't cut out for school and don't have the requisite IQ to hack the work. Literacy rate among
high school students and even adults is low and continues to drop annually; therefore, nobody should feel shocked about
it. That's why I laughed when the high school was sued for graduating a functionally illiterate
male student. Yet it decided to end the case by agreeing to a monetary settlement. Please, that'll never happen because there
are millions of students just like him.
Herbert Gower, a mental patient who impersonates a teacher by the name of Mr. Van Ark, may look cool, is well-meaning, and all
that by dressing up as Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, and George Custer (by the way, Richard Mulligan played him in
Little Big Man). But the truth is: it's second grade stuff when this is supposed to be
high school and students are expected to perform grade level work in reading and writing, not theatrics.
As for the performances, most do a good job. I can't believe Steven Hill is the lawyer's boss. Talk about Law & Order
before there was Law & Order. On the other hand, Ralph Macchio is cringeworthy while bringing a great actor
like Nick Nolte down to his level. He's why I gave the movie a low rating of '8'. By the way, did you see Narc?
That's Anthony Heald who played Dr. Frederick Chilton in The Silence of the Lambs.
All in all, Teachers gets high marks for mirroring the reality of urban education.