Reflection on "Chalk"

During lecture on Monday night, we watched the first half of the movie "Chalk." I found this movie very interesting and realistic, although exaggerated. While watching the movie, I wrote down some quotes and observations which I would like to discuss.

Quote 1: "War stories from the front lines of teaching."
I did not like this quote. I don't think that teaching should be compared to a war. We should think of it more as a cooperative and collaborative experience. This quote gives the connotation that teachers and students are enemies. If a teacher has this opinion, he/she will not become an expert teacher.

Observation 1: During the opening clips of the movie, the new teacher seemed like a boring, non-expert teacher. This is contrasted with the male history/social studies teacher, who seemed fun and engaging. As the movie went on, it became clear that my initial observations were incorrect. The "fun" teacher was very self-centered and only cared about being awarded "Teacher of the Year." His educational goals were not focused on his students, they were focused on himself.

Observation 2: The new teacher did not have any control over his students. He could not gain their respect or their attention. His classroom management skills were very underdeveloped. It is clear that his education/training did not prepare him for managing a classroom. As the movie went on, he became better at managing his classroom, which came in part from experience and part from more education (reading a book about classroom management).

Observation 3: The "fun" teacher told his giften students to act average and to dumb down, because they knew more than he did about history/social studies. This is a perfect example of not challenging the gifted students. Instead of giving them a special project to do, or using their intelligence to advance the class, he completly shut down their special abilities. I hope that that never happens in a real classroom!