As we recognize the 20th anniversary of School of Rock, Richard Linklater’s film about a slacker, rock aficionado turned substitute teacher played by Jack Black, we thought we’d take time to breakdown many of the unorthodox teachers in films and TV series from over the years.
To Sir with Love
To Sir with Love, directed and written by James Clavell and inspired by E. R. Braithwaite’s 1959 autobiographical novel of the same name, tells the story of Mark Thackeray, an immigrant from British Guiana who, after failing to secure an engineering job, takes work in a temporary teacher position in a disreputable school. To Sir with Love helped develop many of the tropes later used time and time again in these films, as he slowly wins the students over. Likewise To Sir with Love covers the issue of race in England at the time, as Thackeray is very excellently played by Sidney Poitier in a largely white classrom, and also class differences. To Sir with Love may now feel quite familiar for anyone who has watched the films and series that follow on this list; however, at the time it stood apart as quite unique and original.
Dead Poet’s Society
One of Robin Williams’ iconic roles, of which they are many, is without a doubt John Keating, the unorthodox English teacher who teaches life lessons along with classroom lessons. Dead Poet’s Society is one of the more dramatic of these titles, a theme that continues on in the 1990s and 2000s. Yet there are moments of joy too, in particular as Keating imparts the love of poetry on his young pupils. Keating, like many of the teachers on this list, taught his students for a relatively short period of time; however, the impact on the audiences that have loved and watched this film will continue for years to come.
Great Teacher Onizuka
Perhaps one of the most unorthodox teachers yet, and one who stands apart in a genre beloved in Japan, is Eikichi Onizuka. Onizuka himself was a yankee (i.e. rebel, gang member) in his youth; however, after beginning to seek out teaching with lecherous intentions (fortunately largely played down as the series progresses), he finds a greater passion for teaching and he is assigned to a troublesome class that is notorious for going through teachers as quickly as Spinal Tap goes through drummers. As with To Sir with Love, you can bet that Onizuka will ultimately change the hearts of minds of his pupils; however, most often through quite over-the-top unorthodox methods that contrasts Thackeray’s. GTO’s popularity was so great in Japan that it received a prequel and sequel manga, an anime, a live-action TV special, drama, and movie.
School of Rock
The aforementioned School of Rock is perhaps the most famous example of the unorthodox teacher in the 21st century, after Linklater’s hit about Dewey Finn, played by Jack Black, as a struggling rock musician who fakes a teaching job to pay his rent, became a cultural phenomenon. This film has especially resonated strongly for millennials who grew up with the film, and its success led to a stage adaptation, as well as a TV adaptation that ran for three seasons on Nickelodeon. Undoubtedly especially as musical education and funding are lessened year after year at schools, this film will serve as a reminder of why music can matter for kid’s education.
God of Study
Unorthodox stories of teachers impacting classrooms on screen is universal, and the impacts of these movies and shows on other countries culture and entertainment cannot be overstated. God of Study is a perfect example of this, as its adapted from Dragon Zakura, a Japanese manga that owes a lot to its predecessors such as Great Teacher Onizuka (and no doubt more films and shows we’ve not yet listed). The premise of Master of Study is that a lawyer named Kang Suk-ho, who has his own troubled past as a youth in school, is tasked with overseeing the dismantling of Byung Moon High School. Suk-ho then promises to help five of the most troublesome students out with special classes promising he will get them into the most prestigous university in South Korea. Again this story may seem familiar; however, Korea truly made this show their own and in doing so had a hit on their hands that was popular not only in South Korea but globally, This means now God of Study may itself reverberate beyond informing future movie and TV writers interested in tackling similar themes.
