Moving Movies can inspire Excellent Educators
I became at father and a teacher almost simultaneously. In the same school year that I completed my student teaching (1999-2000), I began dating a woman who had a two year-old daughter. And while I didn't do a whole lot of parenting that year, the next year (as a first year teacher), I proposed to that woman and my parental role increased as we got closer to our wedding day. At the time, I didn't realize how much I didn't know about parenting or teaching, but it was not because I didn't have great examples to draw from. My parents were amazing and I had some incredible teachers, but the influences of each of these sets of people may need to be a future blog post. Today, I need to write about movies.
Last month, my now teenage daughter had a hip surgery that left her relatively immobile. "Entertaining her," it turns out, was the excuse I needed to play more Monopoly and Risk in the past month than I have played in the other 19 years of her life. I also strived to show her some great movies...not new movies that she knew she wanted to see, but the great movies of the late 90s and early 2000s that she didn't know existed. Watching these "classics" allowed for a revelation in me. There are key parent-child scenes that moved me when I first saw them, possibly inspiring qualities I possess as a parent. However, those same scenes may have also influenced my beliefs as an educator. As a result, this week I am inspired to share just a few scenes that have inspired me, as well as the lessons we, as educators, can learn from them.
1. One Fine Day, 1996
In this film, there is a key scene where Jack Taylor, played by George Clooney, is a father and a reporter whose job is on the line if he doesn't make it to a press conference. However, Maggie (the daughter played by Mae Whitman) won't come with him, instead choosing to hunker down with a cat she has found. Jack quickly realizes he can't rush his young daughter. Instead, he shifts to empathy and patience, showing his daughter that she is more important than his work.
As a father, and an educator, I hope I am empathetic and patient. However, I hope even more that I recognize when to change "strategies." In the movie, Jack didn't change his strategy just because he had a job to do. He also changed it because he wanted his daughter to be content, as well. He could have picked up his daughter and carried her unhappily to the press conference, but he didn't. Instead, he slowed down and addressed his child's concerns first. Doing so allowed him to arrive at the press conference with a happy daughter, though he was a little late :)
As teachers, I hope we can recognize, on the fly, when to stop and listen to our students. Sometimes we may have to sacrifice "time" to get the result we need with content students in tow. For some great clips in One Fine Day, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4d200L9gscY, but if you haven't seen this movie, you need to.
2. Love, Actually, 2003
While I believe there are many great story-lines in this movie, there is none better than that of Daniel and Sam, father and son, played by Liam Neeson and Thomas Brodie Sangster, respectively. Daniel's role in the movie is to convince his son that taking risks can pay off. Aside from encouraging Sam when he desires to learn percussion so he can impress a girl, he allows him to sprint past security at Heathrow Airport in a last-second attempt to talk to the girl as she boards a plane. The risks pay off and an incredibly moving scene ensues where Sam jumps into his dad's arms after experiencing success: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCjoOOrgVMM.
There is so much to take here, as a father, and as an educator. However, the biggest lesson for me is that I have to allow my children and students to take risks in order to experience true joy. It can't just be any risk, however. In the movie, Sam had a clear goal he was pursuing. If we can help our children and students to set clear goals, the risks they should (and should not) take will become obvious.
3. Jerry McGuire, 1996
This movie produces several relationship "do nots" as Jerry, played by Tom Cruise, tries to figure out who he wants to be. However, his relationship with Ray, played by Jonathan Lipnicki, never wavers. Jerry consistently treats Ray as an adult, though his character is maybe five years old. One of the movie's most famous scenes happens in a car as Jerry is taken to the airport with Ray in the backseat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqxMlmpB66k.
Aside from the respect Jerry gives Ray, acknowledging his comments and refusing to let the business at hand get in the way, Jerry is challenging Ray, pushing him to learn something in the conversation. I'm not sure which lesson is more important. As parents, and as educators, we constantly have to balance adult needs with the needs of the young people in our lives...and sometimes, they just need to be heard.
There is no shortage of movies like these out there. I'm not even sure if these are my favorite three, but they are three that I have seen lately, and I was reminded how moved I was by these scenes. As an educator, I must always strive to learn from every situation I experience, as well as those I experience vicariously. It is comforting to know that as long as I am still willing to learn there will continue to be plenty of opportunities to learn around me.
Last month, my now teenage daughter had a hip surgery that left her relatively immobile. "Entertaining her," it turns out, was the excuse I needed to play more Monopoly and Risk in the past month than I have played in the other 19 years of her life. I also strived to show her some great movies...not new movies that she knew she wanted to see, but the great movies of the late 90s and early 2000s that she didn't know existed. Watching these "classics" allowed for a revelation in me. There are key parent-child scenes that moved me when I first saw them, possibly inspiring qualities I possess as a parent. However, those same scenes may have also influenced my beliefs as an educator. As a result, this week I am inspired to share just a few scenes that have inspired me, as well as the lessons we, as educators, can learn from them.
1. One Fine Day, 1996
In this film, there is a key scene where Jack Taylor, played by George Clooney, is a father and a reporter whose job is on the line if he doesn't make it to a press conference. However, Maggie (the daughter played by Mae Whitman) won't come with him, instead choosing to hunker down with a cat she has found. Jack quickly realizes he can't rush his young daughter. Instead, he shifts to empathy and patience, showing his daughter that she is more important than his work.
As a father, and an educator, I hope I am empathetic and patient. However, I hope even more that I recognize when to change "strategies." In the movie, Jack didn't change his strategy just because he had a job to do. He also changed it because he wanted his daughter to be content, as well. He could have picked up his daughter and carried her unhappily to the press conference, but he didn't. Instead, he slowed down and addressed his child's concerns first. Doing so allowed him to arrive at the press conference with a happy daughter, though he was a little late :)
As teachers, I hope we can recognize, on the fly, when to stop and listen to our students. Sometimes we may have to sacrifice "time" to get the result we need with content students in tow. For some great clips in One Fine Day, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4d200L9gscY, but if you haven't seen this movie, you need to.
2. Love, Actually, 2003
While I believe there are many great story-lines in this movie, there is none better than that of Daniel and Sam, father and son, played by Liam Neeson and Thomas Brodie Sangster, respectively. Daniel's role in the movie is to convince his son that taking risks can pay off. Aside from encouraging Sam when he desires to learn percussion so he can impress a girl, he allows him to sprint past security at Heathrow Airport in a last-second attempt to talk to the girl as she boards a plane. The risks pay off and an incredibly moving scene ensues where Sam jumps into his dad's arms after experiencing success: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCjoOOrgVMM.
There is so much to take here, as a father, and as an educator. However, the biggest lesson for me is that I have to allow my children and students to take risks in order to experience true joy. It can't just be any risk, however. In the movie, Sam had a clear goal he was pursuing. If we can help our children and students to set clear goals, the risks they should (and should not) take will become obvious.
3. Jerry McGuire, 1996
This movie produces several relationship "do nots" as Jerry, played by Tom Cruise, tries to figure out who he wants to be. However, his relationship with Ray, played by Jonathan Lipnicki, never wavers. Jerry consistently treats Ray as an adult, though his character is maybe five years old. One of the movie's most famous scenes happens in a car as Jerry is taken to the airport with Ray in the backseat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqxMlmpB66k.
Aside from the respect Jerry gives Ray, acknowledging his comments and refusing to let the business at hand get in the way, Jerry is challenging Ray, pushing him to learn something in the conversation. I'm not sure which lesson is more important. As parents, and as educators, we constantly have to balance adult needs with the needs of the young people in our lives...and sometimes, they just need to be heard.
There is no shortage of movies like these out there. I'm not even sure if these are my favorite three, but they are three that I have seen lately, and I was reminded how moved I was by these scenes. As an educator, I must always strive to learn from every situation I experience, as well as those I experience vicariously. It is comforting to know that as long as I am still willing to learn there will continue to be plenty of opportunities to learn around me.
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