Unrealistic Teacher Films

My mother is currently a literacy coordinator for Barlow Elementary School. Almost every day I see her bring home another slew of movies based on teaching techniques in the classroom.

Although these movies are simply making suggestions in order to help teachers, they hardly touch base on the reality of teaching in the classroom. These films show cookie cutter families dropping off their children for a perfect learning experience. Although it would be nice to believe that all public schools are like this, however it is far from the truth.

Previous to her career as a literacy coordinator, my mother had taught at a inner-city public school in Philadelphia. The teachers there were lucky if the children even attended full week of class. Many public schools today face limited resources and unruly children and nothing is being done about it. Teachers in today’s society need to take control of the classroom, but videos that show well behaved children in a perfect environment is hardly a reliable resource.