There is a 1983 film entitled Teachers, which while universally panned by critics and eventually bombed at the box office, stands as one of the most accurate portrayals of schools caught on celluloid. Starring Nick Nolte, the film is a satire of American Government High Schools. Those not familiar with the way a school runs found it over-the-top, unfunny and irritating. Whilst the film is badly made, it contains some insights and observations that are perceptive, extremely funny and just as relevant today.
There is no better example of this than the fact that the school in the film is being sued by a former student that was allowed to graduate without being able to read or write.
Now contrast that scene with these findings:
The UK is falling behind international rivals because one-in-five children “learn nothing” throughout their secondary education, according to the head of Britain’s top private schools’ group.
Figures show that almost one-in-five pupils left primary school this summer without reaching the standard expected of the average 11-year-old in reading. Some one-in-10 boys had the reading skills of a seven-year-old or worse.
Perhaps what worked most against the success of the movie Teachers was that it was too clever and too accurate for its own good.
Topical Teaching 