Hobart Shakespeareans

Sorry about the subtitles...but whomever put together the copy did a nice job getting some best-of scenes in the documentary ;)

About a year ago, Aaron and Katy told me about this documentary. Now that I have a Netflix account, I finally put it on my cue. This afternoon I watched it for the first time.

Inspirational teacher movies can do one of many things. They can make you feel inspired. They can make you feel guilty for not being as good as that teacher. They can make you feel like you need to go teach in an inner city school so you can finally make a difference because that's where the kids will really show the night and day change. They can make you feel like even if you end up being the teacher at the end of the movie who has lost their hair, who looks 15 years older than they really are, or who is out of a job because of budget cuts (thank you, Mr. Holland's Opus), then at the end there will be students who come back as adults and thank you to swelling background music, and you will feel like you really made that difference. That's what teachers are really out to do, right? Make a difference.

Let me tell you one of the things that I liked about this documentary. It features a man who is obviously looking for the good in life and in the kids around him, but he is very realistic about his expectations. That might seem ironic since it features a man who is teaching fifth graders how to read and understand Hamlet and Huckleberry Finn. But in the documentary, they keep showing sweeping shots of glowing performances and interviews, and happy glimpses where kids meet celebrities and go on national tours... but then they include dialogue where the teacher says that no teacher is going to reach every single kid in the classroom; there are some really terrible days that at times do outweigh the good ones; there are some obvious sacrifices that come with the successes of the students in his class. This admission is important. "Teacher Movies" hint at it, and sometimes even have whole scenes dedicated to it. Granted, this documentary's main focus isn't the ups and downs of teaching; it's a class of kids learning Shakespeare. But I do give the credit to the POV makers for including much more information than a focus on one teacher triumphing over a hurdle in society. I appreciate how they treat the topic of teaching in general. I think it is good for me to see, and for others too. I find new ideas, I find validation in things I am doing, and I get another opinion on how to approach something. Watching this movie felt like being back in college and having one of those moments in class where I knew that this would be something I used and would hold on to.

I like "Teacher Movies." I do. I own many of them. I watch them for different reasons. If I want to feel like being a novice is okay, I watch "Freedom Writers." For just all-around wow-spiration, I watch "Stand and Deliver." For entertainment, I watch "Take the Lead." For philosophical, political, and intellectual food-for-thought, I watch "The Emperor's Club" and "Dead Poet's Society." Now, for classroom ideas, teaching direction, and insight, "Hobart's Shakespearean's" will be added to the list. I really loved it, and even cried.

There's still one that will always be my favorite, though. Still one of my favorite movies overall: "The Miracle Worker." I watch that when I need to feel like a teacher. Or when I just need to connect to something deep inside of me. It's one of those movies that always makes me a little more of myself after watching it.