I recently saw the mockumentary Chalk, produced by Mike Akel. Perhaps best described as K-12’s version of The Office, this film prodded a few laughs out of me (especially the slang spelling bee), but left me wanting more, a lot more, out of the characters. Despite my previous complaints about unrealistic education movies, I wanted to see a profound moment between student and teacher. I wanted to hear the choirs of angels serenading the movie audience as an educator liberates his students from institutional oppression. I wanted those classic montages in which students create a dazzling project or improve the neighborhood to the chorus of a catchy tune.
Instead, I got a pretty close rendering of the day-to-day reality of a new teacher with little support, no experience, and mediocre passion. This description may not appeal to most audiences, but to the urban educator, this movie may resonate deeply. Before I began teaching, I never realized that there will be bad days, no matter how well you teach or how much you planned or how effectively you connect with students. I never considered the lifelessness that can skulk about the hallways of comprehensive high schools. But I also agree with the assistant principal in Chalk when she says that it is those shared moments with students, however brief, that make teaching worthwhile.
–Katie Harris
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