Chalk Notes

Notes -

50% of teachers quit in the first three years 

Summary - 

All of the teachers portrayed in this movie had a certain level of personal growth come out of it. None of them were the same person at the end of the year that they were at the beginning. I think the point of this was to show that while the teachers are supposed to be teaching the children they themselves are always growing as people. Particularly in the early years their students give them as much as they give the students. I think that is what the movie was trying to show, that in spite of all of the best intentions and attempts at trying to educate the students, everyone involved can get something out of the experience provided they are open to the idea. Each showcased teacher had their "ah-ha" moment where they stopped thinking their job was truly one directional. That there was something more than superficial that they could get from their students. It was interesting as a movie but I had a hard time taking notes on it or the idea of using it as a reference beyond the ideas that it was trying to promote as it is fiction. 

EDIT - 

Many of the teachers had their own way of teaching, or trying to teach/lead. Of the people shown two were showing how they built relationships with their students, one with their peers, and one who was just trying to adjust to the new job and responsibilities. Between Mr. Shoop and Mr. Lowrey there was a world of difference in the way that they both initially approached the class. Mr. Shoop started out trying, and failing, to engage the class at a very serious level. When his authority was challenged though he would quickly fall apart and get into engagements with the students. To the point of throwing a student out because he finally snapped about the cellphones. Mr. Shoop's "redemption" started somewhere between the conversation with the mother of the "cell phone" student and the Hornet Bee. He gained some confidence in himself and just started working his job. I had a teacher in high school who I got to see go through his first couple semesters. His first year was a little rocky and some of the students seemed to take it as a challenge to try to make him uncomfortable. I sat in one  of his classes the first semester of his second year though and like Mr. Shoop he was much more comfortable with the class, he had a much stronger control of the class without it being draconic. He understood the students better and they in return didn’t try to challenge him as much. Mr. Lowrey on the other hand started out VERY self absorbed. This guy irritated me every time he started talking. I felt like he was more interested in what the students could do for him (get him teacher of the year) and that was the angle he played for. While the behaviors presented to the students were not horrible I felt that with the behind the scenes looks it made everything he did look shallow and self-serving. His redemption came after he lost the election and freaked out in front of his students. He makes a mention of this being the point in the year (very close to the end) where he realized he wasn’t being a good teacher. (lack of notes here makes the exact context difficult, now I know)