"Main Ideas"

Front of the Class

1. When you really want to reach your goals you must fight for them.
2. Don't let the circumstances STOP you. 
3. Show your students that passion that you have for doing things. 
4. Let others know that "differences" are good. 
5. Believe in yourself. 

Beyond the Blackboard

1. Work Hard.
2. Fight for what you want.
3. Use whatever you have available, no matter how simple it might be.
4. Don't let that what other people may say, make you lose your dream.
5. Give them a good impresion about you (students and parents), show them that you care.

Detachment

1. Show your students that if they respect you, you will respect them too. 
2. Care about your students, but don't let them misunderstand your intensions.
3. Help your students change their minds about theirselves. 
4. Let them know that they are not INVISIBLE when they are in class. 
5. No matter how many problems you have, try to do your best in class with your students. 

"Detachment"

MAIN CHARACTERS

• Henry Barthes
• Carol Dearder
• Sarah Madison 
• Sarge Kepler
• Wiatt
• Meredith
• Doris Parker
• Charles Seaboldt
• Grandpa
• Mathias
• Greg Raymond

Is a chronicle of one month in the lives of several high school teachers, administrators and students through the eyes of a substitute teacher named Henry Barthes (Adrien Brody). Barthes' method of imparting vital knowledge to his temporary students is interrupted by the arrival of three women in his life — the damaged and naive prostitute Erica (Sami Gayle), a fellow teacher (Christina Hendricks) and a troubled teen named Meredith (Betty Kaye). These women all have profound effects on Barthes' life, forcing him to both re-discover aspects of his own personality, and to come to terms with both the tragic suicide of his mother and the impending death of his grandfather. The film is punctuated with flashbacks of scenes of Barthes' young childhood and his mother's suicide.

Sub-plots include the struggles of Dr. Parker (Lucy Liu) within her role as the school counselor and the painful torment of Principal Dearden (Marcia Gay Harden), who faces her dismissal as head of this deeply flawed school.

QUOTES

"Doublethink. To deliberately believe in lies, while knowing they're false."-Henry Barthes

"Examples of this in everyday life: "Oh, I need to be pretty to be happy. I need surgery to be pretty. I need to be thin, famous, fashionable." Our young men today are being told that women are whores, bitches, things to be screwed, beaten, and shamed. This is a marketing holocaust. Twenty-fours hours a day for the rest of our lives, the powers that be are hard at work dumbing us to death."-Henry Barthes

"Front of the Class"

MAIN CHARACTERS 

• Brad Cohen 
• Norman Cohen 
• Ellen Cohen 
• Jeff Cohen 
• Nancy Lazarus
• Heather

Twelve-year-old Brad lives in Missouri with his divorcée mother, Ellen, and younger brother, Jeff. He constantly gets into trouble with his father Norman and his teachers at school due to his tics. In one class, his teacher calls him to the front to make him apologize to his class for disrupting the class and promise he won't do it again. Determined to find out what is wrong with her son, Ellen seeks medical help. A psychiatrist believes that Brad's tics are the result of his parents' divorce. One lady suggests an exorcism. Ellen takes her search to the library and comes across Tourette syndrome (TS) in a medical book. She shows this to the psychiatrist, who agrees with the diagnosis, and says that there is no cure. Brad and his mother attend a support group for the first and last time. From then on, Brad aspires to never be like the other members of the support group and to become successful.

At the beginning of middle school, Brad is sent to the principal's office for being disruptive. The Principal invites him to the school concert later in the afternoon. At the end of the concert, he calls Brad up to the stage and asks Brad to talk about his TS. As Brad makes his way back to his seat, the school applauds him.

As an adult, Brad lives with his house mate Ron in Georgia, and is looking for work as an elementary school teacher. He is turned down after many interviews because of his TS. He finally gets an interview where the staff are accepting and they give him the job.

On his first day, Brad explains his TS to the children. He helps Thomas with reading and makes an impression on Heather, a girl with terminal cancer. One student's father pulls her out of Brad's class as he fears Brad will distract her.

Brad meets Nancy on an online dating site and invites her over for Thanksgiving back at Ellen's house, where he tells Nancy he loves her, and the feeling is reciprocated. He confides in Ellen his concern that Nancy will get fed up of his tics, but she reassures him that he mustn't let his TS get in the way.

An observer at the school assesses Brad's teaching, and the headteacher announces that Brad has been chosen to receive the Teacher of the Year award, which he accepts his award in front his family, friends and students.

QUOTES

“Everyone, regardless of ability or disability, has strengths and weaknesses. Know what yours are. Build on your strengths and find a way around your weaknesses.” ― Brad Cohen

“You can’t judge a banana by the outside. The outside of the banana might be all bruised and discolored and look really nasty, but once you open the banana and peel the skin back, there could be a nice, clean, fresh banana inside. I also explained that there are all different kinds of bananas, just as there are all different kinds of people, and that we shouldn’t judge either the people or the bananas in our lives until we have the chance to “peel back the skin” and learn what’s inside.” ― Brad Cohen

“A positive outlook breeds success, just as a negative outlook breeds failure.” ― Brad Cohen

"Beyond the Blackboard"

MAIN CHARACTERS

• Stacey Bess
• Maria
• School's Representative 
• Greg Bess
• Dr. Warren
• Dana
• Terri

The story takes place in 1987 and follows a young teacher and mother of two who, fresh from college, ends up teaching homeless children at a school without a name. With the support of her husband, she overcomes fears and prejudice to give these children the education they deserve.

QUOTES

"Nobody Don't Love Nobody"-Stacey Bess

"They needed to see that I was real"-Stacey Bess

-Speech-

Dr. Alice Howland: Good morning. It's an honor to be here. The poet Elizabeth Bishoponce wrote: 'the Art of Losing isn't hard to master: so many things seem filled with the intent to be lost that their loss is no disaster.' I'm not a poet, I am a person living with Early Onset Alzheimer's, and as that person I find myself learning the art of losing every day. Losing my bearings, losing objects, losing sleep, but mostly losing memories...

Dr. Alice Howland: I think I'll try to forget that just happened.

Dr. Alice Howland: All my life I've accumulated memories - they've become, in a way, my most precious possessions. The night I met my husband, the first time I held my textbook in my hands. Having children, making friends, traveling the world. Everything I accumulated in life, everything I've worked so hard for - now all that is being ripped away. As you can imagine, or as you know, this is hell. But it gets worse. Who can take us seriously when we are so far from who we once were? Our strange behavior and fumbled sentences change other's perception of us and our perception of ourselves. We become ridiculous, incapable, comic. But this is not who we are, this is our disease. And like any disease it has a cause, it has a progression, and it could have a cure. My greatest wish is that my children, our children - the next generation - do not have to face what I am facing. But for the time being, I'm still alive. I know I'm alive. I have people I love dearly. I have things I want to do with my life. I rail against myself for not being able to remember things - but I still have moments in the day of pure happiness and joy. And please do not think that I am suffering. I am not suffering. I am struggling. Struggling to be part of things, to stay connected to whom I was once. So, 'live in the moment' I tell myself. It's really all I can do, live in the moment. And not beat myself up too much... and not beat myself up too much for mastering the art of losing. One thing I will try to hold onto though is the memory of speaking here today. It will go, I know it will. It may be gone by tomorrow. But it means so much to be talking here, today, like my old ambitious self who was so fascinated by communication. Thank you for this opportunity. It means the world to me. Thank you.

"Still Alice"

MAIN CHARACTERS 

• Alice Howland
• John Howland 
• Lydia Howland
• Anna Howland
• Tom Howland 
• Charlie Jones
• Benjamin 
• Professor Hooper
• Frederic Johnson

Is a compelling debut novel about a 50-year-old woman's sudden descent into early onset Alzheimer's disease, written by first-time author Lisa Genova, who holds a Ph. D in neuroscience from Harvard University.

Alice Howland, happily married with three grown children and a house on the Cape, is a celebrated Harvard professor at the height of her career when she notices a forgetfulness creeping into her life. 

As confusion starts to cloud her thinking and her memory begins to fail her, she receives a devastating diagnosis: early onset Alzheimer's disease. Fiercely independent, Alice struggles to maintain her lifestyle and live in the moment, even as her sense of self is being stripped away. In turns heartbreaking, inspiring and terrifying, Still Alice captures in remarkable detail what's it's like to literally lose your mind...

QUOTE

"Whiplash"

MAIN CHARACTERS

• Andrew Neiman
• Terence Fletcher
• Jim Neiman
• Nicole
• Ryan Connolly
• Carl Tanner
• Frank
• Travis
• Sophie
• Greg

This movie is about a teacher who helps a young man to make his biggest dream come true. Andrew Neiman is an ambitious young jazz drummer, single-minded in his pursuit to rise to the top of his elite east coast music conservatory. Plagued by the failed writing career of his father, Andrew hungers day and night to become one of the greats. Terence Fletcher, an instructor equally known for his teaching talents as for his terrifying methods, leads the top jazz ensemble in the school. Fletcher discovers Andrew and transfers the aspiring drummer into his band, forever changing the young man's life. Andrew's passion to achieve perfection quickly spirals into obsession, as his ruthless teacher continues to push him to the brink of both his ability-and his sanity.

QUOTES

"I was there to push people beyond what's expected of them. I believe that's an absolute necessity."-Terence Fletcher

"You're here for a reason."

"Dead Poets Society"

MAIN CHARACTERS

• John Keating 
• Todd Anderson
• Neil Perry
• Knox Overstreet
• Charlie Dalton ("Nuwanda")
• Steven Meeks 
• Richard Cameron
• Gerard Pitts
• Gale Nolan
• Mr. Perry
• Tina

Dead Poets Society explores the conflict between realism and romanticism as these contrasting ideals are presented to the students at an all boys preparatory school. Welton Academy is founded on tradition and excellence and is bent on providing strict structured lessons prescribed by the realist, anti-youth administration. With the dawning of each new semester, hundreds of parents abandon their sons, leaving them in the tried hands of Welton staff in hopes that they will raise doctors and lawyers. When a replacement English teacher arrives, who happens to be a Welton alumnus, he brings with him a passion for teaching romanticism, thus opening a never-before-seen world to his students.

QUOTES

"Boys, you must strive to find your own voice. Because the longer you wait to begin, the less likely you are to find it at all. Thoreau said, "Most men lead lives of quiet desperation." Don't be resigned to that. Break out!"-John Keating

"Now we all have a great need for acceptance, but you must trust that your beliefs are unique, your own, even though others may think them odd or unpopular, even though the herd may go."-John Keating

"The Ron Clarck Story"

MAIN CHARACTERS: 

• Ron Clarck 
• Tayshawn 
• Shameika 
• Julio
• Pricipal Turner 
• Marissa Vega
• Devina
• Howard

This movie follows the inspiring tale of an energetic, creative and idealistic young teacher who leaves his small North Carolina hometown to teach in a New York City public school. Through his passionate use of special rules for his classroom, highly innovative teaching techniques and an undying devotion to his students and helping them cope with their problems, Clark is able to make a remarkable difference in the lives of his students. For one young girl trying to attend school while helping to raise her 3 siblings, he offers a chance for her to overcome her situation and become the top student of the class. For a young man with a penchant for graffiti, he offers an ideal outlet for artistic expression. Even when he is almost overcome by pneumonia, Clark continues to work with his students, hoping that he can raise their test scores to an acceptable level, or possibly even higher.

However, when Clark returns, he finds out his class did not deliver the goods but he remains optimistic about their chances. The kids sit in the state exams and a few weeks later, Clark takes the kids to see Phantom of the Opera. In the end, Principal Turner reveals that Mr. Clark's class got the highest average (they got a higher score than the honor class) in the school and Clark was regarded by his students as their best teacher.

QUOTES:

"The problem isn't the kids. It's not even what they can achieve. The problem is what you expect them to achieve. You are setting the bar here. Why? Set it up here! They can make it."-Ron Clarck

" I tell my students to go for what they want in life - dream big, take risks. It's time I start living up to my own words."-Ron Clarck

"You - are not - losers."