"Chalk"

The one word I can find to describe the teachers of chalk is "dysfunctional." Each one was blessed with his or her giant flaw conveniently manufactured by the writers, of course. I could tolerate most of the shortcomings, finding them mildly humorous; the high-strung AP, the gym teacher and her obsession for rules, the history teacher with zero classroom management. The one that I could not laugh at, however, was the Social Studies teacher. He had his sights set on the Teacher of the Year award, and could focus on little else but himself. His students learned little to nothing in his class, and at one point he even told off a student for knowing more about history than he did. "Act a little bit dumber, please. You are making me look bad."

That holds little humor to me. The fact that children are not learning is not a laughing matter, but rather one of real and serious consequence. I am unaware of how many teachers actually forgo learning for superficial relationships with students, to be perceived as a "cool" or popular teacher. There is nothing of substance, no real learning happening in that classroom. Children are reading the subtle hints that knowledge isn't actually important. It is more important to be liked. It is more important to have fun.

Superficially, I enjoyed the movie. But the things it hints at make me wary.

Miss Gabbert