“To Sir with Love” – By Sydney Poitier
July, 4, 2010
This classic 1972 movie touches certain topics traditionally present in the educational industry and first year teachers. The movie focuses on a black man born in British Guyana and his difficulties during his first year of teaching. Coming to work at a school after failing to find work as an engineer for 18 months, “Sir” decides to teach at risk children at a London school. At first the job proves trying as children attempts to find ways to make him lose temper. “Sir” attempt at first to teach them to harsh discipline, but the children prove hard to reach. By slamming the door, talking to their classmates, rocking back and forth their desks, purposely reading poorly, the students make him lose it one day in which he yells at the children and momentarily dismisses half of the classroom.
Later that day, he realizes that unlike any other of the jobs he has held before, (which included from cleaning latrines to waiter to working for an oil company) this is the first time he has truly lost his cool on the job. It is then however when he feels unable to reach them that he decides that he needs to treat this young adults as such, instead of treating them as children, he will treat them as individuals who will soon be part of the productive sector of society.
By telling them that they most treat each other properly and address each other formally with Sir and Miss, the children start to turn and begin to act respectfully in his classroom. As in a more recent movie Coach Carter, To Sir with Love highlights how by treating other properly and not as children but as responsible individuals, with this increased expectation the students begin to act accordingly and he quickly turn about the class, despite a couple of events (by a still rebellious niche of students), into a generally productive and respectful environment.
While this is not possible for all subjects and teachers, he transforms his literature class into a humanities classroom where students can ask questions about any topic and discuss them orderly in a forum. The students talk about rebellion, sex, jobs, and even discuss race.
As black actors in the 1960s and 1970s, various of Poitier films include mentions or discussion of race relations. This movie is not an exception. At the end of the school year, the students discuss with him that “people” would gossip if they went into a colored person home and that they would not hand the flowers to the black man at the funeral. “Sir” was very hurt by this reminder of the continuous racial tension in society but he was comforted by a student (a white girl) who decided she would hand the flowers. Fortunately, in the end of the movie, the whole class was there as well with flowers.
The movie is well produced and it touches on the influence a teacher can have in students when a teacher sets high expectations, but act respectfully towards the students who then act respectfully towards one another and they look up towards the instructor. The mutual respect grows into the students changing various negative deviant and disrespectful behaviors but not because of fear but rather by reason and evaluating their actions. This same respect also led to the growth of both the teacher and the students.
One of his most successful teaching days was a visit to a museum, where the children interacted with ancient sculptures and paintings. Before taking other after the PE teacher resigned, he tried to take the children in a field trip on a weekly basis.
I greatly recommend this film to anyone interested in teaching as a practitioner or administrator. This films shows the difficulties in finding ways of reaching children as well as the problems in the industry which include a high turnover rate. Despite his success as a teacher and being beloved by the children and the community, “Sir” decides to leave teaching for the trade he studied at college, an engineering job.
Hope you also enjoy the movie,
Alfonso Sintjago
