Films introduce us to teachers of all types trying their best to pass on what they think is important and meaningful to their students. Everyone knows that teachers are not paid enough and that they are often underappreciated. These films inspire us to cherish and honor them in our hearts.

  • Akeelah and the Bee
    An eleven-year-old African-American girl gains a new perspective on life when she discovers that she has more teachers than she can imagine to help her in a spelling bee competition.
  • Anna and the King
    An English schoolteacher arrives in Siam to educate the King's children and begins a cross-cultural adventure.
  • The Browning Version
    A stern classics professor at an exclusive boy's school is forced into an early retirement and some honest soul-searching.
  • Conrack
    An idealistic teacher tries to arouse in his black students on a small island off the coast of South Carolina a love of learning and life.
  • Dangerous Minds
    A zealous inner city teacher makes her students feel good about themselves and their potential.
  • Dead Poets Society
    A charismatic and unconventional teacher challenges his students to seize the day and make their lives extraordinary.
  • Educating Rita
    A hairdresser with a thirst for learning and a rumpled professor transform each other in their encounters across class lines.
  • Finding Forrester
    A reclusive writer tutors a talented African-American boy who lives in the Bronx and has a way with words.
  • Freedom Writers
    An idealistic high school teacher An inspiring drama about an idealistic teacher who breaks down the walls separating her students from each other and enables them to celebrate their unity in diversity.
  • It All Starts Today
    A kindergarten teacher in a small French mining town where the unemployment rate is 34 percent shows what it means to be dedicated to the welfare of his pint-sized students.
  • The Karate Kid
    A handyman begins tutoring a fatherless boy in the art of karate and winds up exposing him to the path of self mastery.
  • Les Choristes
    A choir teacher in a boy's school makes a big difference in his students' lives by showing them the healing power of music.
  • Mr. Holland's Opus
    A high school music teacher's passion, patience, and kindness over the long haul help him turn his job into a soul-satisfying vocation.
  • Music of the Heart
    An unorthodox music teacher works wonders in three inner city schools teaching kids to play the violin.
  • The Paper Chase
    A law student is alternately terrified and fascinated by a self-possessed professor who uses a Socratic method of teaching.
  • Sylvia
    A New Zealand pioneer in education, who is usually mentioned in the company of Maria Montessori and Summerhill's A. S. Neill, is profiled in this biodrama.
  • Teachers
    A spunky and outrageous comedy about the errors, inadequacies and structural deficiencies of an overcrowded and underfunded urban high school centers around some teachers who are trying to make the best of a bad situation.
  • To Be and To Have
    A beautifully crafted French documentary focuses on a dedicated teacher of rural children in a one-room schoolhouse who savors the magic moments when the kids' learning yields insight and delight.

More Films on Teaching