What numbers are the kids in our classrooms given everyday?
Watching the film The
Way Way Back today reminded me of the positive influence we teachers can
have on students.
The film starts with the main character, Duncan played by
Liam James, being given a free character assessment by the critical,
hypocritical, future step-father, Trent played by Steve Carell. Asked to give
himself a rating out of ten, Duncan like most people struggles to come up with
an answer. How can you judge your own worth? What aspects of ourselves do we
focus on? Pressed he comes up with a safe answer of six, middle of the road and
safely uncommitted. However, Trent is not to be stopped and roughly informs him
he is in fact a three. A three! Duncan sits there speechless as Trent then
proceeds to list his faults and ends with a half-hearted pep talk to use the
trip as a chance to improve his score.
Needless to say, this is a somewhat comedic moment, the
archetypal start to a coming of age film. However, this is in fact a sad
reflection of how many of our students come to us. They may not be told in such
a blunt way how much they are valued, and indeed some may be told their faults
on a regular basis, but the labels they get in the non-school world hangs
around their necks whether they like it or not.
Unsurprisingly, when Trent tries to get Duncan to follow a
simple curfew and house rules later in the film he meets strong resistance.
Taking the moral high ground he says that they need to work together based on
trust and respect for the sake of the family. To me this is the funnier moment
of the two: after disrespecting Duncan in the car, making him wear a life
jacket unnecessarily on a boat trip and generally treating him like a slave, he
says that Duncan lacks respect for him – the pot calling the kettle black in
any language.
However, the issues of respect and trust are central to
productive and friendly classrooms. Unless you can develop a trusting, caring
environment then students will not be willing to take risks and explore all
their talents. Unfortunately, how they learn to show this respect and develop
this trust may be undermined by the home and outside world. From simple acts of
discourtesy on public transport or in the shops to road rage and our
politicians abusing each other every night on the news, our students are exposed
to models of behaviour that promote disrespect, rudeness and the individual
above all.
Fortunately, the film has the saving character of the water
park operator Owen, a man child who follows his own path after experiencing similar
bad parenting to what Duncan has to put up with. Owen shows patience with
Duncan, first to break through the awkwardness to make a connection then later
to build his self-worth. Owen doesn’t judge Duncan as a three, nor does he put
any number on him whatsoever. He sees a human being not having a good time and
tries to help him out. Moreover, by giving him a job and extra responsibilities,
he is able to show Duncan his inner strength and that he is valued by others.
While I know this is just a film and that this may fairly be
called pointless psychoanalysis of a well-worn plot, I think we all have the
responsibility of being more like Owen and not like Trent. We are role models
for our students and the way we treat each other, colleagues and other school
staff, in a respectful way is vital to showing them the right ways to act.
Particularly as the world gets more isolated, through increasing online
communication, it is important we show students the need to value everyone.
In a lovely touch at the end of the film, Owen stands up to
Trent as Duncan finally breaks free and says, “I’m friends with the number 3.”
The horrible label has come full circle from critical, hurtful label to a badge
of friendship. Hopefully, we can all stand up for our students, regardless of
their number, to show them that we value them for them because that is enough.
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