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Many questions were raised during our discussion on Tuesday, some which really got me thinking. I always thought that a “role model” was someone that others could look up to because of their achievements, morals etc. but now I don’t exactly know what a “role model” consists of. Is it someone who you can learn from by his or her faults, someone who inspires one; I’m not quite sure. After watching the movie “Half Nelson”, I personally would say that I did not think the teacher was a good role model.
First of all, the fact that he was doing drugs in a place where his students were able to find him was VERY irresponsible. Yes, I understand that if we saw the amount of people that do drugs or have done drugs that teach, there might not be many teachers, BUT I also think that there is a time and a place for someone who chooses to go down that path to make use of their drugs. The workplace is NOT one of them. I think that when one is a teacher, they should keep their personal life out of the classroom. One should be professional, and do their job, I’m not saying to be perfect or be a robot or be inhuman, but I think that there is a time and a place for everything. Choose what you are doing, when you are doing it, what you are doing and whom you will affect by doing it wisely.
This movie did depress me, I was hoping that this movie was going to show the growth between the teacher and the student, both coming out strong and away from drug abuse, or just that type of situation in general. Instead I feel that the teacher just got more and more involved with drugs. I think that the relationship between the student and the teacher became too personal at one point. I think that when being a teacher you need to go into that classroom with barriers in mind. I’m not saying shut out your students and don’t gain their trust, but I just strongly believe that their certainly are boundaries whether they are known or not in a classroom.
To me, the first boundary that was crossed in this situation was when the teacher drove the student home. This just put an extra responsibility on top of the teacher. I think that the teacher has enough responsibility in the classroom as it is, but it is not the job of the teacher to make sure the student gets home everyday. Once class is over, I don’t think that the teacher should necessarily be accountable for the student’s whereabouts. I also thought that he was getting a little to involved with who she was hanging out with, especially Frankie.
I am fully aware that this might have been a way to show that the student learned from the teacher to take a different path than he or her brother did, but I was also disappointed with the movie. I think it was great to show how he connected to the students’ world especially in the scene where they are all discussing the “big machine”. On the other hand, I also think that this was a great way to point out what NOT to do as a teacher. I know that I can not go around saying what the proper way to teach the class is, or how to build relationships with one’s students, but I personally don’t see myself going about it the same way as this movie.