Teacher Appreciation Day: School/Teacher-Related Movie or Series
by NVanKerr | created - 04 May 2018 | updated - 07 May 2018 | PublicMay 8, 2018 has been designated National Teacher Appreciation Day in the US. As an educator myself, I have chosen the following movies and series, from various genres, featuring teachers and/or school environments.
Which of these is your personal favorite?
After voting, you may discuss here.
Special thanks to Dan Dassow, Jen & Rubyfruit76 for their assistance with and contributions to this list.
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1. Detachment (2011)
Not Rated | 98 min | Drama
A substitute teacher who drifts from classroom to classroom finds a connection to the students and teachers during his latest assignment.
Director: Tony Kaye | Stars: Adrien Brody, Christina Hendricks, Marcia Gay Harden, Lucy Liu
Votes: 99,202 | Gross: $0.07M
2. Dead Poets Society (1989)
PG | 128 min | Comedy, Drama
Maverick teacher John Keating returns in 1959 to the prestigious New England boys' boarding school where he was once a star student, using poetry to embolden his pupils to new heights of self-expression.
Director: Peter Weir | Stars: Robin Williams, Robert Sean Leonard, Ethan Hawke, Josh Charles
Votes: 546,455 | Gross: $95.86M
3. To Sir, with Love (1967)
Approved | 105 min | Drama
Idealistic engineer-trainee and his experiences in teaching a group of rambunctious white high school students from the slums of London's East End.
Director: James Clavell | Stars: Sidney Poitier, Judy Geeson, Christian Roberts, Suzy Kendall
Votes: 20,433 | Gross: $42.43M
4. Dangerous Minds (1995)
R | 99 min | Biography, Drama
LouAnne, a retired US marine, becomes a teacher in a Californian high school. But her mostly Latino and black students from an impoverished and racially segregated locality do not easily embrace her.
Director: John N. Smith | Stars: Michelle Pfeiffer, George Dzundza, Courtney B. Vance, Robin Bartlett
Votes: 57,091 | Gross: $84.92M
5. Music of the Heart (1999)
PG | 124 min | Drama, Music
After Roberta Guaspari separates from her husband, she receives encouragement from her mother to take up a job of a music teacher at the Central Park East School in East Harlem.
Director: Wes Craven | Stars: Meryl Streep, Cloris Leachman, Henry Dinhofer, Michael Angarano
Votes: 13,330 | Gross: $14.86M
6. Freedom Writers (2007)
PG-13 | 123 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
A young teacher inspires her class of at-risk students to learn tolerance, apply themselves and pursue education beyond high school.
Director: Richard LaGravenese | Stars: Hilary Swank, Imelda Staunton, Patrick Dempsey, Scott Glenn
Votes: 85,410 | Gross: $36.61M
7. Half Nelson (2006)
R | 106 min | Drama
An inner-city junior high school teacher with a drug habit forms an unlikely friendship with one of his students after she discovers his secret.
Director: Ryan Fleck | Stars: Ryan Gosling, Anthony Mackie, Shareeka Epps, Jeff Lima
Votes: 91,971 | Gross: $2.69M
8. Remember the Titans (2000)
PG | 113 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
In 1971 Virginia high school football was everything to the people of Alexandria. But when the school board was forced to integrate an all-black school with an all-white one, the very foundation of football's tradition was put to the test.
Director: Boaz Yakin | Stars: Denzel Washington, Will Patton, Wood Harris, Ryan Hurst
Votes: 232,003 | Gross: $115.65M
9. School of Rock (2003)
PG-13 | 109 min | Comedy, Music
After being kicked out of his rock band, Dewey Finn becomes a substitute teacher of an uptight elementary private school, only to try and turn his class into a rock band.
Director: Richard Linklater | Stars: Jack Black, Mike White, Joan Cusack, Adam Pascal
Votes: 330,976 | Gross: $81.26M
10. October Sky (1999)
PG | 108 min | Biography, Drama, Family
The true story of Homer Hickam, a coal miner's son who was inspired by the first Sputnik launch to take up rocketry against his father's wishes.
Director: Joe Johnston | Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Chris Cooper, Laura Dern, Chris Owen
Votes: 98,085 | Gross: $32.48M
11. Won't Back Down (2012)
PG | 121 min | Drama
Two determined mothers, one a teacher, look to transform their children's failing inner city school. Facing a powerful and entrenched bureaucracy, they risk everything to make a difference in the education and future of their children.
Director: Daniel Barnz | Stars: Viola Davis, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Holly Hunter, Oscar Isaac
Votes: 6,877 | Gross: $5.31M
12. Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969)
G | 155 min | Drama, Musical, Romance
A shy, withdrawn English schoolteacher falls for a flashy showgirl.
Director: Herbert Ross | Stars: Peter O'Toole, Petula Clark, Michael Redgrave, George Baker
Votes: 3,836 | Gross: $2.55M
13. Mr. Holland's Opus (1995)
PG | 143 min | Drama, Music
A frustrated composer finds fulfillment as a high school music teacher.
Director: Stephen Herek | Stars: Richard Dreyfuss, Glenne Headly, Jay Thomas, Olympia Dukakis
Votes: 41,719 | Gross: $82.57M
14. Stand and Deliver (1988)
PG | 103 min | Biography, Drama
The story of Jaime Escalante, a high school teacher who successfully inspired his dropout-prone students to learn calculus.
Director: Ramón Menéndez | Stars: Edward James Olmos, Estelle Harris, Mark Phelan, Virginia Paris
Votes: 22,347 | Gross: $13.99M
15. Cheaters (2000 TV Movie)
R | 108 min | Drama
Eleven students conspire with their teacher to cheat on an academic competition.
Director: John Stockwell | Stars: Jeff Daniels, Jena Malone, Paul Sorvino, Luke Edwards
Votes: 3,850
16. Teachers (2001–2004)
TV-MA | 50 min | Comedy, Drama
Comedy drama that follows the exploits of school staff both inside and out of the classroom.
Stars: Ursula Holden Gill, Lloyd McGuire, Gillian Bevan, Ellen Thomas
Votes: 3,890
17. Boy Meets World (1993–2000)
TV-PG | 23 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
An adolescent with two siblings tests his various theories about life as he endures the trials of growing up alongside a good friend.
Stars: Ben Savage, Rider Strong, William Daniels, Betsy Randle
Votes: 46,431
18. Riverdale (2017–2023)
TV-14 | 45 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
While navigating the troubled waters of romance, school and family, Archie and his gang become entangled in dark Riverdale mysteries.
Stars: Lili Reinhart, Camila Mendes, Cole Sprouse, K.J. Apa
Votes: 155,235
19. The Magicians (2015–2020)
TV-14 | 60 min | Drama, Fantasy, Mystery
After being recruited to a secretive academy, a group of students discovers that the magic they read about as children is very real--and more dangerous than they ever imagined.
Stars: Stella Maeve, Hale Appleman, Arjun Gupta, Summer Bishil
Votes: 56,230
20. Glee (2009–2015)
TV-PG | 44 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
A group of ambitious misfits try to escape the harsh realities of high school by joining a glee club headed by a passionate Spanish teacher.
Stars: Lea Michele, Jane Lynch, Matthew Morrison, Cory Monteith
Votes: 155,497
21. Boston Public (2000–2006)
60 min | Comedy, Drama
The lives of 10 faculty members at a high school in Boston weave in and out of dealing with trouble-makers, having a personal life, and keeping sanity.
Stars: Loretta Devine, Anthony Heald, Fyvush Finkel, Chi McBride
Votes: 6,303
22. Community (2009–2015)
TV-14 | 22 min | Comedy
A suspended lawyer is forced to enroll in a community college with an eccentric staff and student body.
Stars: Joel McHale, Danny Pudi, Donald Glover, Chevy Chase
Votes: 293,623
23. Welcome Back, Kotter (1975–1979)
TV-PG | 30 min | Comedy
A compassionate teacher returns to his inner city high school of his youth to teach a new generation of trouble making kids.
Stars: Gabe Kaplan, Ron Palillo, John Travolta, Marcia Strassman
Votes: 7,544
24. Daria (1997–2002)
TV-PG | 30 min | Animation, Comedy, Drama
A smart and cynical girl goes through teenage life as a proud outsider in a world of mainly idiotic adolescents and condescending adults.
Stars: Tracy Grandstaff, Wendy Hoopes, Julian Rebolledo, John Lynn
Votes: 27,249
25. Anna and the King (1999)
PG-13 | 148 min | Drama, History, Romance
The story of the romance between the King of Siam and widowed British schoolteacher, Anna Leonowens, during the 1860s.
Director: Andy Tennant | Stars: Jodie Foster, Chow Yun-Fat, Bai Ling, Tom Felton
Votes: 38,994 | Gross: $39.26M
26. The Paper Chase (1973)
PG | 113 min | Comedy, Drama
A first-year law student at Harvard Law School struggles with balancing his coursework and a woman, unaware that she has a connection that affects their relationship.
Director: James Bridges | Stars: Timothy Bottoms, Lindsay Wagner, John Houseman, Graham Beckel
Votes: 8,694 | Gross: $1.85M
27. Temple Grandin (2010 TV Movie)
TV-PG | 107 min | Biography, Drama
A biopic of Temple Grandin, an autistic woman who has become one of the top scientists in the humane livestock handling industry.
Director: Mick Jackson | Stars: Claire Danes, Julia Ormond, David Strathairn, Catherine O'Hara
Votes: 32,589
28. Mona Lisa Smile (2003)
PG-13 | 117 min | Drama
A free-thinking art professor teaches conservative 1950s Wellesley girls to question their traditional social roles.
Director: Mike Newell | Stars: Julia Roberts, Kirsten Dunst, Julia Stiles, Maggie Gyllenhaal
Votes: 90,984 | Gross: $63.86M
29. Legally Blonde (2001)
PG-13 | 96 min | Comedy, Romance
Elle Woods, a fashionable sorority queen, is dumped by her boyfriend. She decides to follow him to law school. While she is there, she figures out that there is more to her than just looks.
Director: Robert Luketic | Stars: Reese Witherspoon, Luke Wilson, Selma Blair, Matthew Davis
Votes: 248,337 | Gross: $96.52M
30. Cherry Falls (1999)
R | 92 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
In the small town of Cherry Falls, a psychotic murderer is killing off the virgins of the local high school.
Director: Geoffrey Wright | Stars: Brittany Murphy, Jay Mohr, Michael Biehn, Jesse Bradford
Votes: 14,769
31. Urban Legend (1998)
R | 99 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A college student suspects a series of bizarre deaths are connected to certain urban legends.
Director: Jamie Blanks | Stars: Jared Leto, Alicia Witt, Rebecca Gayheart, Michael Rosenbaum
Votes: 71,506 | Gross: $38.07M
32. The Edge of Seventeen (2016)
R | 104 min | Comedy, Drama
High-school life gets even more unbearable for Nadine when her best friend, Krista, starts dating her older brother.
Director: Kelly Fremon Craig | Stars: Hailee Steinfeld, Haley Lu Richardson, Blake Jenner, Kyra Sedgwick
Votes: 140,244 | Gross: $14.43M
33. Election (1999)
R | 103 min | Comedy, Romance
A high school teacher meets his match in an over-achieving student politician.
Director: Alexander Payne | Stars: Matthew Broderick, Reese Witherspoon, Loren Nelson, Chris Klein
Votes: 104,571 | Gross: $14.88M
34. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)
PG | 152 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy
An orphaned boy enrolls in a school of wizardry, where he learns the truth about himself, his family and the terrible evil that haunts the magical world.
Director: Chris Columbus | Stars: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Richard Harris
Votes: 856,395 | Gross: $317.58M
35. Monsieur Lazhar (2011)
PG-13 | 95 min | Comedy, Drama
At a Montréal public grade school, an Algerian immigrant is hired to replace a popular teacher who committed suicide in her classroom. While helping his students deal with their grief, his own recent loss is revealed.
Director: Philippe Falardeau | Stars: Mohamed Fellag, Sophie Nélisse, Émilien Néron, Danielle Proulx
Votes: 21,189 | Gross: $2.01M
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