Clip #1: Monsieur Lazhar https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCfq9nYZKpU
In the movie « Monsieur Lazhar », an Algerian immigrant comes to Canada, hoping to find a new job. He takes up the post of teacher, despite not having the qualifications, filling the spot of a teacher who had recently committed suicide. As most of the members of the school are deeply traumatized by the event, Monsieur Lazhar encourages the students to talk about the issue of suicide, and to be open about their feelings. What makes this such a good example of teaching is that Monsieur Lazhar goes out of his way to help his students: He is not obligated to help them mentally, as pointed out by a student, but he still believes that it is important for the students to express their feelings. Upon one of the children, Simon, confessing that he feels guilty for having caused the previous teacher to commit suicide, Monsieur Lazhar also takes time to comfort him, despite the fact that he knew that the previous teacher had committed suicide due to an allegation of physical contact with a student.
Clip #2: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s stone https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_r_3qN6l0Q
In “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s stone”, Harry’s first potions class shows Professor Severus Snape acting in an extremely inappropriate way: He makes it abundantly clear that he is biased against Harry, going so far as to call him out and humiliate him in front the class, asking him questions that he would not be able to answer. While not pictured in this scene, Snape’s bias against Harry continues throughout the rest of the series, and while a justification is given, it is not an acceptable way to teach. As a teacher’s job is to give each student a proper education, showing unfair biases against students can influence their desire to learn and impede the accumulation of knowledge.
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