LIST: Memorable fictional teachers and the greatest life lessons they bring
Oct. 5 is World Teachers' Day.
Many individuals surely have teachers they have core memories with, from elementary to college.
There are also a number of fictional teachers that are just as memorable to generations of viewers. They have not only made an impression with how they look on-screen, but also how they spoke and acted in their respective stories.
Here are some of them and their greatest life lessons, as seen in movies and series.
Justice Hernandez – Bar Boys
Justice Hernandez (Odette Khan), a retired Supreme Court justice who's known for being a strict and exacting professor, teaches viewers to never let failure stop us from pursuing our goals.
In one of the movie's most iconic scenes, Hernandez gives a pep talk to the main character Erik, who failed the Bar exam on the heels of his father's death. Erik is mulling over starting a business, if not joining the BPO industry, instead.
She quoted Rainer Maria Rilke as saying the purpose of life is to be defeated by greater and greater things.
"Kung hindi ka natatalo, hindi ka na gumagalaw. Look at you, you're still here," she said. "Every time you say to want to quit, you're just asking for help. And it takes strength to ask for help. What's it going to be? Do you fight or do you quit?"
Albus Dumbledore – Harry Potter
Albus Dumbledore—the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Richard Harris; Michael Gambon) in Harry Potter—has notable nuggets of wisdom about life and relationships.
In Sorcerer's Stone, when he awarded extra points to Gryffindor for the House Cup, he commended Neville for trying to stop Harry, Ron, and Hermione from sneaking out at night, which is against school rules.
"There are all kinds of courage. It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends," he said.
In Prisoner of Azkaban, Dumbledore welcomed students during their Year Three at Hogwarts even as he warned them about Dementors, spectral creatures that may harm them. But he assured them that there is always hope in life.
"Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if only one remembers to turn on the light," he said.
In The Deathly Hallows, when Harry was initially apparently killed by Voldemort, he saw Dumbledore in a purgatory-like place in the form of King's Cross. Dumbledore reminded him of the power that words hold.
“Words are, in my opinion, the most inexhaustible source of magic. Capable of inflicting injury and remedying it," he said.
Dewey Finn – School of Rock
Rock band frontman Dewey Finn (Jack Black) isn't exactly a teacher, as he only poses as his roommate to get the part-time position at Horace Green prep school for money.
But seeing his students' talent in music class inspired Finn to mentor them for Battle of the Bands, and viewers can learn about excelling in a particular field (in this case music) as long as there's enough passion and commitment.
He gives the students different roles in the band. He's also ever-patient and gives constructive criticism as he helps improve the students' playing skills.
More importantly, Finn made the students have better self-esteem as their rehearsals progressed.
Finn was able to reassure Lawrence who was feeling "uncool," comfort Zack, whose father disapproves of rock, and motivate Tomika, an overweight girl who felt insecure to become lead vocalist despite her powerful voice.
Ultimately, Finn influences the kids to embrace their talents and he eventually becomes an actual music coach to them.
He also teaches viewers how music can make life more bearable and especially exciting.
Emily Sands – Sex Education
English teacher Emily Sands (Rakhee Thakrar) from the hit Netflix series shows the importance of having an educator who strongly believes in her students—even taking inspiration from them herself.
In Season 2, she was the one who pushed for the main character Maeve to apply for the Aptitude Scheme. When Maeve didn't submit an essay for the scheme as she forgot but disclosed later on that she got ashamed and felt she didn't belong, Sands assured her that she deserves to be there and that her essay shows she's an "original thinker" and a "beautiful writer." She even made her the head of the Moordale Secondary's quiz team.
In Season 3, a new headmaster took over Moordale and implemented strict rules that eventually prompted students to protest—and ultimately led to investors pulling out school funding. With Moordale shutting down, students felt their protest was useless, but Sands told them, "Speaking up for what you believe is never a waste of time."
In Season 4, Sands said Maeve inspired her to take up a master's degree in literature, noting how she's so "unbelievably proud" of her former student.
"Teaching you when you've had so much working against you has been one of the greatest privileges of my career," Sands said.
Erin Gruwell – Freedom Writers
Erin Gruwell (Hillary Swank)—a real-life high school English teacher whose 1999 nonfiction book inspired the movie—informs viewers how much influence a teacher wields and how she must set a good example to lead students to the right path.
Gruwell teaches at Woodrow Wilson High School, which is populated by at-risk students including people of color, against the backdrop of Los Angeles riots and gang violence.
During one class, she confiscated a racist drawing and lectured how "it starts with a drawing like this, and then some kid dies in the drive-by never knowing what hit him." This ultimately led to Gruwell teaching about the Holocaust, in which White student Ben wasn't aware of. Eventually, Black student Marcus becomes motivated to learn more about it.
Gruwell also shows viewers the value of journal writing, as she encourages students to write about their traumatic experiences.
As the story progresses, Gruwell is able to make students open up and feel more comfortable about themselves.
She was eventually able to prepare them to graduate high school and enter college, which was the first time for many of the students' families.
John Keating – Dead Poets Society
English teacher John Keating (Robin Williams) teaches us how literature enriches lives and makes us better human beings.
Keating asked students to rip off a page from their textbook that instructs "measuring" poetry as if it were a mathematical equation. He said they have to learn to savor words and language, as ideas can change the world.
He rhetorically asked whether literature has no use in business or medical school, and asked his students to huddle up.
"We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion," Keating said.
While he acknowledged the necessity of "noble pursuits" like medicine, law, business, and engineering to sustain life, he noted that we all stay alive for poetry, beauty, romance, and love.
Keating also earlier encouraged students to make their lives extraordinary, look at things in a different way (by standing on his desk), and how conformity can harm one's own beliefs (by urging students to come up with their own walk instead of doing a military march; a student even refuses to do so, thereby illustrating Keating's point).
Walter White – Breaking Bad
High school chemistry teacher turned drug kingpin Walter White (Bryan Cranston) isn't exactly a good example to viewers of the critically acclaimed series.
In the series, the initially mild-mannered White was diagnosed with lung cancer and thought of providing financial security for his family via the drug trade. He partnered with his former student Jesse Pinkman.
Along the way, he became egotistical, cunning, greedy, murderous, and abusive—at the expense of his loved ones—as long as he got what he wanted.
White's story serves as a cautionary tale about how the end doesn't justify the means and how actions have consequences.
It also highlights the sanctity of human life and the most obvious of them all: Never enter the drug trade.