Daily Dialogue — May 31, 2016

Mark Thackeray: You will be adults in a few weeks, with all the responsibilities. From now on, you will be treated as such by me and by each other… as adults. Responsible adults. Next, we´ll be reasonable with each other. We are just going to talk, you and I. You are going to listen without interruption. And when I am finished, one of you may have your say. Without interruptions. Next…

Pamela bursts into the room and bustles to her seat.

Pamela: What a morning! Everything´s gone wrong. First, the alarm didn´t go off. Then I had to wait hours for a bus. I must have stood there three bleeding hours…
Mark Thackeray: Example: There are two ways to enter a room. One is like an adult, a lady with dignity. The other is like a brat. Miss Dare has shown us the second way. Perhaps you´d demonstrate the first.

Pamela stands, exits the room, then reenters, stopping at the front of the classroom.

Pamela: I´m sorry I´m late.
Mark Thackeray: Next…we are all going to observe certain courtesies in this classroom. You will call me Sir or Mr. Thackeray. The young ladies will be addressed as Miss… the boys by their surnames.
Boy: Why should we call them Miss? We know them.
Mark Thackeray: I beg your pardon?
Boy: I said, why should we call them Miss? We know them.
Mark Thackeray: Is there a young lady you feel… does not deserve to be addressed as Miss?
Boy: No, Sir.
Mark Thackeray: Good. Next, general deportment. First, the young ladies. They must prove worthy of the courtesies we will show them. Soon, boyfriends and marriage will concern you. No man likes a slut for long. Only the worst type will marry one. And the competition for men on the outside is rough. Next, men. I´ve seen garbage collectors who are cleaner. Toughness is a quality of the mind… like bravery, honesty and ambition. If you want to wear your hair long, clean it… else you´ll soon get lice and smell. Soon your principle interest will be girls. You will be more attractive with clean clothes, clean shoes… hands, face, teeth, et cetera. Any questions?

— To Sir With Love (1967), written for the screen by James Clavell, novel by E.R. Braithwaite

The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Teacher.

Trivia: The film did so unexpectedly well in America that Columbia Pictures did market research to find out why so many people had gone to it. Their answer: Sidney Poitier.

Dialogue On Dialogue: This is some tough love by Thackeray laid down in an early meeting with these students in the slums of London. By the end of the movie, the youths have taken the tough love to heart.