Daily Dialogue — November 14, 2012

Student: They got their minds made up about us, Mr. Thackeray.
Mark Thackeray: Then change them.
Student: Yeah, right! Maybe that would work where you’re from or where you went. You know, you run off to England and you teach in some school and you REALLY think you’re something, don’t you?
Mark Thackeray: I AM something — everyone is.
Student: Well, in this country you’re nothin’. It don’t matter how many schools you teach in… you and me, we walk down the street and all people are gonna see is black skin.
Mark Thackeray: What do you want them to see?
Student: Me.
Mark Thackeray: Who are you? Do you see YOU the way you want to be seen? Then you must see character in yourself, discipline in yourself, determination in yourself — to survive — with dignity, no matter how tough the world around you is. Is that who you are? If not, is that who you want to be? If so, come… let’s go walk down a street and see what we can GET them to see.

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

This week’s Daily Dialogue theme is Teacher-Student, suggested by Teddy Pasternak. Today’s suggestion by Bambookiller.

Trivia: The film was held from release for more than a year until Columbia Pictures decided to open it in Westwood, California in the summer of 1967 where it really broke through.

Dialogue On Dialogue: Commentary from Bambookiller: “To Sir, With Love is definitely my all-time favorite teacher movie. This is a film in which the kids and the teacher learn from each other. He makes mistakes and they make mistakes and eventually they learn to respect themselves and each other more. And this is a scene exactly about that — about respecting yourself so others respect you.

This is what teaching is about.

Dangerous Minds is a silly movie, is my point.”