After completing her service as a marine LuAnn Johnson, goes to work at the Californian college. A woman knows that she is better off hiding her past, so she will not cause unnecessary gossip; therefore, she comes up with some facts about her past life. LuAnn teaches English to students, and this does not scare her, because a simple job finally gives her a break from the stressful everyday life that she had during the service. However, the students immediately show LuAnn their severe and dangerous characters. Natives of the lower class of the population, are busy with their personal life, teenage worries, and prohibited means, and the study is in the last place.
This film shows the viewer the profession of a teacher in several ways. Firstly, the film represents some unrealistic parts of the teaching profession. For example, the main character repeatedly violates the dress code, trying to attract the attention of her students (Dangerous Minds, 14:30 – 23:30). Secondly, LuAnn teaches karate to students, which also contradicts the rules of the institution and can even lead to legal proceedings in case of injury.
Despite this, there are quite realistic scenes; for example, one where the teacher reads the poem to her students and receives a response. As Jeong claims in her article, “it is a significant turning point for the students to stop being victimized and to accept their reality with more positive and serious attitudes” (49). Even though before the children did not even think about learning, they understand the meaning of the words and change their attitude towards poetry.
The described film reveals the teaching profession from a new perspective, not only as a provider of knowledge but also as a person who can teach the children to think and change their attitude towards life. The unique position of the main character towards each student and the rewriting of a strict curriculum helped to change the stubborn children of the ghetto (Ebert, 1995). The teacher, among other things, should help people find hope and determine their choice of the life path, and the primary way for this is caring and an individual approach.
Works Cited
Dangerous Minds. Directed by Smith, J. N., and produced by Simpson, D., & Bruckheimer, J., Hollywood Pictures, 1995.
Ebert, R. “Dangerous Minds.”Roger Ebert, 1995. Web.
Jeong, K. O. “Analysis of the Pedagogical Perspectives Represented in the Movie Dangerous Minds: Based on the Constructivist Framework.” International Journal of Contents, vol. 9, no. 4, 2013, pp. 45–51.