We’ve all had a teacher we’ll never forget, and probably a few that we would like to forget. However, as humans we should be eternal students—always ready to learn. We can take a few notes from Hollywood’s best on-screen teachers, who literally schooled us all at one point or another.

Yoda – “The Empire Strikes Back”

Perhaps the greatest non-human teacher of all time, Yoda taught Luke the ways of the Force and the path to becoming a Jedi. He represented the older scholar and educator who had seen it all, yet still had the passion and desire to pass on his teaching to a younger generation. He also was willing to let Luke fail, in order to grow and learn.

Glenn Holland – “Mr. Holland’s Opus”

Mr. Holland represents the teacher that does great things, yet never feels he has made a difference. Many wonderful teachers have felt this way, and he represents them all in thought, feeling, and heart. He was willing to give up his dreams for the benefit of those he taught, and never backed down in order to bring music and the arts to students.

John Keating – “Dead Poets Society”

Here we have an English teacher who brought the joys of beauty, romance, and free thought to a boarding school that seemed to despise this type of thinking. He showed that passion is what drives the human race, and that without it, the world is a dull, soulless, conformist place.

Mark Thackeray – “To Sir, With Love”

A teacher thrown into an inner city London school might have been eaten alive in most instances. Instead Mr. Thackeray showed his students what is was to be upstanding, to believe they are something, and to realize there was more to life than a dingy neighborhood with no way out.

Kesuke Miyagi- “The Karate Kid”

Mr. Miyagi shows us that we often learn best when we don’t realize that we’re being taught. The quiet teacher who teaches through example and coaxing, he was the perfect mentor for Daniel. He represented the teacher who would show the way, but not directly, and always had the student’s needs at heart.

Most of our teachers aren’t quite as dramatic as those on the silver screen, but we learn a lot about life from cinematic depictions. Take a lesson from one of these legendary teachers, and always remember: “Wax on, wax off.”

AUTHOR BIO: This article was written by Dixie Somers, a freelance writer who loves to write for business, finance, education, and technology. She lives in Arizona with her husband and three beautiful daughters. Students interested in becoming the world’s next best off-screen teacher can pursue an online master’s degree in education.

Photo Credits:

Yoda – Flickr Creative Commons via Fernando Bueno
Mr Holland’s Opus – bloggang.com via Google Commons
Dead Poet’s Society – Flickr Creative Commons via Paolo
Mr. Miyagi – Flickr Creative Commons via Simon Williams
To Sir with Love – Classicfilmjerks.com via Google Commons

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Class Dismissed: The Lessons We Learned from the World’s Best On-Screen Teachers