Heads Down…
Hey there! It’s Carla Silver, from Leadership+Design, and Bill Selak, from Hillbrook School, and we like to talk about movies that talk about schools. So, we started a podcast that does just that!
This podcast is for anyone who works at a school, goes to school, or ever went to school – so basically, YOU! Movies about school have shaped our national narrative about what school is like, about the relationships between teachers and students, students and students, and the role of school as both friend and foe.
Our favorite school-related movies reflect the reality of school – often perceived by students as boring, tedious and pointless. While often generating feelings of nostalgia – even for the misery of school – might they also reinforce stereotypes of school and even serve as an obstacle to reimagining what school can be?
Join us in this new adventure where we talk about some of your favorite movies that talk about school. Listen to the trailer and get ready for Episode One where we relive the obvious choice to kick off this podcast – Ferris Bueller’s Day Off!
Episodes
Episode 10: Soundtracks
In this special edition episode, we focus exclusively on the music of movies. The soundtrack. The score.
We love this quote from Underground Press:
As music can tell the story and explain the plot, filmmakers use it very carefully to build the tone and mood of a film. Also, music is used to expose feelings of characters, actions, tensions, and even horror. Music can create a convincing atmosphere for the situation and can turn a good film into a great one.
– Ronald Ross
After this episode, we hope you’ll stop saying you’re going to watch a movie, and start saying that you’re going to listen to a movie. 🙂
Episode 9: Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure
Travel back to 1988 with Bill and . . . Carla, as we have a MOST excellent adventure together taking about another favorite movie that talks about school. When two disengaged high school students, Theodore Logan and William S. Preston, Esquire, are faced a failing grade in history class, they have just one option left – to do one kick-ass final project. But they know nothing about history. Just when they are about to give up hope and wallowing in despair at the Circle K, they are visited by a surprise guest from the future. And with the help of a handy phone booth as their vehicle, they travel through time, kidnapping historical figures along they way as they try to save their history grade.
Will Bill and Ted pass their history final? Is this movie the single greatest example of experiential learning ever made? How does time traveling in a phone booth compare to travel in a DeLorean? Is Missy the hot stepmom, just an excuse for Oedipal humor? Are Bill and Ted dumb or just totally bored? How did Jane Wiedlin from the GoGos get cast as Joan of Arc? We will discuss these essential questions and so much more. You won’t want to miss this episode! It will be most excellent!
Episode 8: The Karate Kid
This month, Bill and Carla talk Karate Kid, the iconic 1984 movie staring Ralph Macchio as the young Karate student of Mr. Miyagi played by Pat Morita. We discuss the relationship between master teacher and student apprentice, the Dojo as school for life, bad fashion, and the many filming locations of the film. If you are a fan of the fan-fiction series, Cobra Kai, we have you covered, and we talk more about William Zabka and Elizabeth Shue. Bill also interviews his friend, Jesse Lubinsky, who is a major fan of the movie who tells us his story of meeting the cast. Wax on, Wax off!
Info
What’s your favorite movie about schools? Reach out to us on the Twitters and let us know.