Won’t Back DownAvailable On Blu-ray and DVD January 15th
Nona Alberts (Viola Davis) is one of those teachers who cares and strives to make a difference. Here, we’ll count down the Top 10 influential teachers in film including those in Mr. Holland’s Opus, Stand and Deliver and Music of the Heart.
In Won’t Back Down, Oscar® Nominees Maggie Gyllenhaal and Viola Davis lead a stellar cast in this empowering drama inspired by actual events. Hard-working single mom Jamie Fitzpatrick (Gyllenhaal) is concerned that John Adams Elementary is letting her daughter down. Teaming with a caring teacher (Davis) who wants the best future for her own son, she sets out to improve attitudes and elevate the school’s academic standards. Despite the odds, with courage, hope and persistence, the women just might prevail in this uplifting film that also stars Rosie Perez and Academy Award® Winner Holly Hunter.
Roberta Guaspari in Music of the Heart
Roberta Guaspari (portrayed by Meryl Streep) is a real violinist and teacher. Music of the Heart tells her story in which she takes on the task of teaching violin to group of students in Harlem. Though initially met by some resistance (from both of the students and their skeptical parents), Roberta is slowly able to make progress with the kids and the program becomes a success. However, 10 years later, the program is canceled due to budget cuts and Roberta loses her job. To fight back and keep music education going, Roberta and a group of supporters put on a concert to benefit the program and successfully reinstitute it.
Ms. Geist in Clueless
Ms. Geist (Twink Caplan) is one of Bronson Alcott High’s teaching staff in 1995’s Clueless. Ms. Geist is a bit of a bleeding heart, and she tries desperately to get her stuck-up students to care about the rest of the world outside of Beverly Hills. Ms. Geist helps Cher (Alicia Silverstone) see that she can help others, and she ends up devoting her time to collecting goods for disaster relief.
Jaime Escalante in Stand and Deliver
Another real life teacher, Jaime Escalante (portrayed by Edward James Olmos) became a math teacher at a disadvantaged school in East Los Angeles. While his peers looked down on the kids at their school, Jaime believed that they could do more than the rudimentary math he had been teaching them, and began to prep his students for calculus. Ultimately, his students took the AP Calculus test and they all passed. However, their scores were called into question and they were accused of cheating. Jaime fought for his students to be able to retake the test to prove that their scores were based on hard work, not cheating. In the end, his students all pass a second time, proving that hard work and determination really does pay off.
Dewey Finn in School of Rock
Though not technically a teacher, Dewey Finn (Jack Black) impacts his students in School of Rock. After posing as a substitute teacher at an elite prep school, Dewey learns that his new pupils are talented musicians and decides to train them to be a rock band for an upcoming competition. He teaches them to love rock, and that there is more to life than school and grades.
Mr. Holland in Mr. Holland’s Opus
Mr. Holland originally becomes a music teacher in order to spend more time with his wife, and to compose a piece of music. However, as he spend more and more time in his school with the faculty and students, he begins to have a respect for teaching and really tries to get the students involved in classic music. He used rock and roll to teach them about classical compositions. After 30 years of service to his students, Mr. Holland and his music program are cut from the school’s budgets. However, his former students ban together to give him a goodbye he’ll never forget: playing his orchestral piece (“Mr. Holland’s Opus”).
Ms. Norbury in Mean Girls
Ms. Norbury, played by the hilarious Tina Fey, is the sympathetic math teacher in the 2004 hit Mean Girl. Not only is Ms. Norbury unintentionally hilarious, but she also ushers Cady (Lindsay Lohan) away from the catty Plastics and into the Mathletes, and leads all the female students in a giant confession and apology to one another, and beseeches them to stop the girl on girl hate.
Anne Sullivan in The Miracle Worker
In 1962’s The Miracle Worker, Anne Bancroft plays Anne Sullivan in the true story of Helen Keller. Helen, frustrated by her inability to communicate due to being blind and deaf, was often prone to uncontrollable outbursts that her parents didn’t know how to manage. They called upon the Perkins School for the Blind, who sent Anne to work with Helen at her home. Through persistence and love, Anne is able to break down Helen’s walls and help her communicate.
John Keating in Dead Poets Society
John Keating (Robin Williams) is the radical new English teacher at the uptight Welton Academy Prep School. Through his unorthodox teaching methods, like standing on desks and tearing pages out of books, Keating is able to help his students discover and explore their true passions in life, like writing and acting, instead of succumbing to the lives their parents have prescribed for them.
Clément Mathieu in The Chorus
In The Chorus (or Les Choristes), Clément Mathieu is a new teacher at a school for boys who are ill behaved. The headmaster at the school ruthlessly punishes his pupils, but Mathieu attempts to win his students over with kindness and humor. Mathieu also starts a choir for the boys, which helps improve their behavior and makes the school a happier place to be overall.
Professor Dumbledore in the Harry Potter Series
Professor Dumbledore (portrayed by both Richard Harris and Michael Gambon) is an astounding wizard who basically knows everything about everything. As a mentor to the young hero, Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe), Dumbledore makes him learn many difficult lessons in order to prepare him for the challenges he will face, while still managing to crack a few jokes along the way.
{ 119 comments… read them below or add one }
I have one teacher that stands out, she treated us like peers and not just like students
My 4th grade teacher Mrs Hunter!
my grade 9 teacher mrs. barrabash.
My eight teacher was the a great teacher. Took time to help me understand Algerbra.
I had a fifth grade teacher named Mrs. Todd who was always very nice to me and went out of her way to take an interest in me. I always felt special. Looking back, she probably made each of her students feel special. I really liked her and was sad to read about her passing. I wonder if she knew that she affected my life and that I have many great memories of her.
No I did not
My one teacher became a lifelong friend and family member. She taught me to love myself and to never hide my spirit.
Rafflecopter Name: Stephanie LaPlante
My grade 6 teacher Mrs. Crippon.
Not really, no!!! Ha ha!
My 12th grade English teacher taught me that you need to put the work in to reap the rewards.
Mr. Finlayson, Grade 4 and 5 teacher!
Not really.
none that stick out
it was a teacher for my now almost 13 year old son. we moved from upstate ny to kansas in the middle of his first grade year. he was failing horribly in ny, he had a horrible teacher that was getting ready to retire and treated him like crap. he peed his pants one day in school after being potty trained for 3 years because she wouldn’t let him go to the bathroom for example. she seemed to single him out. i almost pulled him from school and homeschooled but then decided to move. he had an awesome awesome teacher here, mrs swanson. he did a complete 360 and passed with flying colors. i requested her for my son that is 2 years behind my oldest and hopefully my two younger kids that are 4 and 2 now will also get to have her
My 2nd grade teacher…. she inspired and encouraged my love for reading and writing
My 10th grade english teacher was amazing. I felt like she was the first adult to actually listen to me and care what I had to say.
All of my teachers inspired me in one way or another but my best teacher was first grade, she was my favorite and really helped me love school and learning!
No, not really, I had a bunch of nice teachers and I learned a lot from them, but was never influenced by them for life decisions. I was mainly encouraged by family, friends and people in the church
Yes, I did in grade 6 with Mr.B. He was a unique and innovative teacher who understood how kids learned and what they needed to succeed. Everyone hoped to be in his class for Grade 6.
I went to a very strict boarding school. There was no one inspirational there!
No, I don’t have one
My grade 5 teacher, Mr. Boyd. He was very artistic in many ways, and taught us to appreciate the beauty in life through art, music, and our own ideas.
Well, I’ve had many inspirational teachers and friends. My mom taught Sunday School and had to spend twice as long as the lesson to prepare and to get ready for all the questions the teens would ask.
Yep.. My Bible teacher in College. He really challenged me and pushed me further than I thought possible!
I will never ever forget my 4th grade teacher, Mrs. Reid. She was an amazing teacher and helped me grow so much.
My science teacher in grade 10 and my grade 9 geography teachers were both a huge inspiration to me.
breej23 at hotmail dot com
My eight teacher was the a great teacher.
contestcrow at gmail dot com
Unfortunately I did not have an inspirational teacher affect my life
I had many over the years…one of my tops was Mr. Smith, who taught Chemistry.
My second and third grade teacher ms. Howe was my favorite teacher!
My third grade teacher was an amazing, kind hearted woman. Unfortunately, she lost her battle with cancer about one month ago. So sad, she was truly wonderful.
Well, there’s my mum… she’s a teacher… but no, I’d say that the most inspirational teacher I had was Ms. Langevin, my history teacher. She was fantastic. Years later, I even invited her to my wedding!
abrennan09@hotmail.com
My kindergarden teacher, Mrs. Gervais, was who I strived to be like my entire life. She was and still is, an amazing woman.
My grade 1 teacher.. Mrs Tierney!
No I did not have a inspirational teacher
thanks
My 1st grade teacher Mrs. Haney and Mrs. Reno both were loving and careing people and helped me through some tough times.
yes, my drama teacher Mr. Martin
No I did not.
fossie@hotmail.com
I had a fantastic music teacher throughout high school! He took his time with each student even though there were 75 of us in the first class of the day.
My third grade teacher and also my 7th and 8th grade science teacher.
My 8th grade teacher helped me grow, challenge and encourage me to pursue my dreams.
No not really!
tammykd at live dot com
My mom
teacher of life and consequeces 
YES, MISS VIVIAN MY 12TH GRADE ENGLISH TEACHER. SHE HELPED ME FIGURE OUT MY COLLEGE PLANS. Cheryl Abdelnour cjabdelnour@hotmail.com
I never had one particular teacher that really stood out to me but I had a bunch of really great teachers growing up — I was lucky.
I had a few…. especially mr. hegler
Sister Mary George, my 8th grade teacher – - Paul T/Pauline T aka Paol Trenny….. emscout9 at Hotmail dot com
I had a wonderful math teacher in high school. He really inspired me to apply myself.
My english teach my sophomore year was amazing! I always loved writing but he helped me reach my full potential. He actually reminded me a lot of the teacher played by Robin Williams in Dead Poet Society.
my accounting teacher. she showed me the importance of staying focused
yes my sewing teacher was my insperation
and to this day i think of her when im working because if not for her i probably wouldnt be working where i am today
thanks
Karen Madsen
it wasnt an actual teacher.. it was my uncle.. he was always/is always there for me whenever i needed someone!!!
My favourite teacher was my Gr. 1 teacher Mrs. Copeland who skipped me from Grade 1 to 3 and I felt excited.
My favorite teacher was Mr.Alderelli. He was my seventh grade teacher and really believed in me.
I definitely had some favourites..but not one in particular who made a huge impact.
Mrs. Millar was my grade 9 teacher and she inspired me so much. I completed grade 9 with a 95% average in great part due to her.
My first grade teacher. She was very sweet and kind.
No
My LPN instructor
Not really. I think it was more the teachers in the movies.
My 7th grade teacher is Mr Bak was a very inspirational teacher and my favorite
bluebelle0367(at)hotmail(dot)com
belinda mcnabb
No, I have not had an inspirational teacher change my life.
sreis1987 at gmail dot com
Sarah W.
Mr. Hunt, my grade 10 Math teacher was awesome and made Math so easy to understand and enjoy.
I had not an inspirational teacher
Thank you for hosting this giveaway
Louis
pumuckler {at} gmail {dot} com
nope, mine were pretty bad
Not so much..
I had a couple great teachers, who I still talk to regularly 15 years later!
I had a teacher in American Lit, who told me I as a great reader, but I read too much garbage, so to impress her, I started reading harder books….I’ve never looked back. She passed away many years ago. Hope she knew how valuable she was.
Thank you,
Mr. Shirley helped me pass the FCAT math state test.
Mr Koska who taught science.
Mr. Muffet, who was my Career Management teacher.
Lonerwor@aim.com
my creative writing teacher, mrs. brandenburg, always encouraged me to write
I had a teacher who hated my writing style. I was so mad at her that it made me work even harder. By the time I got to college, I was in Junior and Senior classes before the end of my freshman year!
sherri419 at gmail dot com
I had a wonderful English teacher in my senior year of high school. Ms. Williams was very inspirational in my college choice and major.
jackieque@comcast.net
My high school social studies teacher that didn’t play favorite.
slb3334@gmail.com
I dont think i had one effect my life but i had some pretty fun teachers that made it easy to come to class
darleneysaguirre at yahoo. com
No I didn’t have a teacher like that, unfortunately!
yes one of my college professors
Sadly not really…
My theater teacher, Mr. Hill
nope = regnod(at)yahoo(d0t)com
Not really
I had a lot of good teachers, but none stick out really.
ericacarnes(at)gmail(dot)com
I had a teacher named Mrs. King that was very passionate about History. I love History and we really meshed well. She also loved to travel, as do I. She made me want to pay attention and learn because she made it so interesting.
No, unfortunately not.
Brittney House BBrittBrat1398@yahoo.com
I used to adore my school principal. She defended me for wearing bright nail polish!
My 10th grade Literature teacher was amazing. She was passionate about Literature and teaching it to us. All my other classmates were asleep in her class but I was always wide awake and she noticed. She would always keep me after class and tell me what great work I was doing in her class. I still appreciate everything she done for me that year.
brand242003@yahoo.com
brandy graham (name on rafflecopter)
Yes
an english teacher from HS
Yes I did, my 5th grade teacher Mrs Bast was a amazing teacher.
Yes I had a couple of them!!!
ptavernie at yahoo dot com
That would be my Mom!
theyyyguy@yahoo.com
Yes, Mrs Jones. My second grade teacher and breast cancer survivor!
yes Mr wetterman was my 6th grade teacher who taught us that respect must be earned
vmkids3 at msn dot com
My kindergarten teacher is still one of my mentors today!
Yes, there have been a few!
Did you have an inspirational teacher affect your life?
nope sorry..mine just wanted to get home
I’ve had several, both English teachers. Opened my eyes to so many new things.
Michelle Tucker
My first grade teacher has been an influence in my life ever since. We’re still in contact, more than 20 years later!
This comment has been removed by the author.
I was lucky enough to have quite a few who were very inspirational to me.
My kindergartner teacher I moved to a new school part way through the year.
my choir teacher mrs.cheshire, my band instructor (who passed away from cancer) mr. perente, and my biology teacher mrs. retcher
I had a couple of really great teachers, one was my English teacher.
my fave teacher because he was a blast and hilarious was my senior year in HS sociology teacher
No I didn’t
mightynaynay(at)cs.com
My food management teacher
My European History teacher in High School inspired me.
i did have a pretty awesome teacher in high school
cb_shorty2003@yahoo.com
i had a really great gifted teacher in elementary school that taught us a lot about life and other great things!
susansmoaks at gmail dot com
no not really
I did have an inspirational teacher, he was my choir teacher and his name was Mr. Young. He made me believe in myself!
vikki.billings@yahoo.com
My 4th grade teacher Mrs. Barnes was a big inspiration to me & I still think of her often
Please Enter Me In Your Won’t Back Down Blu-ray Giveaway.
In Response To Your Question Of
Did you have an inspirational teacher affect your life?
I Had Some Good Teachers But Not Any Who Inspired Me.
Thank You For Having This Giveaway!!!!!!!!!
Yes, my 6th grade English teacher. She was the best!
yes my eighth grade math teacher
my poetry teacher Mr Harrington was awesome
Of all my many teahers I had a few inspirational teachers. garrettsambo@aol.com
I had a lot of great teachers. My grade 2 teacher stands out as being inspirational.
I had a lot of good teachers and the school counsellor was great too!
billiondollarprincesss@hotmail.com