So I didn't think I was going to make a post about this even though our teacher told us we could use it but I am because this movie moved me in so many ways.
In class today we watched a movie called Monsieur Lazhar.
The movie starts off sad and only continues to pull at your heart through to the end.
It deals with troubled children, suicide, child abuse, guilt, feelings of abandonment, the difficulty of immigration, the threats and dangers in other countries that immigrants fear and escape from, the loss of loved ones. So many important issues in today's world that often aren't addressed and when they are, are certainly not addressed in this way.
It begins with a child discovering his teacher had hung herself in their classroom and through out the movie the recurring question is why? On this I would have to agree with M. Lazhar. Why? Why would a teacher choose to take her life in the class room where the students that love her would find her? Why would she ruin their perception of life? But I have often heard that suicide is the most selfish of acts an individual can do. In that moment there is no consideration or stray thought for anyone else in your life. Just the over whelming desire to be free from whatever it is that has made you miserable.
It isn't often that you find a film or book or any form of documentation on how children deal with loss and death of the ones they love and it was very interesting to see how the teachers in the school handled it. To the audience, M. Lazhar is the only one looking at the situation realistically. The only one who actually cares for the students betterment, to help them understand that it isn't there fault and at first you wonder if this is just a culture gap between the Canadian culture of Quebec and the Algerian culture that he comes from. But then it is made clear that M. Lazhar isn't actually a teacher. He's just a man off the streets who needed a job, who hasn't been taught in how to deal with situations like this, doesn't know the proper teacher etiquette in these situations.
But it is also because of his caring and his attempts to help them that the children feel comforted, they learn, he tries to help them understand.
This is where I think the resemblance can be drawn between the teachers in Entre Les Murs and Monsieur Lazhar. They don't seem like real people when they're teaching their classes. They have to uphold a level of authority and professionalism and they don't connect with their students. I find that really sad but also I can think back on all the teachers in my school experience and the ones that I like most were the ones that cared. They weren't just a robot rattling off facts and assigning homework. They would take the time to get to know you, come to your concerts, bring treats for the class.
Maybe how teachers in the education system are selected is flawed but in the case of these students and I think many inner city schools the kids need a teacher like M. Lazhar...even if he is just a man off the streets at least he has their best interest in mind and isn't always worried about the reputation of the school.
Cecilly <3
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