Name: Nguyen, Lan Phuong 09/10/2011 FYS: Liberating Arts

A good teacher
A good teacher is like a candle- it consumes itself to light the way for others Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, translated from Turkish The movie To Be and To Have directed by Nicolas Philibert and the movie Mad Hot Ballroom by Marilyn Agrelo has shown how a good teacher could light the way for students. Ms.Reynoso, the dance teacher of Washington Heights in Mad Hot Ballroom lights up her shy, talented elementary students with their love for dancing, their ability to do what they believe in. Mr. Lopez, the teacher in one-room schoolhouse in Frances rural Auvergne teaches his kinder-garden kids, his elementary students with his warm-heart to show them step by step to the real world. They teach their students with different methods, they encourage them by different ways and they are strict with their students in different levels. Despite their differences, they both love and care so much for students. They want to bring to their students chances to well- educated, confidence to become a successful person, certainty to have bright future. Ms. Reynoso and Mr. Lopez come from different countries but they are admired for their devotion for the children. Mr.Lopez, a teacher in one-room schoolhouse in Frances rural Auvergne shows himself as a strict teacher but he is really kind to the students. His school house locates in a beautiful, peaceful countryside area and it helps his students chances to play around, to learn from the world easier. Mr. Lopezs students have chance to explore the nature while students from big city do not have that chance because they have

to be in the school most of the time. He has students at different ages from 4 years old to 9 years old. It will make his jobs difficult because the kids are very wild, un-mature and uncontrollable. If he concentrated teaching the students preparing for middle school, he could not keep his eyes on kinder garden kids. The director has done such a good jobs to captures the kinder garden kids moment while their teachers are not there. They can not focus, they think about other things and they do not follow their teachers instruction. Mr. Lopez does not ban or shout at the kids. He patiently asks them to do the work, teaches them if they do not understand. When two students are fighting with each other, he tells them to sit down to talk with each other. During the movie, Mr. Lopez is rarely angry with the students but they are afraid of him. He is strict in a kind way that helps them understand what their problem is. His kindness, generosity teaches the kid the first step to the real world: open your mind, listen to friend, treat people nicely, and study hard. He prepares for the students coming to middle school with knowledge, confidence and his love. Ms. Reynoso creates for her students their own fairy tales about hope, dream, and passion in Mad Hot Ballroom. She has brought to the students who come from different backgrounds, have different characters the love for dancing and the belief for themselves. She has broken all the limitations inside those students, showed them how good they are and let them shine in the ballroom. Her 5th grade students face with harsher reality more than students from other schools. Their communities are poor communities where people live below the poverty line. The students who have been grown up in these communities will be easily affected. They seem to be really shy of themselves and they are willing to give up so easily. Ms. Reynoso will never give up on them, she commits to her students with her love and her dedication. She loves them so much even they are street kids and are

difficult to teach. In one monologue, she wishes she could reach inside her students minds and give them the strength to resist the lures of the street, to make something of themselves as individuals. She finally reaches those students who are greatly inspired, who have talent and ambition to make the best team. She pushes them not only in practice but in their mind. In one dance scene, she asks her students whether they want to win in the competition, no one answers it. She tells them the goal of winning because they are winners. They have to practice a lot, they are tired but Ms. Reynoso never lets them stop when they complain. One of the boys misbehaves and Ms. Reynoso dismissed them immediately. She is helping them reach the ultimate satisfaction in doing their best and the experience at the highest of perfection. Her 5th grade students win the competition against a professional elite school not only because of their breath taking dance at the end but also their perfection, passion in dancing. Ms.Reynoso cries when she watches them dancing. She cries because she has achieved the biggest happiness to become a teacher: looking at students successful. Ms.Reynoso and Mr. Lopez teach the students with different methods but they both bring passion for students to makes them successful. They teach students at different ages so they have different ways teaching students. While Mr. Lopez diligently answers the kinder garden students, Ms. Reynoso always pushes her primary school students to practice. Mr. Lopez gives more flexible time for the kinder garden kids; he just gives them some drawings and more time to play outside. When one boy does not want to complete his work before playing with his friends, Mr.Lopez asks him why and tells him that he should do it. Mr.Lopez is very patient with his students especially when they get trouble with math or reading. The students respect him and always call him Sir. Ms.Reynoso always

pushes her students to practice dancing. When they are tired, she turns on different music. She dances with the students like a partner. It helps them dance faster and makes her more closed to students. Both Mr. Lopez and Ms. Reynoso go into their students memories with their patience, the eagerness to teach the students. Mr. Lopez and Ms.Reynoso always encourage their students and prepare them for a better future but in different ways. When some students in Mr. Lopezs schoolhouse prepares to go to middle school, he takes them to visit the new middle school. He spends all day taking them to see new school, showing how classroom will look like. He encourages students who are not confident about their skills that they can do it. On the last day, he talks with a girl, who is going to middle school that he will miss her and she will do well in her middle school. She cries, she thinks she can not handle but he hugs her and tells her to come and see him every Saturday. That is such beautiful scene because it shows the longtime connection between a teacher and a student. Besides, Ms. Reynoso also encourages her students by preparing them carefully before the competition. She takes all students to pick up dresses so that they could have the same dresses, clothings, hair styles. She prepares for them not only the dress code and but also manner for their adult life. The new dresses and clothing makes them look beautiful and feel confident. They dance into the audiences heart, mind with the swing move in each dance. They may come from different families but dance is a joy that connects them together. They dance like no one is watching; they write their own fairy tales as everyone admire their strength. They deserve the highest rank for their unstoppable achievement. Their teachers, Ms.Reynoso has pushed them with that achievement by her love, her caring.

It will be time for students to say goodbye to their teachers but they will instills wonderful teachers like Mr. Lopez, Ms.Reynoso for their unique encouragement that bring the students to new level. All teachers, not only Mr. Lopez, Ms. Reynoso should be honored for what they have done. Teachers play an important part on students success because they are the first people who can open the door of knowledge, manner for students. They are the heroes of the world for what they have done for the future generations. They teach the students with all the love they could give, all the time they could spend to bring for students better future. Around the world, there are millions of candles like Mr. Lopez, Ms. Reynoso are lighting up their students lives, future with their patience, their strict, their devotion.