I also love Stand and Deliver. As a math teacher this of course hit home with me. The opportunity to take students who could barely multiple and then lead them through the years to passing the AP Calculus exam seem quite plausible to me. There are tons of other great films that I watch over and over again throughout the years about teaching. The problem is...they are all based on a lie. In these films it always appears as though the teacher is at the front of the room, dispensing knowledge and magically all of the students "get it", even though most of the kids never talk or demonstrate any initiative to learn. Now, maybe this isn't a lie for some teachers out there...but it is for me.
Now I compare the greatest teaching moments in my classroom more to the movie Gladiator. Strange right? Hear me out. With flipped mastery, my best days in class are like scenes in the Coliseum where the gladiator is fighting off the hordes of people around him. Ok...sure I'm not being attacked, or attacking anyone. But all around me kids are coming at me, asking great questions to help clarify their understanding, working together to figure out application questions and generally RUNNING ME RAGGED! My best days teaching now are the most chaotic. There is no moment of greatness where its me at the center of stage saying something profound. Its me surrounded by students WANTING to learn.
Sully