Teach

 

We were gifted with a 1-year subscription to Curiosity by our programming school, Algorithmics. I wasn't very familiar with Curiosity. I came across it a few months ago when I was looking for teaching materials. I thought, back then, that it was like Discovery. We already have Discovery so I said, I don't need another subscription. 

Well, I can't be more wrong! We do need Curiosity! I checked out the documentaries and films on offer and they are wonderful! I bookmarked a lot already in the first 5 minutes of browsing! I'm so excited to plan our lessons around and with those documentaries! 

The very first documentary I watched was Teach. It is hosted by Queen Latifah, a proud daughter of a public school teacher. Teach follows the lives of four public school teachers as they navigate the daily challenges of teaching. 

I wanted to watch it because I thought it would give me a few pointers to use in my own homeschool. Maybe I would find nuggets of wisdom to become a better teacher. Well, I did get some ideas to incorporate into our homeschool. Plus a lot of bonuses! I also got inspired to be a better teacher and mom to my son. These four amazing teachers are just so inspiring and in today's world, it's very rare to find teachers who genuinely care about their students.

I come from a family of maestras. My grandmothers were teachers and school administrators, my mom had a stint as a college math teacher, my sister is a professor. I may not be a teacher in a school, but I am a teacher in our home. Teaching is in my blood. Most of you who know me know that I am very passionate about homeschooling. This documentary has made me fall in love with teaching more. 

Towards the end of the film, I got teary-eyed. I could totally relate to the teachers and the parents who were interviewed. 

I wish I had teachers like them. A lot of the people interviewed said that when they think about life-changing events or memorable events when they were studying, they mentioned specific teachers in their life who made a difference, who made their lives better. My experience with school was traumatic to say the least. I had a teacher who would bash my classmates' heads with the book when they couldn't read (luckily, I could already read when I entered first grade). I had teachers in high school who had fun humiliating me in front of class because I was always absent because I was a very sickly kid. I saw several doctors but none of them gave me the correct diagnosis and so I would go on weeks without school. When I came back, the teachers refused to accept that I knew the lessons and could pass the tests. One teacher even went as far as telling me to put all my belongings in the front of the room whereas my classmates only had theirs under their seats while taking an exam. It went on from preschool to college. To say that I was an unhappy student is an understatement. I had recurring nightmares of my traumatic school days up until my early adulthood. I would wake up in the morning, drenched with sweat, panicking, thinking what time it was or I might be late for school...Yeah, and I was around 25 years old already at this time. That's how terrible it was for me. 

Fast forward to today and I'm very grateful that I have the means to homeschool my child. I can see that he is very happy with this setup and he is learning a lot. 

I recommend Teach if you are, of course, a teacher, a homeschooling parent, or even a student. This documentary shows all the hard work and innovation true teachers do to help their kids succeed. 

5 out of 5 stars. 

Learn more about Teach here.