The Breakfast Club is a simple but beautiful 1980’s movie about a group of teenagers that end up realizing they are all going through some tough situations. While The Breakfast Club was made for entertainment purposes, it can be a great learning tool. Just from studying the movie, a student can realize they should not judge a book by it’s cover. For a student-teacher, this movie is a great tool in observing what happens when teachers decide not to invest their time into their students. Analyzing the teacher in the movie could open a potential teacher’s eyes too what they could end up doing wrong and how that could end up harming a student.
Take John Bender for an instance. From just a glance, most assume John is just a troublemaker waiting to be kicked out of school and according Richard Vernon, just a few years away from being in jail. Throughout the detention, John clashes with Andrew. Andrew made a big case during detention that John did not matter, resulting in John faltering from his usual sarcastic remarks. It is as if that wasn’t the first time John has thought or heard that he was insignificant to everyone around him. He later admits that his father is abusive to both him and his mother, showing the burn marks on his skin.
He lashes out and causes chaos all around him because he is reflecting what is going on at home; and when his teachers simply respond by saying he will end up being some petty criminal instead of trying to figure out what is causing him to lash out is just further harming him. As a teacher, it will be my responsibility to report any signs of abuse to the police and child services. I would hope that John would be removed from his abusive home and would be seeing some type of councilor. In the classroom, he will have to follow the rules or face the same consequences as his peers.
However, those consequences will not be unjust or tripled just because he’s the one acting up in class. He would be informed that he could always come to me if he needed someone to talk to and I would give him a stress ball to use when he is feeling angry or stressed. I would also allow him to go out in the hallway if someone is getting underneath his skin and he feels like he might lash out so calm down while I deal with the student who is bothering him. John is a bit different form the other four teens because his hate and mistrust for authority is coming from what he had to ive through in an abusive household.
As a teacher, I would do my best to make sure he learns that not all adults are uncaring or cruel. Going from the troublemaker to the compulsive liar, Allison is the next teen who is having difficulties with her home life. When Allison tells Brian she drinks vodka a lot, a red flag showed up in my mind, making me wondering just what is going on at home. However, she later states that she is a compulsive liar after forcing Claire to admit she was a virgin. It begs the question, does Allison really drink and if she does, how much?
She admits to Andrew that she feels ignored at home, resulting in her behavior at school. She is quiet at the start of the detention, shocking everyone when she first speaks. That shows that Allison does not talk at school or bring much attention to herself. When she first has the group’s attention she decides lying is the best way to keep the attention on herself. The more ridiculous and scandalous her lies gets, the more attention she receives. This shows me she receives very little attention from her parents.
As a teacher, it would be really concerning to hear the lies that Allison tells, especially if I did not know that she is a compulsive liar. I would end up having a meeting with her and her parents to discuss these so called lies that at the time I would believe would be true. However, more than likely, the Allison I would have in my class is the quiet girl instead of the compulsive liar. Allison’s quietness would really worry me and as the teacher, I would do everything in my power to make her more vocal in class.
I would bring my concerns to her parents, but I have a feeling my worry about her quietness would fall on deaf ears by her comments about being ignored at home. Being her teacher, I would take time each day to comment about her work positively, hopefully showing her that she doesn’t have lie or act out in order to receive attention. Then there is Brian, a straight A student who admits that he was contemplating suicide after receiving an F on a workshop project. To have such a strong reaction to a bad grade shows that he and his parents put a lot of pressure on him.
His mother comments before he can get out of the car in the beginning that he will study while in detention, even after he says studying is not allowed. Other than his reaction to an F, Brian really is not a troubled child or a troublemaker. I would just stress to him that there is more to life than perfect grades and that one F isn’t going to ruin him or his grades. I would also encourage him to find a hobby that he enjoys, just so he isn’t spending all his free time studying. The last two teens are Claire and Andrew.
They are both part of the same social circle. Andrew is wrestler, so he would be considered the jock and Claire is considered Queen B of the school since she comes from a rich family. Just like the other three teens, Claire and Andrew both are having difficulties at home. Andrew finally admits the reason he’s in detention is because he bullied another teen. He is brought to tears as he opens up about the reason why he bullied another teen and is practically disgusted by his actions. He also admits the reason he bullied another teen was to impress his father.
Andrew knows how his own father was in high school and felt that he was not living up to his father’s expectations. Claire, on the other hand, is struggling with both of her parents as they near a possible divorce. When John asks her which parent she would live with, she confesses that she would live with her brother since she feels that her parents do not love her and only use her to get back at each other. As a teacher, I do not feel that Andrew nor Claire would be too difficult to handle in my classroom. I would speak to Andrew’s father about the bullying Andrew is doing to try and impress him.
I would hope through our discussion that Andrew’s father would try and steer Andrew into a more positive path. Although, there is a great chance that his father will ignore my concerns and continue to push Andrew to be more like him. I would then have to create a peace table where Andrew and anyone he has hurt can sit down and talk. I would hope the bullied teen would express how they were hurt by Andrew’s actions and how bad it effects them everyday. Maybe, if he sees the pain and distress his actions cause, he will change his ways and be a more positive person.
For Claire, it is hard for her to follow the rules and be good when she has one parent at home telling her to go ahead and break the rules and another parent saying follow the rules. In the beginning of the movie, Claire’s father basically tells her that skipping class to go shopping should not have resulted in detention and he will make it up to her. She also states that her mom grounded her but her father told her not to listen to her mom. She is in a confusing place at the moment, and as a teacher, there isn’t too much I can do. I would sit down and talk with her.
I would also sit down and talk with both of her parents and hope they would realize that their fighting is harming their daughter. Even good parents can be somewhat oblivious to what they are doing and how it is effecting their children. However, at the end of the day, it will be up to the parents to really teach right from wrong. I could make Claire deal with the consequences of breaking the rules, just like I would any of my students, but if there is nothing being done at home, I’m fighting a losing battle. The last person to discuss is Richard Vernon.
Richard Vernon’s behavior management strategy is about as useful as fork in a sugar bowl. In one scene, Vernon gives John eight detentions for him talking back to Vernon. Students should face the consequences of their actions, and if detention is something the school does, then Vernon is not in the wrong for handing out a detention. However, as a teacher, Vernon should have a cool and calm conversation with John, instead of threatening him. Vernon ended up looking a fool in front of the students by letting John get to him. A teacher who does not respect his students will never be given respect in return.
Vernon’s use of essays during detention is a good idea, but the topic of the essay isn’t so good. Instead of the students writing about who they are or who they think they are, the students should write about the reason why the are in detention and what lead up to the event that landed them in detention. Through that essay, Vernon would have chance to understand that his students are facing some difficult times and they need an adult to show them the right path, not throw them in detention and ignore that there is a deeper problem.
