Synopsis:  To_Sir_With_Love

To Sir With Love is the story of an inner city school teacher who abandons the standard syllabus and instead, teaches his unruly, adolescent students the lessons of life. Sidney Poitier plays the lead role of a new teacher in a secondary school in Britain, where he quickly realizes that his students have absolutely no interest in academics and will probably end up as bike messengers and shop assistants. To Sir With Love is the story of one man’s struggle and commitment to transform young minds.

The film deals with a range of social and racial issues. Some scenes will be familiar to teachers as it is often a challenge to inspire young people to learn. Sidney Poitier’s character is not a trained teacher and so, he carves out his own curriculum based on personal life experiences.

As educators and teachers, we need to keep thinking about and reflecting on the real meaning of education. Are we merely teaching our students how to pass tests and exams or are we helping them to become extraordinary citizens?

Trivia: The film’s title song “To Sir, with Love”, sung by Lulu, reached number one on the U.S. pop charts, and ultimately was Billboard magazine’s #1 pop single for the year, 1967.

Facilitator: Mahenaz Mahmud
Date: Saturday, January 23, 2010
Time: 10:00 a.m.
Venue: TRC
Duration: Film: 92 minutes   Discussion: 45 minutes
Fee: Rs. 200