BEYOND THE BLACKBOARD

“When you looked into their eyes you saw exhaustion,” said Stacey. “I had to teach them to be children. They had to learn that it wasn’t their job to worry about money. Their job was to go to school, and to help their brothers and sisters."

A 24-year-old first-time teacher overcomes her initial fears and prejudices and maks a difference in the lives of the homeless children she teaches in a shelter's makeshift classroom. Stacey Bess’s first teaching job is not at all what she expected. She’s assigned to the School with no Name in Salt Lake City, a space in a homeless shelter that is supposed to function as a classroom.

What can we learn from this movie?

Show students that they are important. Stacey´s ‘classroom’ lacks basic supplies such as desks and books, and her young students range in age from six to 12. She goes home, thinks it through, and sets up her methodology. She cleans the place and uses her own funds to buy materials for her class. The children grow to respect and love her for it.

NEVER GIP UP! The beginning is always the hardest. The kids are hard to reach, the administration sees the whole exercise as an obligation, and the parents are skeptical. Yet after considerable frustration, Stacey begins to find avenues to connect with her charges — investing her spare time in redecorating the classroom, enlisting the      adults to assist her and even taking one kid whose father gets booted out of the program into her own home.  

Confront fears and insecurities. Stacey confronts her own fears and insecurities as she struggles to gain attention and respect from her students. She presents her as determined but compassionate. She dearly loves her students but this also means she will fight for them. 

MAIN CHARACTERS

Emily VanCamp — Stacey Bess

Paola Andino - Maria

Timothy Busfield — School District HR Representative

Steve Talley — Greg Bess

Treat Williams — Dr. Warren

Isabella Acres — Dana

Melissa Schroeder - Terri