J2 Content – Perspectives

A varied collection of thoughts on education and parenting

The 5 Best Educators on Television

Tami Taylor (Friday Night Lights)
Putting aside the fact that Connie Britton is one of the most beautiful women on television, her portrayal of a guidance counselor and principal on FNL is the most honest and sensitive portrayal I have ever seen. Whether she is protecting her students from locals who only care about football or advising pregnant teens, Mrs. Taylor can be counted on to put kids first.

Pete Dixon (Room 222)
Mr. Dixon deserves to be on this list mainly because he was working with limited resources. He didn’t have computers, DVD players or amplified classrooms to help him do his job. He was literally old school. Not to mention that he was teaching a bunch of dirty hippies who were more interested in reading Catch 22 than Silas Marner. When I was little, I imagined all teachers were like Lloyd Haynes. Sadly, I couldn’t even find one who was like Karen Valentine.

Ken Reeves (The White Shadow)
Even the tough kids at Carver High knew that having a former Chicago Bull for a basketball coach was something to be envied. Sure, Ken had practically no training as an educator but how much do you need to teach Health and PE? Besides, Coach Reeves did his best teaching on the bench and in the stands. If it wasn’t for Coach, Coolidge could have easily ended up in a gang instead of moving to Boston and becoming the best orderly at St. Eligius.

Mr. Bergstrom (The Simpsons)
While he goes by many names (Mr. Nerdstrom, The Singing Dork) the words educator and Springfield Elementary can only bring a smile when they are followed by Mr. Bergstrom. Nobody knows exactly how or why he ended up as a substitute teacher in the least envied town in America, but to say that he touched the life of Lisa Simpson is an understatement. Using the time-tested methods of self-deprecation and music, he provided a group of students with at least a few days of quality education.

Leander Pomfrit (The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis)
In the early days of television, teachers were still portrayed with respect and none more so than Mr. Pomfrit. The great William Schallert dealt with the raging hormones of Dobie Gillis, Milton Armitage and Chatsworth Osborne Jr. and still managed to teach them a thing or two about civics. His best accomplishment, however, had to be pretending not to notice Thalia Menninger.

Hear more from the King of TV on The Paul Goebel Show podcast and at his website, www.TheKingofTV.com. You can also follow Paul on Twitter @PaulGoebelShow.

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