The Chaperone
It might not look like it, but teaching is definitely not easy. It’s one of those professions that require you to be in the best of emotional and physical health always. After all, you are responsible for the most precious of all gems: impressionable human minds and irreplaceable lives. Even though parents tend to complain a lot about what they think teachers should and shouldn’t do, the truth is that it’s a complicated job that very few people can do successfully.
Students tend to classify teachers as some sort of non-human entity. Because of this, they find it hard to believe that a teacher can be anything but a teacher. They can’t imagine a teacher who does other activities during the weekend besides grading papers. They can’t picture a teacher who watches television, goes out with friends, or does any other mundane thing that may seem un-teacher-like. Well, the sixth-grade teacher in this film had more than a few surprises up his sleeve.
This mostly hand-drawn animated short tells the fascinating story about one teacher, Ralph Whims, who was on chaperone duty at a dance in Montreal East in the early 70s. The activity was in a church basement and the kids were between the ages of 12 and 16. Everybody seemed to be having a good time when suddenly some uninvited, unwanted, and unruly bikers walked in. These twenty or so men were up to no good and they immediately began causing trouble and intimidating the kids. They were looking for a fight and were sure that nobody would stand up to them. It was entirely up to the chaperone to solve the problem and he didn’t have much time to do it. But when he stepped forward fearlessly, he taught the brawlers a valuable lesson.
This short film has been seen at more than 70 festivals and has been the winner of 25 awards. Watch it now.
Loading...
