Precious and the Depiction of Education

Last night, my partner and I finally watched the movie Precious based on the book Push (by Sapphire). Certainly after a year of accolades for the film and its actors, I’m sure many have seen it or at least heard of it. If you haven’t, rent it. I read the book a year ago and now, after seeing the film, find myself reflecting on its content. Of course the film is not about teaching, but rather the struggles of one girl to overcome her circumstances and learn; learn and receive her education AND learn about her own self worth. I found myself thinking about the students that I’ve known and those I will know in the future. A number of my former students could directly relate to many aspects of Precious’s life; a few may even have known every nook and cranny of it. I know from personal experience that young people have this built in resilience – strength they are not even aware of – that keeps them showing up for school when home is such a disaster. These are just some of the students that are labeled “at risk” and too often fall through the cracks (“at-risk” is such a silly label, after all, isn’t every student “at-risk” in some way? Consider this: for every group that gets labeled and given attention, there are those that don’t. For every child we focus on, there is one we ignore because they seem alright). Those that get through high school will face uncertain futures without the drive to push themselves further. Heck, even with the drive, many will face continual obstacles that will threaten their success.

As an educator, I cannot ignore the images of teachers, administrators, and the education system in the film (or films in general). It is, unfortunately, too realistic and, at times, misleading. So what does this mean? Simply put – education has an image problem. The system is seen as archaic on some levels, too trend driven at times, indifferent and blind to those “at-risk,” or overly political to the point of corruption. These images get a good deal of press. Then there are those portrayals of teachers who are the miracle workers (a well deserved nod here to Anne Sullivan – who did prove what is possible in teaching) – and while the stories may be true and such teachers exist, the portrayals are often simplistic – leaving out the struggles and true timing of success and achievement. If only things happened as easily as they appear to in the movies!

Despite some of our best efforts, the majority of those students who face Precious’s odds do not turn out with the sense of hope that she does – or with the positive sense of community, education, and self. So what does the film say about teaching? Certainly we can criticize the state of the public school Precious attends and is suspended from at the book’s/film’s start. It would be great to say that such schools are rare, yet I suspect they care too common these days. Her math class is unruly and rude, despite the teacher’s efforts. This is certainly reflective of the apathy found among our students today. Without an immediate value attached to education, teachers work meets with indifference and outright resistance. We’ve all had classes that were more difficult to manage than others – often the result of a few who disrupt and mislead their peers. I’ve been sworn at, challenged to fights, pushed (while intervening a possible altercation), and harassed during classes. I take a firm stand against such behaviors and acts, which has proven successful more often than not. Yet the situations when it hasn’t worked often meant removing students from the classroom for a period of time, if not permanently. What I have not done is given a grade that was not earned. Precious reports getting an A- in English without doing any of the work; she later notes that she is angry at those teachers who passed her without work because she comes to realize that they have helped create some of the problems she faces. The sad part is that such a depiction of teaching isn’t without basis in fact. We have far too many graduates who read and write far below the level expected of them; far too many teachers allowing students to walk without doing the work. They hurt these students and the profession. If you don’t have it in you to believe in a student and push them, measuring their outcomes honestly, then leave the profession for them and the sake of all the other teachers busting their butts to really educate!

In addition, while I marvel at the principal who offers Precious an alternative school option (after suspending her for being pregnant, again), how many of our administrators make, much less have, the time to do such things at a student’s home? Do such depictions give people unrealistic expectations of our schools? Or, have our schools becomes so weighed down by administrative red-tape, kowtowing to political expectations, or everyday security and monitoring (because students have become so disrespectful of themselves and others these days) that such actions by our administrators just can’t happen? Keep in mind, we aren’t talking about small rural or even suburban schools here, we’re looking at our urban, often over-crowded and short-funded public schools. Yet, this isn’t just an urban school problem to be certain – even my last school on the island of Oahu struggled with such students and issues. My former administrators hardly had time to do the required walk-throughs each year (and usually fell far short of the suggested number of them), much less do home visits to help those students that were really in trouble! Hell, even our school counselors could hardly do what was needed – and we had some really good ones who tried their very best to do it.

On the upside, the film shows Precious’s alternative school teacher as one who focuses on teaching her students that they can do it – despite the odds, the obstacles, or their own self-doubt. She keeps the purpose of their learning at the forefront – “Write! Just do it! It doesn’t matter if you can’t spell it or make it clear; write it the way it sounds in your head.” (This is a complete paraphrase that captures her main message). Her approach is simple, no-nonsense, and direct. I know teachers like this. I’ve had teachers like this. The film makes it seem easy, but we all know it isn’t. Does her energy and drive come from her idealistic youth, or from the simple belief that EVERY child can learn? Is the act of reading and writing more important than getting it right every time? Does the sense of accomplishment these students gain belie the fact that their success may not lead to a better life? Precious’s hope does not appear to be misleading – she doesn’t seem to have some foolhardy belief of success, merely the understanding that things can be different with work and determination. She has hope.

Certainly the film is not about education, but rather the drive and determination of Precious to be more than what she has been lead to believe she is by her parents, experiences, peers, social services and education system. If anything, shouldn’t we strive to teach our students that? They are the ones who determine their outcomes – not their parents, families, communities, culture, or even, us. All of these things may influence their lives, but they alone make their lives.