Bonus Episode: Zooming In… I Wish

Transcript:

(transcribed by kayla.r.fainer@gmail.com)

Hi, this is Melissa Milner. Welcome to the Teacher As... podcast. The goal of this weekly podcast is to help you explore your passions and learn from others in education and beyond to better your teaching. The Teacher As will highlight uncommon parallels to teaching, as well as share practical ideas for the classroom.

This is a Zooming In episode where I zoom in on something that I'm interested in right now.

[ZOOMING IN]

I'm zooming in on someone who I wish I had as a teacher when I was growing up. How do I describe this person without giving it away? Let's see. This person, instead of saying he or she, this person is competent, clever, creative. This person is observant. This person reads the room and plans next steps accordingly. This person is a very fast thinker, solves problems based on what is observed and uses humor sometimes to get out of sticky situations.

This person is polite, curious and enjoys zooming in on people. This person is also loyal and supportive. I would describe this person as a natural at their job. Again, with a great ability to read the room, which really, you know, any great teacher would do that, right? At this point you're probably wondering, who is she talking about?

Well, I am talking about-- wait for it. Axel Foley, of course.

[AXEL FOLEY THEME].

Right? Axel Foley! Think about it. Watch Beverly Hills Cop, the original please. Watch Beverly Hills Cop with the lens of a teacher. For you young teachers out there, I apologize if you are not familiar with Axel Foley. But aren't you lucky, because now you're gonna go watch this movie with a really interesting lens. It's a hysterical movie. But with the lens of a teacher, it's fascinating to watch it.

I'm going to break down one scene. This scene is rated R. They're in a certain kind of club. Axel is there with Detective Taggart and Detective Rosewood, and they have been ordered to watch Axel and make sure he isn't investigating the death of his friend. So as they sit, they're watching the show, and Axel sees two men come in.

Axel very quickly assesses and makes some decisions. He is a team player. He respects Taggart. He briefly explains to Taggart what he's seeing and that he needs his help. Taggart is that veteran teacher down the hall who you may want to team up with, whether you're new to teaching or have been doing it for a long time. Another parallel is that Axel brings Taggart into the plan the way we should bring students into the learning process as our partners.

So Axel has secured the bad guy. Rosewood comes running over to control the perp with a commanding voice and stance. He is taking this seriously, and from his perspective, helping Axel control the situation. Rosewood is very late to this conflict and everything is already under control. Axel could have teased him, could have berated him. Instead, very sarcastically, but still, Axel praised Rosewood.

Rosewood is the colleague or student who maybe needs a little guidance and patience. If you haven't watched the movie, go watch it. If you have watched the movie, I ask you to think back to high school history class or reading groups when you were in elementary school. How did the teacher make you feel? Did the teacher zoom in on you like Axel zooms in on Serge? And you'll know what I mean if you've seen the movie.

When Axel first meets Serge, he is fascinated by this interesting, quirky man. It is so fun to watch, especially when you think about how we could do this with our students, how we could just wait for a minute, watch and listen to get to know our students better. Thank you, Eddie Murphy, for an amazing performance as Axel Foley. Absolutely hysterical.

I wish I had Axel Foley in my history class in high school. I would have remembered history. I would have learned to love it and not think it was just a whole bunch of dates and events. I believe Axel Foley would have been a fun teacher, would have really understood his students, and would have been able to handle any situation that came his way.

If you enjoyed this episode and have not done so already, please hit the subscribe button for the Teacher As... podcast so you can get future episodes. For my blog, transcripts of this episode and links to any resources mentioned, visit my website at www.theteacheras.com. My contact information for Twitter, Facebook and Instagram are also on this site.

I am sending a special thanks to Linda and Lester Fleishman, my mom and dad, for being so supportive. They are the voices you hear in the Zooming In soundbite. And my dad composed and performed the background music you are listening to right now. My intro music was "Upbeat Party" by Scott Holmes. 

So what are you zooming in on? I would love to hear from you. My hope is that we all share what we are doing in the classroom in order to teach, remind, affirm and inspire each other. Thanks for listening. And that's a wrap!